Metea Valley, Naperville North eyeing playoffs

Updated: October 18, 2011 6:41PM

Coupled with Metea Valley seeing a 14-0 advantage slip away on its way to losing to Lake Park, 35-21, last Friday and Naperville Central earning a 36-26 victory over crosstown rival Naperville North, four area teams will see their respective seasons extend into next week.

After a year away from the postseason, Naperville Central became playoff eligible last Friday behind senior running back Matt Randolph’s 253 rushing yards and five touchdowns in its 36-26 victory over Naperville North.

“It was huge. We still want to go 6-3 and beat West Chicago because we want to put ourselves in a good seed in the playoffs,” Randolph said of becoming playoff-eligible.   

Concluding the regular season Friday at home versus 1-7 West Chicago, a 6-3 finish is eminently possible for the Redhawks.

Naperville Central parlayed a similar finish in six-year coach Mike Stine’s first year in 2006 into a first-round home game as a No. 7 seed, but traveled to play Mount Carmel in the first round two years later after finishing 6-3 and being handed an 11 seed in 2008.

Where the Redhawks might end up within the Class 8A bracket, to be unveiled on Saturday night by the IHSA, was the last thing on Stine’s mind in the aftermath of his third career win over the Huskies in six tries on Friday.

“We got West Chicago next week,” Stine said. “We’ll worry about West Chicago next Friday night.” 

At 7-1, Waubonsie Valley leads the pack after its 68-0 thrashing of East Aurora last Friday and it finishes the regular season Friday night at home against South Elgin, looking to finish the regular season with eight victories for the first time since 1997.   

“That’s part of the motivation, trying to be as good a record as back in the ‘90s, but it’s also about getting playoff positioning,” Murphy said. “We win (Friday against South Elgin) and get to 8-1, the worse we’re gonna be is a 3 seed, probably, in whatever bracket we’re in. We know we’re gonna go opposite of Maine South and Loyola. Downers Grove South, Bolingbrook, Homewood-Flossmoor might be on the same side of us. Palatine and Glenbrook South will go in the other bracket, as well.

“So, of the top seven teams, which we’re in the top-seven seeding right now, we figure the four of them will go up one way and three will go the other way. Worst we’re gonna be in the top-three seeding and that’s the spot we want to hold. We want to hold top-three seeding because, if you lose, you drop down to 7-2. Now you have about 20 schools that are 7-2. You might get a home game, you might not. (At) 8-1, you’re gonna get a home playoff game.”

That 1997 Warrior team saw its eight-game winning streak snapped in a Class 6A first-round playoff loss to Andrew and since 2001,  when the Warriors upset Thornton as Class 8A’s 30th seed in 2001, the highest seeding the program has enjoyed since has been the No. 5 seed it garnered both in 2007 and 2010.

A year after opening up the postseason at home with a victory against 12th-seeded Brother Rice, a week before losing in double-overtime at Homewood-Flossmoor, this year’s Waubonsie Valley outfit has its designs pegged a little higher in hopes of putting itself in the best position to reach the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1994.

Because the top 16 teams in the 32-team Class 8A bracket get home games to begin the playoffs, a home game is probably assured for the Warriors with their seven victories, but a No. 1 seed may be out of reach even with a victory over South Elgin, according to Murphy.

While the Warriors are enjoying their best season in years, their crosstown rival, Neuqua Valley, is dealing with consecutive losses after last week’s 34-7 loss to Bartlett.

A victory at Lake Park will be required to officially clinch a playoff berth and finish the regular season 6-3 for the second consecutive year. 

The Wildcats’ 6-3 finish a year ago earned them a No. 11 seed and a date at Downers Grove South. A 36-22 victory over the Mustangs sent the Wildcats into a second-round home game against Mount Carmel, which eventually prevailed in overtime to deny the Wildcats their first-ever trip to the state quarterfinals.

Sitting with 36 playoff points and ranked 25th in Class 8A by the IHSA entering Friday, the prospect of possibly getting a rematch with any of the three area playoff eligible schools—Naperville North, Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley---they have played this year might be possible, depending on where the Wildcats land when the IHSA releases the pairings for all eight classes on Saturday night.

“I think the way it’s split up, those rematches are very, very possible,” Neuqua Valley coach Bryan Wells said. “We came close to that situation last year with (Naperville) North. We were a game away. They were a game away. It’s really possible. There’s no doubt about it. It’s possible we would have a rematch with Waubonsie.

“The only time we’ve had a rematch is when we played Bartlett (in 2004) and that was one of our really, really good years and they came down here and beat us. I think a rematch is certainly likely. I’d be surprised by that. If we all go in at 7-2 or better, that rematch probably won’t be Week 1. It’d probably been down the road a little bit.”

The lone playoff-eligible area rival that Neuqua Valley beat this year, Naperville North, entered last week’s game against Naperville Central at North Central College still with designs on a DuPage Valley Conference title.

Those dreams went out the window after seeing Randolph shred its defense for three fourth-quarter touchdowns and seeing its offense turn the ball over six times.

Situated one spot behind the Redhawks in the IHSA’s Class 8A rankings, Naperville North needs to turn the page with a road trip to Carol Stream awaiting it Friday against Glenbard North, which has lost three straight games after opening the season 5-0.

A win gets the Huskies into what looks like will be a 6-3 logjam, along with Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley, whereas a loss to the Panthers would leave them 5-4 and on a two-game losing streak entering the postseason.

Naperville North last finished a regular season 5-4 in 2009, former coach Larry McKeon’s final season, receiving a No. 16 seed and an eventual first-round loss to Fremd.

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