Naperville Sun Week 3 football capsules

Updated: September 7, 2011 8:18PM

No. 23 Waubonsie Valley (2-0) at Bartlett (1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Waubonsie Valley beat Oswego 34-14; Bartlett beat Elgin 42-0

Storyline: With the program’s first 2-0 start since 1992 and the first such start in coach Paul Murphy’s seven-year tenure in tow, Waubonsie Valley heads over to Bartlett tonight looking to keep its momentum sustained.

The two programs tied for the Upstate Eight Valley title a year ago, with Waubonsie Valley coming away with a 17-6 victory at home in Week 3.

After setting the tone in Waubonsie Valley’s decisive 21-7 victory at Naperville Central in Week 1 with a 37-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive, junior running back Austin Guido rushed for 151 yards and found paydirt four times last week for the Warriors.

While the Warriors’ defense has surrendered a combined 21 points in victories over Naperville Central and Oswego, they will face perhaps their stiffest challenge to date from an individual standpoint tonight.

With holding down Oswego quarterback Ryan West serving as a reference point, which included holding him without a completion from late in the first quarter to early in the third, the attention of Waubonsie Valley’s defense now turns to Bartlett senior quarterback A.J. Bilyeu.

Bilyeu, headed for Air Force next fall, threw for 149 yards and tossed four touchdowns to four different receivers in the Hawks’ 42-0 shutout of Elgin last week, a nice response to losing in Week 1 at Wheaton North on the final play of the game.

Murphy on Bartlett: “(Bilyeu) is a talented young man and he’s very experienced. This is his third year on the varsity. It boils down to controlling the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage. I think the team that does that has the best chance of winning the game. The second factor, obviously, is turnovers. If you turn it over, you’re gonna give the other team more chances to score. If you don’t turn it over and make them drive the whole length of the field, then you’ve got a better chance of shutting them down.

“It comes down to the fact we know it’s gonna be a physical ballgame. It’s the conference opener. We’ve beaten them the last two years and I’m sure they want a piece of us. They don’t want to get behind the eight-ball in the conference race like they did last year. It’s an important game for both teams.”

  

East Aurora (0-2) at Metea Valley (2-0), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: East Aurora lost to Yorkville 42-6; Metea Valley beat Quincy 31-7

Storyline: Off to the program’s first-ever 2-0 start after scoring a combined 69 points in victories at Plainfield East and at home over Quincy last week, Metea Valley shoots for a 3-0 start to 2011 tonight at home against East Aurora.  

Earning its first-ever home victory after scoring 31 points against the Blue Devils, aided by the nice 1-2 punch the Mustangs feature on the ground with senior Tre’Sean Mackey and junior Cameron Wilcox, the Mustangs aim to get off to a good start within the Upstate Eight opposite that team they beat for their first-ever win on the varsity level.

With memories of that first victory, a 39-6 triumph at East Aurora in Week 3 last season, fresh in the players’ minds this week, scoring shouldn’t be an issue for Metea Valley against a Tomcat defense that has allowed a combined 90 points in the season’s first two weeks.

Last week marked the return of Mackey, who ran nine times for 86 yards, while Wilcox rushed for 152 yards and three TDs on just 15 carries.

Defensively, the Mustangs should also pick up right where they left off in holding the Blue Devils to just seven points last week. In two lopsided losses to begin 2011, East Aurora has managed to score only a combined 12 points.

Metea Valley coach Ted Monken on East Aurora: “I think they’re always going to have good athletes that at any time, if you let your guard down, they can get loose and go the distance and you’ll have a hard time catching them. They always have some nice, fast guys that can run. As long as I’ve known that team, they’ve had guys that can take it to the house the minute you let them get loose.

“We have to do a great job up front defensively and make sure we don’t let those guys get out into space where they can really hurt us. Offensively, we got to make sure we move our feet and block their athletes up front. They’re gonna have some speed and quickness and we got to make sure we’re able to move and do a great job with our fundamentals and technique. Don’t get ourselves behind the eight-ball trying to block these guys.”

