Naperville North, Glenbard North both vie for key sixth win

Updated: October 20, 2011 8:52PM

Before the season, when looking at Naperville North’s visit to Carol Stream to conclude the regular season against Glenbard North, one could have easily envisioned the game having bearing on the DuPage Valley Conference race.

After all, Naperville North (5-3, 4-2 DuPage Valley) has won six DVC crowns, most recently in 2008, and Glenbard North has become a consistent threat inside the conference in the past several years under the stewardship of coach Ryan Wilkens, who has led the program to at least eight victories three times in his six previous seasons.

But thanks to Wheaton North’s 6-0 start inside the conference, instead of having any bearing on competing for a conference championship, tonight’s regular-season finale is all about survival for both Naperville North and Glenbard North, which both want to avoid entering the postseason on multi-game losing streaks.

Despite both programs being eligible for the playoffs with identical 5-3 records, a sense of desperation could be alive and well tonight, as the winner clinches a postseason berth while the loser drops to 5-4 and to an unknown playoff fate when it comes to seeding.

“I’m not 100 percent sure that we’re in (the playoffs),” said Wilkens, whose team has 35 playoff points entering tonight’s game. “That’s the thing. Right now, we just go into it thinking we got to win to get in. That’s gonna be our mindset.”

While the Panthers, a year after finishing 8-1 and receiving a No. 3 seed in Class 8A heading into the postseason before being upset at home by Palatine, are in unfamiliar territory entering the final week of the regular season, the same could be said for the Huskies.

Last week’s loss to Naperville Central, which saw the Huskies turn the ball over six times after only four turnovers coming in, have put them in the unenviable spot of possibly finishing the season at 5-4.

It was only two years ago that the Huskies finished 5-4 and received a No. 16 seed in the 8A playoffs in former coach Larry McKeon’s final season.

“We really haven’t talked about the playoffs,” Naperville North coach Sean Drendel said. “We’ve talked about (how) we really would like to be 6-3. We really would like to have a better showing than we had last week.”

A week after dealing with Naperville Central senior running back Matt Randolph, who busted loose for 253 yards and five TDs in a 36-26 come-from-behind victory, Naperville North will shift its attention on defense to another solid running back, Glenbard North’s Phil Jackson.

Entering Glenbard North’s game at Naperville Central on Sept. 30, Jackson had tallied 11 touchdowns on the ground. In the Panthers’ three games since, he has recorded only two TDs.

Perhaps not a coincidence, the Panthers have dropped all three of those games, a marked difference from their 5-0 start to begin the season, a stretch that saw them average 42 points a contest.

Entering the toughest part of their schedule, coinciding with the season’s final four weeks, with a 10-6 loss at Naperville Central, Glenbard North (5-3, 3-3 DuPage Valley) has only scored a combined 30 points in losing at Naperville Central, to Wheaton Warrenville South and at Wheaton North in each of the past three weeks.

“I guess you can go to Naperville Central, obviously (junior quarterback) Brian (Murphy) went down earlier in that game and obviously our inability to throw the ball, (you) can add another guy into the box. It was difficult to run,” Wilkens said. “Wheaton South’s got a pretty good defense. They’re very good. They’re very quick on the ball. We were moving the ball OK (against the Tigers). We weren’t able to get any touchdowns out of it.”

While Jackson’s production in finding the end zone has dipped as the Panthers have started to go up against the tougher portion of the conference, junior quarterback Brian Murphy has been dealing with issues with his ankle that has forced him out of a pair of games, including last week’s 27-17 loss at Wheaton North.

While the competition has gotten considerably tougher for Glenbard North during the past three weeks, Drendel was quick to point out the impact that Murphy being out has had on Jackson’s recent ineffectiveness.

“The quarterback wasn’t 100 percent healthy. That means an awful lot to a good running back,” he said. “If you can make a team one-dimensional, in our league, it makes things very difficult.”

Murphy, who Wilkens said will start tonight, may not be the only starting quarterback dealing with injury issues.

Naperville North senior quarterback Tyler Gehr left after sustaining an undisclosed injury during a 16-yard run in the second quarter last week against Naperville Central before returning for the first series in the second half and giving way to junior Johnny Brown for the remainder of the night.

“We could have put him back in, but we’re not gonna risk someone’s safety in a football game,” Drendel said of Gehr after the 10-point setback to the Redhawks.

Brown got off to a quick start in relief of Gehr, who Drendel calls the team’s “leader,” by completing six of his first seven passes before throwing a pair of interceptions to Naperville Central defensive back Pat Clark.

Brown finished his night against the Redhawks eight-of-12 passing for 94 yards and two interceptions.

Regarding Gehr’s status for tonight? According to Drendel, the coaching staff is “gonna get him ready, see where he’s at.”

Whoever is at quarterback tonight for the Huskies will have a solid running back in senior Dan Puknaitis, while the offense looks to rebound from stubbing its toe too many times last week against the Redhawks.

Puknaitis, who fumbled twice in loss last week, ran for 122 yards on 23 attempts while being responsible for all three of Naperville North’s touchdowns. He has rushed for 899 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year.

Puknaitis’ presence is something that Wilkens is keenly aware of as his team looks to take all the doubt out of its playoff status by simply winning tonight.

“Gehr, Puknaitis and the offensive line (are key weapons for Naperville North),” he said. “They’ve run the ball very effectively out of their spread offense.”

Coaches talk often about controlling your destiny and only worrying about the things you can control.

That sentiment rings true for both programs tonight, as one is looking to solidify its position in the playoffs, while the other might need to win just to get in.

Although Naperville North is already viewed as a probable selection into the Class 8A field no matter what transpires tonight, Drendel doesn’t want to take any chances.

“When you have to win games to qualify for playoffs, there are no meaningless games,” Drendel said. “(A losing streak) can affect the psyche of your team. There are a lot of things (that can happen). There’s not a meaningless game on our schedule.”

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