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Naperville Central ready to enter 'hornet's nest'

For two football programs traveling in completely different circles, Friday's showdown between Naperville Central and Batavia will have a reunion feel to it.

Two years ago in DeKalb, Naperville Central won the Class 8A title just hours after Batavia claimed the Class 6A crown. This weekend's game doesn't carry near the significance, but it's still much anticipated.

When the DuPage Valley Conference and Upstate Eight Conference agreed to a crossover series of seven games for the 2105 season, this is the one fans circled on the calendar.

The random draw may not have favored either team, but it sure created a buzz. While the Redhawks enter the weekend with a 4-1 record, Batavia is unbeaten.

"It's a tough draw for both of us," said Redhawks coach Mike Stine. "But I also see it as an opportunity for both of us."

The DVC - after crossover wins the last two weeks by Neuqua Valley and Glenbard North - has a 2-1 edge on the UEC so far. Naperville Central leads the DVC with only 49 points allowed the entire season, while Batavia is scoring an average of 39 points a game.

Beyond Xs and Os, though, Stine's simply looking forward to the atmosphere in Batavia.

"It's a great atmosphere," he said. "We know we're going into a hornet's nest."

On the mend:

Wheaton Warrenville South finally is getting a little healthier.

The Tigers - after dropping four straight games - hope it isn't happening a little too late.

For the second straight season they fell to 1-4 with a 20-8 loss to Naperville Central. Last year WW South recovered to win six straight games, qualify for the playoffs and reach the Class 7A quarterfinals.

Sitting on the verge of elimination from playoff contention isn't ideal, but based on experience the Tigers also realize it's not the end of the season. For starters, though, a Friday win over Waubonsie Valley is a must.

"We're not even talking about the playoffs right now," said Tigers coach Ron Muhitch. "We're just talking about winning a game and learning to win."

Junior quarterback Matt Dohse, injured heading into the season, saw his first action last week and provided a spark with his athleticism and running ability. The expected return this week of running back J.J. Johnson and linebacker Will Bach might add even more of a spark.

With the toughest part of its schedule in the rear-view mirror, WW South might still have enough for a run.

"We've had to shift our philosophy out of necessity with all the injuries we've had, but we're doing OK," Muhitch said. "We are what we are at this point, and we have to make the best of it."

Balancing act:

Heading into the season Benet expected its defense to carry the load through the early part of the schedule, and with good reason. Lineman Trent Kramer and linebacker Charlie Weidenbach lead a unit talented enough to hold its own against the high-powered offenses filling the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

The last few weeks, however, the Redwings' offense is more than holding its own. As Benet has improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the ESCC, its diverse firepower is a main reason why.

"We've really done a nice job offensively," said Benet coach Pat New. "A lot of players are stepping up for us."

Quarterback Jack Sznajder has thrown for nearly 1,100 yards, including 580 the last two weeks. Fellow junior Marty Dosen has rushed for 503 yards behind an improving offensive line.

Perhaps the biggest key has been the emergence of a big, athletic receiving corps led by Robert Bordignon, Karl Schmidt, Will O'Grady and Matt Tromp.

It's a combination that's helped the Redwings score 59 points the last two weeks in critical ESCC victories over St. Patrick and Marist. Another big conference matchup awaits Friday at defending league and Class 6A champion Nazareth.

"You never get a break in this conference," New said.

The McGrath factor:

Lisle senior quarterback Alex Van Volkenburg left the Lions' Week 4 43-0 win over Westmont with an injury late in the third quarter, replaced by junior Mark McGrath, a starting receiver and linebacker.

Van Volkenburg was unable to play last week - it's hoped he returns Friday against Reed-Custer - while McGrath's versatility paced a 44-14 win over Seneca with 31 unanswered second-half points.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder completed 3 of 4 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns to Christian Grego and Nick Massura, made 5 tackles, returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown and kicked 3 extra points plus a 22-yard field goal.

"He's a special athlete," said assistant coach Mark LaScala, who coaches McGrath in basketball.

Lisle coach Paul Parpet Sr. would prefer to have Van Volkenburg behind center and McGrath as a receiving threat, but he enjoyed the performance.

"Mark came in and did a very good job, ran the team, did what I expected him to do," Parpet said. "It's the next-man-up mentality and he's the guy."

Parpet hopes his guys don't let homecoming high jinks get the better of them against Friday's winless opponent. At 3-2 Lisle on paper has a decent shot at getting one step closer to the playoffs, but ahead lies 4-1 Herscher, 3-2 Coal City and 4-1 Plano. The latter two play in the Interstate Eight Large Division, which traditionally owns the Small.

"We can't take anybody lightly and I hope they understand that," Parpet said.

Running clock goals:

The rule to initiate a running clock after a 40-point second-half margin was designed to make the best of a bad situation.

Montini and St. Francis both won by at least 41 points last week, Montini's second straight running-clock win with a chance at a third against St. Joseph at Elmhurst College on Friday.

Though neither the loser nor the winner is really psyched to see lopsided games, the winning team still gets something out of it.

"What we're trying to do is we're trying to break the game down into smaller parts, concentrate on those situations, execute and then obviously you want to get all your kids in the game," said Montini coach Chris Andriano.

St. Francis coach Mike Fitzgerald agreed: "Just working on execution. You're always getting better, every week."

Going into last week's game against first-year program Catalyst/Maria, Fitzgerald took the opportunity to try out running back Will Purdom at receiver and give both Nolan Pechan and John Krisco more carries out of the backfield. It was a successful strategy - Pechan ran for 120 yards and 3 touchdowns - that may pay dividends against this week's much stronger foe, St. Laurence.

Plus, Fitzgerald also was happy to unload the bench.

"It's fun for them, too, because they're working hard every day," he said.

The fun begins:

After a four-week nonconference slate that included a combined 13-2 record against Metro Suburban Conference crossover foes, last week it got real in the Metro Suburban West.

Conference favorites Glenbard South, IC Catholic and Riverside-Brookfield all won their first league games at the expense of Fenton, Wheaton Academy and Aurora Central Catholic.

This week's heavyweight bout is IC at R-B, a combined 9-1, while Wheaton Academy looks to get a handle on Glenbard South and battering ram running back Sean Cooke. The visiting Raiders' two losses came against the sternest nonconference foes on any schedule in the league, Addison Trail and Glenbard East.

In its West opener Wheaton Academy made strides but fell 31-21 to Riverside-Brookfield despite 3 more David Thrasher touchdown passes - he's up to 17 on the season - including 2 to Harrison Taylor. A battle till the end but no cause for moral victory, said coach Brad Thornton.

"The good thing is our guys showed more fight than they've shown in my three years," he said.

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