Glenbard East focused on winning

If Bartlett enters Friday's football game at Streamwood as Glenbard East coach John Walters believes it will - looking to "slug it out" - it's got a taker.

Glenbard East's 28-27 loss in overtime against Waubonsie Valley was not a moral victory. It left a bitter taste.

"I think last week not getting the ballgame really fueled their fire," Walters said. "We've got a hungry, not-content football team."

The Rams (3-2) should be even stronger offensively with a more complete return from injury by quarterback Drake Pusateri. A nagging lower-body injury didn't keep him from playing against Waubonsie Valley, but he wasn't at his best. Early this week Pusateri practiced without limitations, Walters said.

Junior Phil Abruzino again showed his stuff with 43 yards rushing and 250 passing with 3 fourth-quarter touchdown passes to deliver overtime. Still, Glenbard East is better with both he and the senior Pusateri, a team co-captain with lineman Ben Sullivan, receivers Joey Moore and Alex Ciszewski and linebacker Mickey Farnham.

"He's been there, he's done that, he knows what it takes and he's that real vocal leader on offense that kind of calms the waters," Walters said of Pusateri.

The coach said this team is "desperate" to show its worth, which its demeanor proved after the loss to Waubonsie.

"I think the thing I took away from it as a coach, real simply, is our kids were not satisfied with the outcome," he said. "It's been a very intense couple of days since that game. Our guys are really focused on getting back on track and winning a football game."

Bright siding:

Playing without Jack Curtis for three-plus games due to injury wasn't pleasant for Glenbard South, but it did produce a bright side.

It provided an opportunity for junior Kyle Carli to step up and solidify the quarterback spot for the Raiders.

"I've seen a lot of growth from him," said Glenbard South coach Jeremy Cordell. "There are still mistakes he makes and he needs more reps and experience, but I think he's just going to keep getting better."

With a 7-of-10 effort for 150 yards and a touchdown in last week's 41-0 Metro Suburban West win over Fenton, Carli's completed 44 of 69 passes for 547 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season.

Now that Carli's established at quarterback, it'll allow Curtis to be more effective elsewhere. Curtis returned to the lineup on Friday and made an instant impact with a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown. By the end of the game, he had nearly 100 rushing yards and a 30-yard reception.

Between Carli's emergence and the return of Curtis, an offense completely rebuilt due to mass graduations is forging its own identity. It's different from the one envisioned at the beginning of the season when Curtis was penciled in at quarterback, but it's still putting the Raiders on a winning path.

"Being able to move (Curtis) around is going to make him more valuable to us," Cordell said. "He allows every player to be better out there."

Where they want to be:

Even with its best five-game record since 2003, West Chicago (3-2) will be up against it this week hosting Batavia.

Only one team in the Upstate Eight Conference River Division has allowed fewer points than Batavia, and last week the defending Class 6A champion beat that team, St. Charles North, 21-7.

West Chicago coach Ted Monken said the Wildcats' philosophy remains one of "take what they give us." Whether it's quarterback Peyton Seidler passing to Alex Mitchell and Jake DeLuca, or Seidler, Danny Lazzerini and Parrish Benton running the ball, that could change from play to play.

Batavia obviously doesn't give much, a football team that marries smashmouth attitude and finesse.

"We're looking at Batavia as kind of our model with what they've done with their program over the last 10 years," Monken said. "Ten years ago West Chicago was beating Batavia, and Batavia's done a great job. That's kind of where we're looking to go."

Young at heart:

Did IC Catholic Prep coach Bill Krefft ever envision starting a freshman and a sophomore in his offensive backfield? Not at all.

Does leaning on that much youth make him nervous? Not at all.

Krefft might be nervous with other freshmen and sophomores, but he's completely comfortable having freshman Luke Ricobene at quarterback and sophomore Jordan Rowell at running back.

"In past years I don't know that I've seen something like that, but they're different kinds of kids," Krefft said. "The way they conduct themselves and their leadership qualities lend themselves to contribute the way they have."

Krefft continues to laud his nine seniors for their leadership of the Knights (2-3, 1-0), who topped previously unbeaten Aurora Central last week in their Metro Suburban West opener. Nine players, though, can't do it alone.

IC Catholic started three sophomores last week in addition to Ricobene. The Knights pulled out the victory behind a monster day from Rowell, who rushed for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns.

"They're very talented and they're mature beyond their years," Krefft said. "They still have a lot to learn, but they've done a great job so far."

Three phases:

Neuqua Valley comes off a program-record 69 points in last week's win over East Aurora, topping the 65 the Wildcats scored almost exactly one year ago against Metea Valley.

Quarterback Broc Rutter threw 4 touchdown passes and the Wildcats scored four times on the ground against the Tomcats, on runs by Dom Muoghalu, Charlie Hunter, Jacob Krajacic and DeVaughn Welch.

Neuqua (3-2) also scored on kickoff returns by Zach Herdman and Luke Sawicki.

"It's always fun to see your special teams do well," said Wildcats coach Bill Ellinghaus. "That's always kind of been a staple of ours. We're starting to get our special teams where we need them to be."

Neuqua started 0-2, but the whole team is starting to return to form. Nagging injuries like ones to Rutter and Muoghalu have started to clear up, improving offensive balance.

Ellinghaus credited third-year defensive coordinator Rodney Jones for providing the "only constant."

"We're throwing the ball much better now, we're executing on offense and our defense is just playing real, real strong," Ellinghaus said.