Naperville Sun Week 2 football preview capsules

Updated: September 1, 2011 7:02PM

Marian Catholic (1-0, 1-0 East Suburban Catholic) at Benet (0-1, 0-1 East Suburban Catholic)

Last week: Marian Catholic beat St. Viator 51-27; Benet lost at Nazareth 17-0

Storyline: Opening conference play from the get-go for the first time since 2005 against Nazareth last week, not much went right for Benet.

Learning that the IHSA had ruled him eligible a day before taking the field against Nazareth, Redwings’ junior QB Kevin Weller, a transfer from Neuqua Valley, went 8-of-15 passing for 69 yards and two interceptions, while two other Redwing QBs didn’t fare much better.

Couple bad output from three quarterbacks with inexperience at numerous positions elsewhere on the field, and Benet had a rough afternoon.

The Redwings’ attention now turns to Marian Catholic, coming off a 24-point rout of St. Viator.

Jeruel Taylor, the 2010 East Suburban Catholic Offensive Player of the Year, paced the Spartans’ offensive attack by running for 230 yards and two touchdowns.

Piling up 459 total yards, Marian Catholic’s scoring outburst wasn’t all about Taylor.

Marian Catholic senior quarterback Robbie Cifelli completed six-of-eight passes, including two for touchdowns, and ran for 82 yards and another TD.

Finding a way to slow down what appears will be a very balanced Spartans offense will be Benet’s challenge as it looks to avoid to falling to 0-2 for the first time since 2008.

Marian Catholic defeated Benet, 14-13, in Week 3 last season in Lisle.

Benet coach Pat New on Marian Catholic: “They run a tremendous option attack, so they really make you defend. They force you to play assignment football, so it requires a lot of practice, a lot of detail. They’ve got some big guys up front on both sides of the ball. … This year, they’re going with an option attack out of gun. The quarterback is a couple yards behind the center and they snap it to him and they go no-huddle gun. They’ve kind of added that dimension, which, I think, adds another challenge to a defense.”

No. 24 Thornton (1-0) at Naperville North (0-1), 7:30

Last week: Thornton beat Hillcrest 49-6; Naperville North lost at Neuqua Valley 37-23

Storyline: Losers of its season opener for the first time since 2005, Naperville North opens up the home portion of its 2011 schedule tonight opposite Thornton, looking to put last week’s shellacking at Neuqua Valley behind.

One issue the Huskies will certainly need to shore up will be their run defense, which allowed Neuqua Valley senior Joey Rhattigan to run wild last week.

Rhattigan ran for 175 yards and scored four times as the Wildcats raced out to a 37-16 lead over the Huskies.

Senior quarterback Tyler Gehr, perhaps one of the lone bright spots for Naperville North against Neuqua Valley, eclipsed the 100-yard mark with both his arm and his legs.

Meanwhile, Thornton built a 35-0 first-half lead over Hillcrest last week before eventually coming away with a 49-6 rout behind the exploits of a pair of twins, quarterback Jason Towns and running back Jamal Towns.

Against the Hawks, Jamal Towns ran 10 times for 171 yards and three touchdowns for the Wildcats, while his older brother, Jason, ran in for a 33-yard TD and also added a 5-yard touchdown pass in for good measure.

For a proud program that has won at least 10 games 12 times, six DuPage Valley Conference crowns and a pair of state titles in 1992 and 2007, a 0-2 start “is just not in our DNA,” according to Naperville North coach Sean Drendel.

A much improved effort in all facets of the game will be needed tonight in order for the Huskies not to have to ponder that unenviable position.

Drendel on Thornton: “They’re extremely fast. They’re pretty physical for a fast team,” Drendel said. “They’re pretty physical. Their offense is electric and their defense returns, I think, 11 starters. They’re an experienced team. They present a huge problem.”

Oswego (0-1) at Waubonsie Valley (1-0), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Oswego lost to Marian Central Catholic 47-41; Waubonsie Valley won at Naperville Central 21-7

Storyline: With last week’s decisive 21-7 victory at Naperville Central to begin the 2011 season in its back pocket, Waubonsie Valley makes its 2011 home debut tonight against Oswego.

Senior QB Mitch Stefani was sound in his first-ever varsity start in throwing two touchdown passes while receiving help from junior running back Austin Guido, whose 37-yard TD run on the first drive of the game set things up quite nicely for the Warriors, who are 1-0 to start a season for the first time since 2007, the last time they beat Naperville Central.

Chief on the Warriors’ agenda is to keep up the momentum gleaned from last week, which saw them snap a three-game losing streak to Naperville Central by carrying a shutout deep into the fourth quarter.

Waubonsie Valley’s defense forced three first-half turnovers but failed to score on any of them, one of the few bones that Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy had to pick in an otherwise solid effort from his young team.

Defense should once again be the theme of the night as Oswego put 41 points on the board in its season-opening loss to Marian Central Catholic last week.

Waubonsie Valley has never gotten off to a 2-0 start in Murphy’s seven-year tenure.

Murphy on Oswego: “If they’re able to put 41 points on the board, we got to find a way to put 42 or more on the board. Obviously, we’re gonna try and slow them down. … We gotta try and keep it away from them, have some nice, long methodical drives and keep it out of their hands. That way, we can get them a little frustrated because they’re not on the field as often. When they scored last week, they scored quickly. They weren’t on the field very long. They got it done and they got it in the end zone and boom! Their whole goal is to get the ball to their offense as often as they want and our goal is to keep it away from their offense.”

Quincy (1-0) at Metea Valley (1-0), 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Quincy beat Alton 30-20; Metea Valley won at Plainfield East 38-26

Storyline: Earning revenge over Plainfield East for last year’s loss in the program’s varsity’s debut with a 38-26 victory in Plainfield a week ago, Metea Valley now turns its attention to Quincy.

With last season’s 17-7 defeat to the Blue Devils on the Mustangs’ minds, they enter this year as a different team and program, with 10 varsity games under their belt, instead of just one.

Subbing for senior running back Tre’Sean Mackey last week, junior running back Cameron Wilcox torched the Bengals’ defense for 211 yards and two TDs on 25 carries, including turning in a 59-yard touchdown run on Metea Valley’s first offensive possession.

Against Plainfield East, senior QB Jarrett House found senior wide receiver Raysean Parker for two of his three touchdown passes and will be looking to rebound significantly from last year’s effort against Quincy, which saw him complete only four of 12 passes for 16 yards while being intercepted three times.

While Plainfield East threw for 260 yards on the Mustangs’ defense, they stiffened up considerably against the run in limiting the Bengals to just 24 yards on the ground.

With Blue Devil sophomore running back Malique Robbins coming off a 150-yard, three-touchdown performance last week against Alton, much focus and attention will be paid to stopping the Blue Devils’ running game.

Metea Valley coach Ted Monken on Quincy: “I think they’re very similar (to last year) because they’ve had success. They haven’t had to change. They have success, most coaches say, “Why don’t you change what we’re doing? We’re winning with it.’ I would anticipate very similar fronts that they ran last year and coverages. Offensively, they’re a wing-T team, just like the old Augustana days. They’re gonna be three yards and a cloud of dust to try to lull you to sleep and throw the ball over your head when everybody’s up there trying to stop the run.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.