The potential roadblock to the three-peat
As practice for the 2011 football season begins in DuPage County, the storylines remain similar to the end of the 2010 season.
For starters, the rivalry between two-time defending Class 7A state champion Wheaton Warrenville South and Glenbard West continues with immediacy. The perennial powers meet in the regular-season opener for the first time since 2006 in a game to be nationally broadcast on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. Aug. 28.
The Sunday showdown will provide an instant glimpse at who has the early edge in what is expected to be another competitive Class 7A field. WW South eliminated Glenbard West the last two years in the playoffs, but the Hilltoppers enter 2011 with what coach Chad Hetlet believes might be his most talented team.
Eleven starters return led by highly recruited senior linemen Tommy Schutt and Johnny Caspers, providing Glenbard West with the talent to challenge for its first state title since 1983.
“Things are shaping up real good,” said Hetlet, who also returns electric running back Kendall Johnson, quarterback Justice Odom and tight end-receiver Nathan Marcus. “It looks to be one of our more talented teams.”
WW South returns only a handful of starters, although four reside on the defensive side of the ball, including linebackers Adam Dansdill and Brandon Peterson. Behind an influx of talent — especially on offense — the Tigers are poised to reload for a 7A three-peat.
The Tigers’ most glaring hole is at quarterback. Two-year starter Reilly O’Toole has moved on to the University of Illinois, but the Tigers received a boost with the transfer of 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior Thaddeus Armstrong, who played at Ottawa last year.
Running back Dan Vitale, a Northwestern recruit, gives WW South additional reason for offensive optimism.
“(Armstrong’s) had a summer of indoctrination to Tiger football,” said WW South coach Ron Muhitch. “The family moved specifically to be part of this program. Ottawa’s a good program, but they run a Wing T offense. He wanted to throw the football.”
While WW South and Glenbard West sit among the many Class 7A favorites, the 8A field appears more clear-cut. Three-time defending champion Maine South, ranked 21st nationally by ESPN and 39th by Rivals, is the consensus top team in the state.
Two-time defending Class 5A champion Montini is another favorite to repeat. Senior receiver Jordan Westerkamp is committed to Nebraska, while 6-4, 295-pound defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson, a St. Joseph transfer, committed to Iowa. With Marian Catholic transfer John Rhode ready to take over at quarterback, the Broncos are stacked with talent.
“We’d love to win a third one in a row,” said Broncos coach Chris Andriano. “That’d be the goal, and these guys are working hard. We will definitely be a factor and be in the hunt.”
Top talent
Glenbard West lineman Tommy Schutt enters the season as the top senior recruit in Illinois, according to Rivals analyst “Edgy” Tim O’Halloran. The 6-3, 290-pound defensive tackle recently saw scholarship offers pulled by Notre Dame and Michigan because the schools already accepted commitments from other players at that position. Hetlet, however, says Schutt still has many tremendous options.
“He looks better than he ever has,” said Hetlet, who noted offers from Florida, Auburn and Oregon. “He’s 290 pounds, but it’s amazing how well he moves for a player his size.”
Schutt also will play tight end for the Hilltoppers, who have another top offensive line recruit in Caspers. Arizona highlights the offers for the 6-3, 270-pound tackle.
“We’ve just been blessed with talent,” Hetlet said.
Another team blessed with talent is Montini, with Westerkamp and Johnson committed to Big Ten programs. Speaking of the Big Ten, Muhitch said Northwestern took one look at Vitale at an off-season camp and immediately offered the WW South back.
Among the many other area players attracting college interest, Neuqua Valley defensive lineman Mike Ippolito, Wheaton North receiver Johnny Daniels and Hinsdale Central offensive lineman Ryan Callen each boast Mid-American Conference offers.
New faces
Nick Hildreth wasn’t hired as Willowbrook’s new coach until late May, but he hit the ground running. It helped that Hildreth was the Warriors’ assistant varsity coach the last five years and also graduated from Willowbrook in 2000.
“It’s a dream job, without a doubt,” Hildreth said. “I was raised here and learned football here. You never expect to get an opportunity like this.”
Hildreth, the team’s defensive coordinator the last two years, was extremely busy with the Warriors this summer. They participated in several 7-on-7 events and attended a three-day team camp at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
The Warriors, 2-7 last season, face a tough early schedule against Glenbard East, Glenbard West and York. Hildreth hopes the summer of hard work pays off.
“We need to take care of our responsibilities and what we can control,” Hildreth said. “The kids have bought in from the get-go.”
Other new coaches in the area include John Walters at Glenbard East, Chris Roll at Lake Park, Rich Tarka at Hinsdale Central, Michael Barry at Hinsdale South and Christopher VanDyke at Immaculate Conception.
