Strong seniors poised to lead West Aurora

Updated: August 24, 2011 6:59PM

For the first time in a long time, there is a palpable excitement surrounding the West Aurora football program at the start of a season. Much of it has to do with new coach Nate Eimer, the new FieldTurf and some new jerseys.

“You could say we’re getting spoiled this year,” senior wide receiver/defensive back Nate Zinzer said with a laugh.

Some alumni and supporters have said the last time there was this feeling around the program was the summer of 1994, a year after the Blackhawks went 4-5 and the offseason before its last playoff team.

“It’s tough to judge that right now,” first-year coach Nate Eimer said. “We had a great summer. We do have a great core of seniors who have really raised the bar in terms of the commitment and expectations we have around there.

“We’re not going to make predictions about anything — but this is a very talented group of seniors so we’re definitely looking forward to getting going.”

The Blackhawks went 4-5 in 2010 and were in position to beat both Naperville North and Wheaton North. Most of that team has returned, including many of the defensive leaders. That system isn’t changing much, but the offense is definitely going to look a lot different than in previous years.

“On the offensive side, we’ll do some things that will help us be successful in the (DuPage Valley Conference),” Eimer said slyly.

Expect the veer to go by the wayside, and look for blocking schemes that will allow for quick hitters in the pass and run game.

“It really captures what West is,” Zinzer said. “We’ve always been small, but we’ve always have tons of speed and tons of athleticism that I felt we didn’t use enough in past years. (Coach) Eimer seems to understand it and comes up with tons of plays I would never think of and is utilizing every athletic person we have, which is nice.”

Mum was the word surrounding the quarterback position as seniors Richie Renner and Curtis Townsend and junior Josh Campbell return, but look out for sophomore Quintez Jones (6-4, 215).

The line returns center Austin Beebe (6-1, 270) and right tackle Darryl Stewart (6-4, 280) and welcomes Marco Guarnizo (5-11, 245), but the other two spots had to be sorted out.

“This is a pretty solid group of kids we have,” Eimer said of the offensive line. “We might have a little bit of depth. Are we going to be the biggest line in the DVC? I doubt that. But as a group, that one has improved the most since day one of the summer.”

The defense, led by a linebackers Brandon Warren (5-10, 200), Kendall Williams (5-10, 224), Matt Williams (6-1, 180) and Booker Ross (5-11, 195) will be expected to be a strength of the team and hold opponents in check while the offense finds a rhythm.

“The defense worked for us last year,” Zinzer said. “We all feel on defense that we have to be the ones (to play well) because the offense is new and is always putting new things in. We know where we’re at and we want to continue forward.”

Forward, for this group, means the postseason. Outgoing coach Buck Drach said as much last year, when he said he would be first in line to buy a ticket to Week 10.

“The kids have some really high expectations,” Eimer said. “Rarely this summer did we walk away and say ‘Man, we didn’t get any better today.’ We kept improving every day. The kids are very excited. They’ve got some confidence going into this season.”

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