Naperville Sun Week 6 football preview capsules

Updated: September 29, 2011 6:24PM

Naperville North (3-2, 2-1 DuPage Valley) at Glenbard East (1-4, 0-3 DuPage Valley), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Naperville North beat West Chicago 45-7; Glenbard East lost at Wheaton North 56-12

Storyline: Armed with a two-game winning streak after losing 24-13 at Wheaton North in its DuPage Valley Conference opener in Week 3, Naperville North hits the road again after a pair of wins at Harshbarger-Welzel Field.

Finding some success with the passing game in last week’s 45-7 rout of West Chicago, the Huskies will look to build on that momentum tonight in Lombard opposite Glenbard East.

Naperville North senior quarterback Tyler Gehr accounted for four touchdowns last week against the Wildcats, with two each coming through the air and on the ground, while passing for a season-high 230 yards, as the Huskies took a 38-0 lead into the fourth quarter.

Last week marked the first time all year that Naperville North got more yards passing than it did running, evidenced by Gehr’s 230 passing yards and the 171 yards it gained on the ground as a team.

Meanwhile, the Rams, after last week’s 56-12 loss at Wheaton North, are on a four-game losing streak coming into tonight, which includes being outscored 153-19 in DuPage Valley Conference play.

In each of its two nonconference games against Willowbrook and Lake Park, respectively, Glenbard East put up 35 points.

Naperville North coach Sean Drendel on Glenbard East: “They’re extremely athletic. Last year, we didn’t play overly well against them early on, so they scare you. When you play an athletic team, if you’re not ready to play and you don’t do your responsibility, you can get hurt. … They’re just different offensively. They’re more of a spread team, which they haven’t been before. Their kids play hard on defense.

“The D-Coordinator’s (John Walters) the head coach and he has been their D-coordinator for a couple years now. They play extremely hard and they play fast. We gotta do a good job of doing our responsibility and being disciplined football players.”

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

Last week: Waubonsie Valley won at Metea Valley 51-0; Larkin won at Elgin 22-21

Storyline: A week after forcing six Lake Park turnovers in a 54-7 home rout of the Lancers, Waubonsie Valley’s defense made sure that its second meeting with Metea Valley would go just a little differently.

Erasing all memories of last season’s 21-20 victory over the Mustangs in the first-ever meeting between the two programs, Waubonsie Valley’s defense and special teams forced five more turnovers, including scoring a TD off a fumble recovery, in its 51-0 shutout of Metea Valley.

The Warriors’ defense, which has allowed just 28 points combined in their four victories, limited the Mustangs to minus-12 total yards, including an astounding minus-78 on the ground.

Offensively against Metea Valley, junior quarterback Dylan Warden threw for two touchdowns, while junior running back Austin Guido ran 18 times for 101 yards and scored twice.

With a victory over one crosstown rival in the books and a meeting with the other awaiting next week, the Warriors’ attention tonight is all about gaining playoff eligibility with a fifth victory against the Royals in a Upstate Eight crossover game.

Larkin is coming off a pair of close victories, including a one-point victory over rival Elgin last week, which saw junior running back Mo Jackson run for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

On the season, Jackson has 369 yards and five TDs on 65 attempts while senior quarterback Kyle Newquist has thrown for 777 yards and five touchdowns for Larkin.

Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy on Larkin: “From what we’ve seen on film, they’ve got the No. 1 running back. He runs the ball very, very hard. They run the inside zone, they run the counter trey. They run it to death until you stop it. Their quarterback, Newquist, is a three-year starter. He’s got a nice arm. … They have some big-play capability, but they also are the type of the team that will just try and throw the ball and set up their running back and keep it away from your offense if they can.” 

 

Metea Valley (3-2, 1-2 Upstate Eight Valley) at Neuqua Valley (4-1, 2-0 Upstate Eight Valley), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Metea Valley lost to Waubonsie Valley 51-0; Neuqua Valley beat South Elgin 35-21

Storyline: A week after securing the program’s first-ever victory over South Elgin, Neuqua Valley, winners of three straight games, looks to continue its momentum tonight against one of its District 204 neighbors, Metea Valley.

In the first-ever meeting on the varsity level between the two programs a year ago, the Wildcats posted a 43-0 shutout. A victory tonight would make them playoff eligible heading into their matchup next week with their other Dist. 204 brethren, Waubonsie Valley, at North Central College.

Bolstered by junior running backs Joey Rhattigan and Danny Dudek each going over 100 yards, Neuqua Valley almost ran for 300 yards as a team last week in the victory over South Elgin, helping overshadow the fact the defense gave up its most total yards, 305, in a game since giving up 349 to Naperville North in Week 1.  

After a 3-0 start to the season, the Mustangs have been outscored 84-0 combined in each of the past two weeks in losses to South Elgin and Waubonsie Valley, respectively.

Mustangs’ senior quarterback Jarrett House didn’t play last week against the Warriors after sustaining a knee injury on the first drive of the game at South Elgin the week before.

Much like with the results in a 33-0 loss at South Elgin on Sept. 17, the loss of House impacted Metea Valley greatly against Waubonsie Valley last week.

The Warriors forced five turnovers, which included taking in a fumble recovery in for a touchdown, and held the Mustangs to minus-12 total yards offensively.

Junior running back Cameron Wilcox joined House on the sidelines last week and House’s availability for tonight is unclear.

Sophomore quarterback Peyton Mitchell, who took over for House during the South Elgin game, was four-of-12 passing for 66 yards against Waubonsie Valley while being intercepted once and sacked three times.

Metea Valley coach Ted Monken on Neuqua Valley: “They’re gonna be big and physical. They’re gonna come after us, especially after seeing our game against Waubonsie. They’re gonna come after us and try to be physical and see if we’re able to respond to the physical play. That’s a much of a challenge on both sides of the ball.”  

Neuqua Valley coach Bryan Wells on Metea Valley: “I think Metea’s a solid ballclub. I think they’re very well-coached. They have a number of players that make plays for them. I think House is still out, but we’re not sure. We’ve heard he might play. But they’re certainly a different team when he plays. They’re a different team when Mackey plays. They do some things defensively that disrupt a lot of things. They’re well-coached. I think they’re a solid team. But they’ve just run into what I would say is tough luck these last couple weeks.”

 

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

Last week: Benet lost to Joliet Catholic 35-0; Notre Dame won at St. Viator 57-21

Storyline: Eliminated from postseason contention after getting shut out by Joliet Catholic last Saturday, Benet’s attention now turns to keep improving through the remainder of the season.

Constant improvement has been coming on the defensive side of the ball each week and it continued against the Hilltoppers despite giving up 35 points.

Joliet Catholic was only up 7-0 midway through the second quarter, as Benet’s defense had allowed just 47 total yards up to that point and forced three punts in the first half.

For an offense that has scored 30 points combined in five games, improvement and finding more consistency on that side of the ball has been far more of a challenge for the Redwings. Senior quarterback Nick Mankowski finished 11-of-22 passing for 133 yards against the Hilltoppers.

Meanwhile, the Dons picked up their first East Suburban Catholic Conference victory last week by putting up 57 points on winless St. Viator, highlighted by scoring 27 unanswered points to take a 27-7 lead and responding to a Lions’ touchdown by scoring the game’s final 30 points.

Notre Dame senior quarterback Nick Pieruccini proved to be a dual-threat against St. Viator in running for 181 yards and throwing for 167 yards and three TDs.

Benet coach Pat New on Notre Dame: “Their greatest challenge is their quarterback (Pieruccini). He’s a guy that can run and throw,” New said. “I know containing him will be one of our No. 1 objectives defensively.”

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