Independent no more
Glenbard South found a new home.
The Raiders, after competing as an independent last year, make their debut this season in the Metro Suburban Conference. Bolstered by 10 returning starters, including standout running back Wes Sanders, they’re a favorite to win the MSC title.
“Just psychologically it’s big for us to be in a conference,” said Raiders coach Jeremy Cordell. “It’s great to have that goal of a conference championship for the kids.”
Filling last year’s nine-week schedule wasn’t easy. This year, even though the MSC still only has five schools for football — including Fenton, Riverside-Brookfield, Elmwood Park and Ridgewood — scheduling was much easier.
Unlike the past couple of years when MSC teams played each other twice, the five teams face off only once. Glenbard South had to fill the first four games and the regular-season finale with nonconference competition, but it’s a much better situation than last year.
“It was a huge hole we had to fill last year,” Cordell said. “The bottom line is we have to take care of whoever’s in front of us.”
No excuses
Playing experience is a valued commodity. When Metea Valley coach Ted Monken surveys the practice field and sees 11 starters returning on offense, 11 back on defense, it whets the appetite.
Possessing his first batch of seniors in the sparkling three-year-old Indian Prairie District school, Monken seeks improvement in intangibles — savvy, smarts, focus, accountability, maturity — after the Mustangs’ 1-8 varsity football debut last season.
“Having those kids a year older, and giving them a taste of varsity football last year, they saw how far away they were from being successful,” said Monken, who led St. Charles East to the playoffs each season from 2005-08.
On the other hand, 1-point losses to Waubonsie Valley and Plainfield East and a 7-point loss to Lake Park displayed that on a given night they weren’t too far away.
While Monken fields his 22 returning starting positions, on the other side of a district division that also affected Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy sees 22, too: the number of seniors on the Warriors’ anticipated preseason squad of 72. Starting to draw from neighborhoods that formerly stocked Neuqua, Waubonsie’s underclass groups average around 55 players apiece.
“We have a talented junior class that will help offset the lack of senior numbers,” said Murphy, whose juniors went 8-1 on both the freshman and sophomore levels. “The question is, can we get our juniors to play at varsity speed by Aug. 26 when our opener is?”
Metea Valley seniors such as quarterback Jarrett House, speedy leading rusher Tresean Mackey and tight end Zach Wood experienced the leap from sophomore to varsity play, their 2010 record dipping from the 6-3 mark the Mustangs recorded on the sophomore level in 2009.
Sophomores and juniors obviously aren’t as mature as opponents a year older, either physically or mentally. But Monken denied that was a factor last year — and it certainly won’t fly this season.
“There were way too many things that we could have controlled that had nothing to do with the fact that we weren’t juniors, or as big,” he said. He meant blown assignments, concentration, stuff like that.
“This year we don’t have any more excuses,” Monken said. “No more excuses. And we’ll have no more excuses ever again.”
Mark your calendar
From Weeks 1-9, intrigue lies ahead with these matchups. All games are Friday unless noted.
Week 1, Aug. 26-28
Glenbard West at WW South (Sunday)
Naperville North at Neuqua Valley
Waubonsie Valley at Naperville Central
Willowbrook at Glenbard East
Week 2, Sept. 2-3Montini at Loyola
Neuqua Valley at Naperville Central
Wheaton North at Geneva
WW South at Maine South
Week 3, Sept. 9-10Marmion at Montini
Naperville North at Wheaton North
West Chicago at Glenbard North
Westmont vs. Lisle (at Benedictine University)
Week 4, Sept. 16-17Addison Trail at Hinsdale South
Hinsdale Central at Glenbard West (Saturday)
Wheaton Academy vs. St. Francis (at College of DuPage)
WW South at Naperville North
Week 5, Sept. 23-24Downers Grove North at Downers Grove South
Joliet Catholic vs. Benet (Saturday at Benedictine)
Naperville Central at WW South
Waubonsie Valley at Metea Valley
Week 6, Sept. 30-Oct. 1Glenbard South at Riverside-Brookfield
Hinsdale Central at Hinsdale South
Metea Valley at Neuqua Valley
St. Francis at Montini
Week 7, Oct. 7-8Marmion vs. St. Francis (at College of DuPage)
Naperville Central at Wheaton North
Neuqua Valley vs. Waubonsie Valley (at North Central College)
WW South at Glenbard North
Week 8, Oct. 14-15Downers Grove North at Hinsdale Central
Naperville Central vs. Naperville North (at North Central)
St. Francis at Immaculate Conception (Saturday)
York at Glenbard West (Saturday)
Week 9, Oct. 21-22Carmel vs. Benet (at Benedictine)
Fenton at Riverside-Brookfield
Neuqua Valley at Lake Park
Wheaton North at WW South