Waubonsie Valley: September 2008 Archives

Well, Naperville Central certainly got what it wanted, Wheaton Warrenville South coming into Memorial Stadium with its 23-game DuPage Valley Conference and 31-game regular-season winning streaks intact.

Waubonsie Valley is coming down off an emotional win against a District 204 rival to face 0-4 Elgin on Friday night. But the Warriors (1-3) can't afford to overlook Elgin - they've given themselves a chance to be in the playoff conversation and need to bank another win.

"Don't let their record fool you," Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. "They got some pretty good skill kids on offense that scare the heck out of you, that can go the distance."

Look for Waubonsie quarterback Tyler Castro, who went 19-of-28 for 265 yards and four touchdowns last week against Neuqua Valley, to set up in the spread offense and make Elgin chase receivers all night.

"(With) a small roster, 30-something players, I'm sure (Elgin's) got guys going both ways," Murphy said. "We're 80-something players. We got to wear them down and just make them play for 48 minutes and make them go that distance and we think we can wear them down."

Last Friday very well could have marked a turning point in a previously disappointing campaign for Waubonsie Valley's football squad. With a 28-26 victory over arch-rival Neuqua Valley, the Warriors propelled themselves into the win column, and into the UEC conversation. At 1-3, the Warriors finally return to Death Valley for a showdown with 0-4 Elgin, in which they must continue their upward climb and their winning ways.

A 3-7 record against Neuqua Valley isn't what the Waubonsie Valley players cared about Friday night.

The Warriors are for more interested in the 2-0 mark they've posted against their District 204 rivals the past two seasons.

"This is the biggest sigh of relief I've ever had," senior defensive lineman Sherrod Stancil said after the Warriors 28-26 victory. "The biggest test for our team was to make sure last year wasn't a fluke and that Waubonsie is the better football team."

Kenneth Clay is The Sun's guest blogger. Mr. Clay, a sports writer for Waubonsie Valley's school newspaper "The Voice," is a junior. His views do not represent those of The Sun's and are entirely his own.

It is all the talk around town - Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley going head-to-head tonight in the heart of downtown Naperville at North Central College to compete for bragging rights.

As always the football rivalry between the two schools remains heated with trash talking coming from both sides. The taunting for this highly anticipated match up started as early as last February, when the Neuqua men's basketball team devastatingly defeated the Warriors in the semi-sectionals to end the Waubonsie's great season. Characteristically, Waubonsie's fans just wouldn't stand for it and immediately chanted,"Wait until football! Wait until football!" Ever since then Facebook groups have started and are full of school pride and trash talk against the opposing school.

The Upstate Eight Conference will expand and realign into two six-team divisions beginning in the fall of 2010.

The conference announced the anticipated move on Thursday and it took into account several geographic considerations. Metea Valley, which in scheduled to open in the fall of 2009, will become the conference's new 12th member and join District 204 rivals Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley in the UEC South. The division will also include East Aurora, St. Charles East and St. Charles North.

The UEC North will be made up of Bartlett, Elgin, Lake Park, Larkin, South Elgin and Streamwood.

What's your early take? How will this impact these UEC programs?

For Naperville Central, this is about perception versus reality on two fronts - what its DuPage Valley Conference schedule looks like on paper, and how its spread offense controls the ball.

Waubonsie Valley will enter Week 3 at 0-2, staring down last year's UEC co-champion St. Charles East, followed by the Warriors' arch-rival Neuqua Valley in Week 4. Ideally, Waubonsie would like to win both of these games, but they must win at least one.

To enter Week 5 without a win would be a real morale killer for a team with a lot of potential. Not to mention, it would mean the Warriors must run the table to even be playoff eligible.

But surviving the next two weeks won't be easy. The Warriors had a tough time containing the run against Prairie Ridge, which will be key to stopping St. Charles East running back Wes Allen this Friday. And what can you say about the 204 rivalry? It's always intense, emotional and a momentum builder. After the Warriors beat Neuqua last season, they didn't lose a game until they met Hinsdale Central in the playoffs.

So, football fans, if you're forced to pick only one, which team - St. Charles East or Neuqua - does Waubonsie have the best shot against? Which victory is most important for the Warriors, both in terms of UEC title hopes and going unbeaten to finish the regular season?

Waubonsie Valley takes on Prairie Ridge in the Wolves' home opener tonight at 7:45 p.m. Check back here at around 7:30 p.m. for live blogging by yours truly during the game. Just a reminder to vote in The Sun's poll. Who do you think will win this game? The poll is located on the right side of the sports page just past the giant photo of Dan LeFevour.

Every program enters Week 1 with question marks, whether you're the defending Class 8A state champions (Naperville North) or a team that just missed the playoffs (Lake Park) last season. Naperville Central falls somewhere between those extremes, and coach Mike Stine kind of laughed when asked for his impressions off the Waubonsie Valley game film - everyone feels like they have a long way to go on both sides of the ball.