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Playoffs, Town Jug on the line in U-46 rivalry matchups

It's football rivalry week in Elgin Area School District U-46, which means it's time to determine on which side of the Fox River the Town Jug will reside for the next year.

Before we break down the matchup between Elgin and Larkin, let's first turn our attention to the “other” U-46 rivalry game, the one with playoff implications:

South Elgin at Bartlett

This is a must-win for both teams from a playoff standpoint.

Bartlett enters this game at Millennium Field in Streamwood (7:30 p.m.) with an overall record of 3-4. If the Hawks defeat South Elgin and go on to defeat winless East Aurora in Week 9, as expected, they will likely make the playoffs as a 5-4 team.

Bartlett enters Week 8 with 33 playoff points (combined wins by opponents). Last year's cutoff for playoff inclusion for 5-4 teams was 36 points. Thus, the Hawks, who missed the playoffs a year ago, would be in good shape with a win against the Storm.

“Our kids understand it's do or die,” Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said of the South Elgin game. “On top of that, a lot of these kids know each other. They went to Eastview (Middle School in Bartlett) together. I mean, half of Bartlett goes to South Elgin. And we have a couple of kids who live in South Elgin on our team because they go to our academy (of science, engineering and high technology).”

Likewise, South Elgin (4-3) can put itself into playoff consideration with a win over the Hawks, a team it blew out 46-6 last season. The Storm enter the weekend with 29 playoff points. They need to take care of business this week against their Route 59 rivals. Otherwise, they'll face a daunting win-or-go-home scenario next Friday at Waubonsie Valley (6-1).

“This is a very important game to us every year but especially with playoffs on the line,” South Elgin coach Pat Pistorio said. “When you put a lot into it, it makes you look forward to games like these even more. Just like Elgin-Larkin or any other rivalry, we have kids who shared youth leagues and shared similar experiences growing up. In practice this week they mixed things up pretty well and played with an attitude. It's been exciting to see us ramp it up even more in preparation.”

South Elgin's offense is diverse and dangerous. The Storm average 44 points per game using a two-quarterback system that features senior Hayden Nelson and junior Jake Amrhein. The two have alternated most of the season.

However, Amrhein — also a basketball and baseball player — left last week's win over Glenbard East early with a knee injury. His status for this game as of midweek was questionable, according to Pistorio.

Nelson is more than capable of handling the position, as he demonstrated last week against Glenbard East when he entered the game and completed 21 of 33 attempts for 380 yards and 4 touchdowns, including the game-winning 29-yard strike to 6-foot-3 junior Derek Kumerow with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter.

South Elgin's talented receiving corps features senior Andrew Kamienski (29 receptions, 607 yards, 5 TD), Kumerow (27 rec., 494 yards, 8 TD) and senior Nick Menken (27 rec., 446 yards, 6 TD).

However, this unit still considers itself a run-first offense, led by junior Shawn Griffin (63 carries, 538 yards, 7 TD) and senior Kyle Ware (77 carries, 532 yards, 6 TD).

“It's fun to watch some of the things you see out on the perimeter, but I'd much rather just hand the ball off to be honest,” Pistorio said.

Bartlett's defense held its first 3 opponents to 10 points per game, however, the Hawks have surrendered an average of 39 points per contest in their last 4 outings.

Offensively, Bartlett attacks with junior running back Nolan Bernat, who leads the team with 691 yards and 4 touchdowns in 155 attempts.

In less than 4 games at the position, junior quarterback Brenner Wallace (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) has thrown for 679 yards and 5 touchdowns on 51-of-94 passing (54.3 percent). Wallace took over at quarterback when the Hawks moved Jordan Flint to tight end out of necessity.

Flint replaced 6-foot-5 tight end Jason Hasenberg, who returned to action in earnest last week after missing several games due to a back injury. Against Neuqua Valley, Flint led the Hawks with 6 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown, according to Bartlett statistics.

Elgin at Larkin

One of Elgin's two public high schools will celebrate the end of a long losing streak when Elgin (0-7) squares off with Larkin (0-7) in the annual meeting for the Town Jug trophy at Memorial Field at 7:30 p.m.

Larkin has won 3 straight against Elgin and leads the all-time varsity series 33-19.

Both programs are in the process of rebuilding. Second-year Elgin coach Kyle Rohde, a 2002 Elgin graduate who never lost to Larkin as a player, seeks the first win of his coaching career. His Maroons enter with a 19-game losing streak that predates his hiring.

He and the Maroons are cautiously optimistic heading into the Jug game due to some good signs in recent weeks. The Elgin offense has responded well under the direction of senior Dontrell Gaddy (6-0, 175), who returned to the quarterback position two weeks ago. In a losing cause last week, the senior signalcaller threw for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns, rushed 21 times for 151 yards and contributed 71 yards on kick and punt returns.

“We move up and down the field more efficiently with Dontrell in there,” Rohde said. “I think the guys around him trust him. Obviously, it goes a long way when you're trusting the guy who is touching the ball every play. I hope for him to have a good night again whether it be running or passing.”

Elgin's offensive line has played better in recent weeks, led by 6-foot-3, 250-pound senior Alex Guerrero. Rohde said the Maroons will run some plays that put Guerrero “in position to be successful, which should help (fullback) Austin Waarich and (tailback) Trae Sallis up the middle.”

Coach Dragan Teonic has never minced words when it comes to describing the difficulty he and his staff have faced in trying to affect a total culture change at Larkin. This week was no different. The first-year coach said Wednesday he was disappointed in his team's lack of focus and leadership through the first three practices of Elgin week.

“I just don't know which team is going to show up on Friday,” Teonic said. “I expected this to be a playoff atmosphere this week from everything I've heard about the Elgin-Larkin game, but I haven't seen any of that intensity in practice. What I have seen is internal strife and kids who are trying to be leaders being met with resistance from other kids.

“There is no answer besides hard work and we refuse to do it. And that's too bad because this could be exciting. We're capable of winning this game.”

Larkin seeks to end an 11-game losing streak, led by sophomore quarterback David Hibbler and junior defensive back/wide receiver AJ Hunter. Hibbler has completed 40 of 81 attempts for 490 yards. He has thrown 6 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Hunter has 42 receptions for 594 yards and 6 touchdowns.

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