Naperville Sun Week 9 football preview capsules

Updated: October 19, 2011 6:45PM

Elgin (1-7, 0-6 Upstate Eight River) at Metea Valley (3-5, 1-5 Upstate Eight Valley), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Elgin lost to St. Charles East 10-0; Metea Valley lost to Lake Park 35-21

Storyline: Eliminated from postseason contention with last week’s loss to Lake Park, which saw senior quarterback Jarrett House return to the lineup, Metea Valley concludes its 2011 campaign tonight against Elgin looking to end a five-game losing streak.

In his final high school game tonight, Mustangs’ senior running back Tre’Sean Mackey will look to build off his 163-yard, two-touchdown performance against Lake Park last week.

House completed eight-of-19 passes for 76 yards in his return to the lineup against Lake Park and will be looking to conclude his high school career on a good note, as well.

Meanwhile, the Maroons have been shut out in their past two games, including being shut out 49-0 by No. 11 Batavia two weeks ago.

Courtesy of a 28-yard TD pass, senior wide receiver Gage Teschner scored Elgin’s last touchdown from scrimmage in the second quarter of its 37-13 loss at St. Charles North in Week 6.

Metea Valley coach Ted Monken on Elgin: “I think, defensively, we got a chance to shut them down or at least limit them. We’re gonna have to play well. But you never know. It’s still high school football. They’re still high school kids. I don’t have any guarantees, especially this year.

“They’ve got a very good running back (senior Dennis Moore). He’s a type of guy, like a Tre’Sean, that if you’re not careful, next thing you know he’ll be in the end zone and you won’t know what happened. We have to have a good job of running to the football and gang-tackling him. Make sure we keep him from turning a 10-yard play into a touchdown. Just get after the ball.”

Neuqua Valley (5-3, 3-2 Upstate Eight Valley) at Lake Park (4-4, 2-3 Upstate Eight Valley), 7:30 p.m.

 

Last week: Neuqua Valley lost to Bartlett 34-7; Lake Park won at Metea Valley 35-21

Storyline: Losers of its last two games, Neuqua Valley aims to officially clinch a playoff spot tonight at Lake Park and finish 6-3 for a second straight year.

The Wildcats will be looking to rebound from perhaps their most lackluster performance of the year in losing to Upstate Eight Valley champ Bartlett, 34-7, at home last week.

Recording a season-low 192 total yards on offense, Neuqua Valley saw Bartlett score 34 unanswered points after junior running back Joey Rhattigan had given it a 7-0 lead with an 80-yard TD run in the first quarter.

Rhattigan, who has 19 rushing touchdowns on the season, tallied 130 yards on 18 carries in the defeat.

A week after giving up 347 total yards and coughing up a late lead in an eventual loss in overtime to Waubonsie Valley, Neuqua Valley’s defense may have turned in its most disappointing effort of the season as the Hawks scored the 34 unanswered points behind sophomore running back James Butler’s 119 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

Under first-year coach Chris Roll, Lake Park has won three straight games in its attempt to reach the postseason for the first time since 2009. 

On the heels of its 35-21 victory at Metea Valley last week, which saw running back LaCurt Evans run 12 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns, the Lancers would become playoff-eligible with a victory.

Neuqua Valley coach Bryan Wells on Lake Park: “That might be the most dangerous thing about them is the fact that they’re playing for something right now. They’re coming off of three wins, so they’re feeling very good about themselves, I’m sure. This is a team we need to get a hold of and jump on early. Make sure that we assert ourselves.

“In the three games that they’ve won here recently, (Evans) has put up good numbers and he has run the ball well. He can be very dangerous back there. I wouldn’t say he’s more dangerous than some of the other backs we’ve seen this year. We just need to make sure we don’t give up the big play.” 

Carmel (5-3, 5-2 East Suburban Catholic) at Benet (1-7, 0-7 East Suburban Catholic), 7:30 p.m.

 

Last week: Carmel lost to Marist 64-63 (2OT); Benet lost at St. Viator 28-0

Storyline: Benet concludes its frustrating season tonight against Carmel, looking to avoid finishing a season 1-8 for the first time since 1994.

After getting shut out at St. Viator last week to become the only remaining winless team in the East Suburban Catholic Conference, the Redwings will hope to put a stop to a dubious mark before leaving for the winter.

Benet hasn’t scored a TD in 18 quarters and would like to enter the offseason on some sort of a good note. Juniors Kevin Weller and Mike Zebold will split the snaps behind center for the Redwings, who managed only 111 total yards on offense last week, with sophomore Porter Ontko being responsible for 81 of them.

