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Old rivals learning old rivalry

Paul Parpet Sr. is in his first year coaching Lisle. Otto Zeman is in his second at Westmont. These old-schoolers are new to their respective programs, so most of the rivalry heat in Friday's ninth annual game for the Old Plank Road Trophy may come from the players.

“I don't know that much about it,” Parpet said. “I know that we play for it, the kids have talked about it. They know more about it than I do. My job's to get the kids ready and have them enjoy their Friday nights.”

The two schools have played 34 times, but the Old Plank Road Trophy — actually a plaque — debuted in 2006. Lisle won last year's contest 28-0 to take a 6-2 lead in the game for the traveling trophy. Westmont last earned it with a 28-20 victory in 2011.

“I don't know anything about it. I just know we need to win a football game on Friday,” said Zeman, who first squared off against Parpet when they coached in the Des Plaines Valley League, Zeman with Riverside-Brookfield and Parpet with Addison Trail.

Both teams stand 1-2 entering Friday's game at Westmont, and both coaches took different stances on last week's outings.

Zeman hopes to instill more mental toughness after the Sentinels squandered a 20-14 third-quarter lead in a 36-20 loss to Herscher. Sentinels quarterback Kyle Domin ran for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns and defensive back Dimitrios Latsonas returned an interception 75 yards to score.

“There are no moral victories,” Zeman said.

Interstate Eight Conference heavy Wilmington followed Mark McGrath's 24-yard field goal with 34 unanswered points to defeat Lisle 34-3. Parpet remained enthused. He'd feared a physical schooling but felt Lisle gave as good as it got.

“If we get that type of effort we're going to be a team that's going to be very competitive,” he said.

Backfield in motion:

And Glenbard North thought the first two weeks of the season were bad with injuries.

The Panthers beat Brooks 37-0 last weekend, but the victory came at a cost. Quarterback Brett Gasiorowski, a returning starter, missed the game due to injury and the Panthers were also without starting running back Vittorio Tricase.

Sophomore Shane Conway started Saturday's game at quarterback while Devion Hodges was at running back. Both went down during the Brooks game, however, forcing defensive back Andrew Gawlik to play quarterback and fellow defensive back Justin Pitts to play running back.

So far this season the Panthers have turned to six quarterbacks, including Hodges, Charlie Detloff and David Chamberlain.

“I don't know anyone who's seen this many injuries to one position,” said Panthers coach Ryan Wilkens. “We were going through everyone on the roster to get them up to speed.”

Better news looms on the horizon. Gasiorowski and Hodges both should return for this week's game against Naperville North, whom the Panthers also play in Week 9. Glenbard North's also made a few offensive line adjustments to help keep the ground game churning and the pass protection strong.

To dig out of a 1-2 hole to start the season, the Panthers know they need to stay healthy.

“Through the years we've been pretty fortunate with injuries, but this year we've been hit hard,” Wilkens said. “We need to find a way to keep everyone upright.”

Old rival, new location:

Coming over from Marist, St. Francis coach Mike Fitzgerald has some history against the Spartans' opponent this week, Brother Rice.

“I'm sure they'll be gunning for me,” he said.

Marist's former offensive coordinator helped his old team go 2-1 against Brother Rice, Marist winning the last two years. The two schools don't share conferences but their proximity — “14 blocks from each other right down Pulaski Street,” Fitzgerald said — makes for a rivalry.

Against first-time foe Brother Rice, a Chicago Catholic League crossover opponent, St. Francis (2-1) doesn't need to go far for a scouting report.

“Having played them the last three years gives me some comfort level and the kids some comfort level,” Fitzgerald said.

First thoughts:

Last week Glenbard East played its first game in the Upstate Eight Conference, facing two-time defending Valley division champ Neuqua Valley right off the bat.

“It was great — great competition, a well-coached team,” said Glenbard East coach John Walters. “They're big, physical. It was great high school football. Unfortunately it was 40 degrees and raining.”

As it was several seasons ago when nearly every Friday night brought rain, that may be our lot in 2014. Walters hopes, like the U.S. Postal Service, the Rams can deliver regardless of conditions.

Not including Dom Wilbertson's 1-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 Glenbard East, the coach counted several offensive plays the Rams would like back in their 26-6 loss to Neuqua.

Starting quarterback Drake Pusateri, who suffered a lower-body injury early Week 2 against Oswego East and missed the Neuqua game, may return Friday at East Aurora. Or he may rest for Week 5 against Waubonsie Valley.

Whether it's the DuPage Valley Conference or the UEC, Walters sees Glenbard East (2-1) playing “nine playoff games every year,” he said.

“It's a high school football game. It was good,” he said about the UEC debut. “Other than the fact that we didn't do the things necessary to make the game more competitive.”

Maintaining focus:

Naperville North suffered a huge blow when returning running back Leon Hardy went down with a preseason injury, but that hasn't shifted the Huskies' focus on offense.

With a battering ram of an offensive line, they still want to run the ball.

“It's a huge loss,” said Naperville North coach Sean Drendel. “It becomes more of a committee. It forces our offensive line to step up and it gives other backs a chance to step up.”

Running backs Mikey Caldarrazo and Morgan Osborne have combined for 62 carries, 283 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, but athletic quarterback Chris Gajcak actually leads the team with 42 carries for 262 yards. Even through personnel shifts the Huskies are taking advantage of their power up front with Jake Bashaw, Joe Gissler and Jake Prucha.

“Because of losing Leon, we've run Chris a little bit more than we have,” Drendel said. “He's so athletic out there, we like to keep the ball in his hands.”

Despite starting the season with two impressive wins, the Huskies come off a 40-7 loss to Phillips knowing they have work to do. As much as they want to focus on the run, Drendel also believes in the potential of Gajcak's ability to pass the ball effectively.

Facing Glenbard North (1-2) this weekend, Naperville North (2-1) needs to bounce back in a hurry.

“It's never as high as you think and never as low as you think,” Drendel said. “A lot of stuff is fixable. We'll get better.”

Remember when:

For Lake Park, it's always been about the finish.

It's the best way to understand the stunning fact that the Lancers won their first two games of the season for the first time since 2002 when they advanced to the state quarterfinals. Even in 2003, when they made it to the semifinals, the Lancers lost their opener to Naperville Central.

“I've always thought we should play the best teams, so I always liked playing the top teams early in the season,” said Lake Park coach Chris Roll. “For whatever reason we just weren't able to pull out some of those games.”

Since winning their first two games in 2002, the Lancers lost their opener or their second game to either Naperville Central, Lake Zurich, Glenbard East or Conant. This year they rolled to victories over Conant and Lockport by a combined margin of 42-6 and extended their winning streak to three with last week's forfeit win over Raby.

With a Friday win over Wheaton North, Lake Park would inch a step closer to its 7-0 start in 2002.

“Every team in our program lost to Wheaton North last year, but I like the tone with our group right now,” Roll said. “We've got a good focus, we're healthy and we've got a long memory.”

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