advertisement

Aurora Central counting on ground game

Within its game plan Aurora Central Catholic won’t fool anybody. The Chargers will run the football.

If ACC (6-3), 10th seed in its Class 4A playoff bracket, hopes to reach Week 11 for the first time since 1996 it’ll have to hold the line Saturday at Chicago’s Gately Stadium against No. 7 seed King (7-2).

The heavy, steady quintet of left tackle Alec Licar, left guard Tony Hizo, center Eddie Gonzalez, right guard Mikey Malawski and right tackle Michael Shanahan will once again shoulder the load of the Chargers’ double-wing offense.

“They’re not stupid, they know what our game plan is,” said coach Brian Casey. “They know if we can run the ball we’re going to be successful and if we can’t it’s going to be a long day or night.”

Headed by Julian Rios’ 736 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns and quarterback Matt Schaefer’s 467 yards and 7 scores, ACC has run for 1,902 yards and passed for 395. The Chargers’ best win this fall, 13-12 over Marmion, came without one official pass attempt.

“Our offensive line by far has been the best offensive line I’ve seen at ACC in my years here, without a doubt,” Casey said. “They’ve got size, they have the ability to move. We haven’t had to take anything out (of the playbook) based on their ability to move, to trap.”

The trap ACC must avoid defensively is watching King’s Northern Illinois-bound quarterback Nathan Powell scoot around end.

“He’s legit,” said West Chicago coach Bill Bicker, whose Wildcats lost to King 20-16 in Week 1. “We couldn’t contain him in our game. If we contain him, we should win.”

So while ACC defensive linemen Gonzalez, Hizo and Jef Kus can’t ignore the dive back, on-the-line linebackers Karlo Valenzuela and Cody Ekstrom are the first line of containment against Powell.

Aided by Bicker and Joliet West coach Jason Aubrey (who beat King 35-6) in attempts to secure film after communication to King went unreturned, Casey said the Jaguars don’t present complexity but have some of the best athletes this side of Montini.

Again, in this case the Chargers’ best defense may be a long-drive offense with the occasional explosive play.

“Based on film from Weeks 1-2 we’ll have a size advantage up front and we’ll certainly be the most committed to sticking to our game plan,” Casey said. “If we can stay within ourselves and win the line of scrimmage I think we’ll have a chance to be successful.”

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.