Glenbard East (1-1) at Naperville Central (1-1), 7:30

Last week: Glenbard East lost at Lake Park 37-35; Naperville Central beat Neuqua Valley 28-14

Storyline: Avoiding having to deal with a 0-2 start for the first time since 2006 after picking up a third victory over Neuqua Valley in four all-time meetings last week, Naperville Central opens DuPage Valley Conference play at home opposite Glenbard East.

Using the formula that the coaching staff believes gives the team the best chance to win, finding as many touches for senior quarterback Ian Lewandowski and senior running back Matt Randolph, the Redhawks jumped out to a 21-0 lead over the Wildcats and persevered after two turnovers allowed the Wildcats to cut into the deficit and get to within 21-14 at halftime.

Lewandowski hooked up with Randolph twice for scores while running for a 31-yard touchdown of his own, a much added improvement over his Week 1 outing against Waubonsie Valley.

But thanks to the defense forcing five turnovers, including three interceptions from senior defensive back Ross Murphy, Naperville Central pulled out a much-needed victory.

Meanwhile, scoring 35 points apiece in their first two games under first-year coach John Walters, the Rams have proven they can put points on the board.

Junior running back Javonte Burnett ran for two touchdowns in the loss at Lake Park last week, while junior quarterback Joe Kotch threw three touchdown passes against the Lancers, including a pair to senior wide receiver Mike Fahey.

Naperville Central hasn’t dropped its conference opener since losing 41-7 to Wheaton Warrenville South in 2006.

Naperville Central coach Mike Stine on Glenbard East: “They have some skill players offensively. They spread the field. They spread it around. Their quarterback’s very good, running back, receivers. They’re gonna mix it up. They’re gonna play up tempo. They’re gonna play no-huddle. We gotta try and do the same thing we did last week. Try and play ball control and then score. Eat up the clock and play like we did last week.

“They’re a total different offense. They were more of a wing-T offense for years and years and years,” Stine said. “Now they’re spreading it. They’re spreading the field. They’re run-and-gun. They’re running no-huddle. Defensively, they’re pretty much the same as what they’ve been in the past.”  

Benet (0-2, 0-2 East Suburban Catholic) at St. Patrick (2-0, 1-0 East Suburban Catholic), 8 p.m.

Last week: Benet lost to Marian Catholic 27-7; St. Patrick won at St. Viator 63-21

Storyline: Dealing with its first 0-2 start since 2008, Benet is looking for any way to gain some momentum and stop its downward slide to begin the season.

Finding some consistent offense would be a good start to that end.  

The Redwings gained only 210 total yards offensively in last week’s 27-7 loss to Marian Catholic at home, with only four of them coming on the ground.

Benet’s lone score of the game came courtesy of an 85-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kevin Weller to senior wide receiver Bobby Hayes that tied the game in the first quarter, but Marian Catholic proceeded to score the game’s final 20 points.

Senior quarterback Nick Mankowski, who saw extensive time behind center last season as a junior, will replace Weller in the lineup as the Redwings look to gain any significant traction they can on that side of the ball.

St. Patrick, Benet’s third straight conference opponent to start the season, has rolled up a combined 117 points in a pair of routs to start the season, which isn’t exactly a great recipe for a Redwings’ defense that is still working in eight new starters.

Piling up 682 yards of total offense last week against St. Viator, senior quarterback Ryan Tentler led the way for St. Patrick by completing 16-of-24 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns.

Tentler also did damage with his legs against the Lions, rushing 11 times for 242 yards and scoring four touchdowns.

Shamrocks’ senior wide receiver Guy DiBalsamo caught seven passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns in the Shamrocks’ 54-13 rout of Proviso East in Week 1.

Benet coach Pat New on St. Patrick: “Offensively, they attack every part of the field, which makes it tough to defend. They’ll throw it deep against you. They’ll throw it underneath. They’ll screen you; that will affect the running game. They really do it all well and they’ve got a lot of nice athletes. We’ve got a challenge ahead of us in slowing that offense down.”

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