Naperville Central looks to keep rolling

Updated: September 22, 2011 7:50PM

For a program like Naperville Central’s, which has enjoyed a rich tradition highlighted by eight double-digit winning seasons, three state title game appearances and the 1999 Class 6A state crown, fast starts aren’t exactly an anomaly.

Since coach Mike Stine took over before the 2006 season for Joe Bunge, who led the program to all those accomplishments, Naperville Central has won four of its first five games twice.

Buoyed by their current three-game winning streak and shooting for another 4-1 start, the opportunity tonight in Wheaton to get the third such start under Stine goes beyond trying to beat Wheaton Warrenville South for the first time since 2004.

It’s the significance of the number four, the number of victories it got last year in missing the postseason for the first time since 2002, that bears watching. The Redhawks look to snap out of the stranglehold Wheaton Warrenville South — off to a shaky 1-3 start — has had on the series by extending their winning streak to four.

Dating back to its 21-7 triumph over Naperville Central in a 2004 Class 8A state quarterfinal, Wheaton Warrenville South has won seven in a row in the series, enjoying an average margin of victory of 22.9 points.

“In the DVC, you’re in a desperate situation every week. You’ve got to win every game, scrape and claw for whatever win you can get,” Stine said. “They’re gonna come out and play just as hard this week. They didn’t lose any of those games because of a lack of effort or because they didn’t play hard. They’re gonna play hard. They’re still a really good team, a really dangerous team. A couple plays here or there, they could have easily won a couple of those games. Obviously, they’re gonna have a sense of urgency, but we’re gonna have a sense of urgency also, too.”

As the Redhawks look to add to the misery of the Tigers — coming off an upset at Naperville North last week — behind the powerful legs of senior running back Matt Randolph.

A selection to the 2010 all-DVC first team as a junior, Randolph ran for 128 yards and a touchdown in the Redhawks’ 38-13 loss at home to Wheaton Warrenville South last year.

“He’s a running back that runs the zone-football play real well,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Ron Muhitch. “They do a great job of running the ball.”

Through the season’s first four games, Randolph has maintained the momentum gleaned from his 902-yard, seven-touchdown junior campaign.

Thanks to exploding for a combined 464 yards and seven TDs in the past two weeks in victories over Glenbard East and West Aurora, Randolph is up to 702 yards and already has matched his 2010 total of seven touchdowns in the season’s first four weeks.

The biggest reason for the senior’s recent success is having a much stronger and bigger offensive line to run behind than a year ago.

“That group has been working extremely hard all summer and in the offseason,” Stine said of the offensive line, which is anchored by seniors Sean Goldner, Mike Keller and Dan Teich. “They’re playing extremely well as a unit. We can go six, seven deep there at that position. They’re opening some big holes and Matt, obviously, has had some opportunities to run through those. Matt’s getting all the glory, but those five guys or seven guys up front are doing the dirty work.”

While Naperville Central (3-1, 2-0 DuPage Valley) has established consistency on the ground behind Randolph and senior quarterback Ian Lewandowski, Wheaton Warrenville South (1-3, 1-1 DuPage Valley) returns home looking for that same consistency, having to respond from a conference loss for the first time since losing 7-6 at Naperville North to close out the 2008 season.

Tigers’ senior quarterback Thaddeus Armstrong threw for 197 yards, a late touchdown and two interceptions against the Huskies, while running back Dan Vitale was limited to 39 yards on 15 carries, a week after scoring three touchdowns in a victory over West Aurora.

“We’re still looking for answers at quarterback and we need one of those kids to really start to develop a consistency of third-down performance,” Muhitch said in the days leading up to his team’s setback at Naperville North. “We’re moving the ball rather consistently. We just don’t finish on some big plays.”

Despite the struggles that the Tigers have had at quarterback with rotating both Armstrong and sophomore Ryan Graham, the presence of Vitale alone is something the Redhawks will have to be cognizant of in their hopes of winning at Red Grange Field for the first time since 2001.

In losses to No. 2 Glenbard West and No. 1 Maine South to open the season, Vitale scored the Tigers’ lone touchdown against Glenbard West and was held to just 25 yards on seven carries by Maine South in Week 2.

“He’s a very good player. Not only is he good running the football, he’s outstanding catching the football, too,” Naperville Central defensive coordinator Mike Ulreich said of Vitale. “Those are things that we’ve got to be aware of, not only him running the football but him out of the backfield. They really do a lot of creative things to get him the football, besides just running it. That’s certainly a concern of ours.”

Wheaton Warrenville South used unblemished 7-0 runs through the DVC in each of the past two years to win the conference, and Naperville Central will mostly likely have to do the same to win its first conference title since 2001, when it won its first 13 games before losing in the inaugural Class 8A state title game to Downers Grove South.

A Redhawks’ victory tonight, even against a Wheaton Warrenville South team questioning itself, would be a huge step in determining whether the DVC title may be in the cards.

“It’s this year’s team. What’s happened in the past doesn’t matter,” Stine said. “It’s their 2011 team against our 2011 team. We’re not playing the past. They’re not playing our past. We’re playing each other this year.

“I know people have kicked dirt on them already and if you’ve watched any of their tape, their games have been very close. They’ve played the toughest schedule in the state and they’re a very good football team. They’re the champs until someone beats them.”

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