Carmel is coming off a wild, 64-63 loss in double-overtime to Marist last week. Corsairs’ senior running back Jordan Kos ran for 274 yards and two TDs in the loss and is 81 yards shy of the school’s career record.

A year ago, in a 42-0 shutout of Benet, Kos ran 15 times for 168 yards and two scores.

Benet coach Pat New on Carmel: “I think, in all the nine teams we’ve faced, these guys are probably the best running team, overall. But our strength of our team has been stopping the run, so far this year. It’ll be an interesting matchup. I know we held Joliet Catholic down to two touchdowns, when we faced them, in the first half. Then we kind of got worn down.

“With Nazareth, our defense gave up one touchdown against an offense that has been really proficient this year. I’m just looking for our defense to step it up and have another great performance this week.”

 

West Chicago (1-7, 1-5 DuPage Valley) at Naperville Central (5-3, 4-2 DuPage Valley), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: West Chicago lost to West Aurora 41-0; Naperville Central won at Naperville North 36-26

Storyline: Back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus after beating crosstown rival Naperville North, 36-26, last week at North Central College, Naperville Central returns home to conclude the season against West Chicago with improving its playoff positioning squarely in its crosshairs.

After failing to eclipse 250 total yards on offense in the past three weeks, which saw the Redhawks drop two of those three games, they finally broke loose against Naperville North in racking up 352 total yards on offense—253 of which came courtesy of senior running back Matt Randolph on the ground, a performance that included five TDs.

Looking to officially clinch a spot in the 32-team Class 8A field with a victory, Naperville Central hasn’t lost to West Chicago since dropping a 10-7 decision in the 2002 regular-season finale.

The Wildcats snapped their 18-game DuPage Valley Conference losing streak two weeks ago with a 28-21 victory over Glenbard East but got shut out for the fourth time this season against West Aurora last week.

In the loss to the Blackhawks, fullback Nick Sanzeri had 149 yards on 25 carries for West Chicago.

Naperville Central coach Mike Stine on West Chicago: “One thing I can tell you (about) West Chicago----they’re gonna come out and play hard. We’ve told our team that. Paul (Reinke) does a great job. For them, this is their playoff game. It’s their last game. They’re gonna come out, they’ll compete. We have to be ready to match their intensity.

“Offensively, they’re gonna try and run the ball. They’re gonna try and first-down you. They’re gonna try and keep it away from us. Defensively, they’re gonna run a 3-3 stack. They’re gonna stunt. They’ll put like everyone, eight, nine guys in the box (to) try and stop our run. We have to be prepared. They’re gonna come at us from different angles.”    

 

South Elgin (4-4, 3-2 Upstate Eight Valley) at Waubonsie Valley (7-1, 4-1 Upstate Eight Valley), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: South Elgin beat Geneva 36-21; Waubonsie Valley won at East Aurora 68-0

Storyline: Currently on a five-game winning streak, Waubonsie Valley hopes to keep its momentum going as it finishes the regular season at home against South Elgin by looking to extend its streak to six and finish with an 8-1 record for the first time since 1997.

Waubonsie Valley scored in four different ways in overwhelming winless East Aurora last week, which included its defense returning a fumble for a touchdown and defensive back Malik Spikener and running back Matt Salvo both returning punts for scores.

Against the Tomcats, junior quarterback Dylan Warden tossed a pair of touchdown passes while Salvo and DeMario Webb ran for two TDs each for the Warriors, who have averaged 51 points in their last five games.

The Storm need to win tonight to become playoff-eligible and have responded to its 45-10 loss to Bartlett in Week 6 with a pair of victories in each of the past two weeks, which has seen it outscore the opposition by a combined margin of 88-27.

South Elgin running back Adolfo Pacheco will be a focus for a Waubonsie Valley defense that has been a stout unit for the majority of the season. Pacheco had a school-record 318 yards and four TDs in last week’s home upset of Geneva.

Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy on South Elgin: “Well, obviously, they’re playing very, very well. They beat a good Geneva team and set a school-record rushing-wise. We’re gonna have our hands full trying to shut (Pacheco) down and their running game. Saturday (against Geneva) wasn’t a very good day in terms of throwing the ball, but I know their quarterback (Zach) Gross can throw the ball a little bit. They present a really good challenge for us. They’re one of the top teams in the league, eventhough their record might not show it. We certainly gotta be prepared to play.”

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