West Aurora closing in on 1st playoff berth since 1994

The excitement level at West Aurora is higher than it has been in decades with the football team on the cusp of playoff qualification.

The Blackhawks, who have not made a playoff appearance since 1994, enter Saturday's 1 p.m. game at Upstate Eight Valley leading South Elgin (5-1, 2-0) with a 4-2 overall record, 2-1 in division play.

"Just to be playing meaningful games in Week 7, I mean, it's been a long time," said Blackhawks coach Nate Eimer, a 2001 West Aurora graduate who was an eighth-grader at Holy Angels School in Aurora the last time the Blackhawks made the playoffs.

"The boys golf team just won a conference title for the first time since the 1980s, the girls volleyball team won a conference title and we're excited because we know we have a great challenge this weekend," Eimer added. "It's an exciting time to be around West Aurora."

The Blackhawks conclude the regular season against Glenbard East (4-2) and Metea Valley (2-4).

Three and out? Westminster Christian remains on track to secure its first playoff berth in its third year of varsity football.

However, this may be the final chapter of this feel-good story unless participation numbers at the Elgin private school make a sharp turnaround between now and next fall.

Westminster Christian is succeeding this season, in part, because 10 of the 20 players on the all-school roster are seniors. That also means the program will be hit hard by graduation losses.

"We're hoping and praying for a miracle on that because right now we'll lose half of our team," said John Davis, Westminster Christian's first and only head coach. "And we don't have a middle school team and we don't have any freshmen on our team. And we only have a couple of eighth graders. We're projecting 10-12 returners, and that's not going to be enough, especially when you have a couple of injuries like we have right now. It makes it tough."

The school's enrollment dipped slightly this fall to 193 students, which is actually good news for the football program in the short term, according to Westminster athletic director Rick Palmer, who points out Illinois private schools with an enrollment below 200 can form co-op teams with schools of similar size.

The Northeastern Athletic Conference is no stranger to co-op football. Christian Liberty Academy of Schaumburg co-ops with Christian Heritage of Northbrook and Alden-Hebron co-ops with Faith Lutheran of Crystal Lake.

Palmer said he recently received permission from the school's board to to begin contacting schools about forming a co-op.

"We do want to look at our options, especially in regard to co-oping," he said. "We'll be investigating our options over the next few months. Our hope is maybe some kids who played as freshmen and didn't play the last year or two will come back out for football. And, obviously, a few transfers would help.

"Hopefully, it's just some growing cramps. We have to figure out some things in the next three or four months."

Meanwhile, the postseason push continues unabated. The Warriors (4-2, 4-2) can become playoff eligible with a homecoming victory against Hiawatha (3-3, 3-3) under temporary lights at Warrior Field on Friday at 7 p.m.

Technology in action: South Elgin's offensive linemen are watching television during games, but that hardly makes them couch, er, bench potatoes.

The Storm linemen are benefiting from new software that allows them to view game film on the bench moments after a play ends, thanks to a product called Echo1612.

With the Echo system, a game camera is connected to a laptop at the press box level, where an assistant coach immediately tags each play with down, distance and other applicable markers that allow the coaching staff to sort plays quickly.

The laptop then sends the video to an iPad at field level via a wireless network. The iPad is connected to a flat-screen television in front of a designated South Elgin bench with an HDMI cord.

Offensive line coach Matt Gehrig not only can control which play is being shown, he can use the iPad as a telestrator.

"It really lets coach Gehrig show the guys what he needs them to do, and it allows us to make important in-game adjustments," South Elgin coach Pat Pistorio said.

South Elgin's use of the Echo system was approved by IHSA Executive Director-elect Craig Anderson, Pistorio said, under National Federation of High Schools rule 1.6.1.2, which expanded the use of communication devices to "any form of available technology during authorized conference outside the 9-yard marks, on the sidelines and during halftime intermission period."

Echo retails for approximately $1,300.

Strike one, strike two: Cary-Grove, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A in this week's AP poll, received a forfeit win last Friday due to the ongoing teachers strike in McHenry District 156.

By the time the Trojans play Saturday's 1 p.m. homecoming game against Jacobs, 15 days will have passed since they last took the field at Huntley on Sept. 25.

"It feels like August, waiting to play our first game," Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said Tuesday.

Dundee-Crown is McHenry's scheduled opponent this week, though that Fox Valley Conference Valley Division game is likewise in jeopardy considering District 156 officials and the union are not scheduled to negotiate again until Thursday evening.

"We're planning on playing. We want to play on Friday and I'm sure their kids are in the same boat," Dundee-Crown coach Mike Steinhaus said. "We'll do what we have to do."

Coming on strong: St. Charles East continues to improve in the triple option offense and 3-3-5 defense, both installed over the summer.

The Saints (2-4, 2-2) nearly upset unbeaten Geneva last week. East led the state-ranked Vikings 26-21 before yielding a touchdown pass to Ryan Skibinski from quarterback Sean Chambers with 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The 27-26 loss leaves the Saints needing to sweep their final 3 games of the regular season at Larkin (0-6), against St. Charles North (4-2) and at East Aurora (1-5) to gain playoff consideration. Coach Bryce Farquhar said his improving team has the ability to pull it off.

"We've always had faith and trust in this team," Farquhar said. "We just continue to get better every week and last week we saw great improvement. It's really starting to click as far as personnel, and you can really see that in the film."

Nothing to lose: Crystal Lake South failed to make the playoffs last season with a 4-5 record, but the Gators all but assured themselves a spot in the 2015 postseason with last week's 41-6 homecoming victory over Dundee-Crown.

It was the fifth straight win for CL South (5-1, 2-0 Fox Valley Valley) since a 21-14 loss in the season opener to state-ranked Marian Central.

A playoff bid would end a two-year drought for a proud program that reached the postseason 12 straight times between 2001-2012.

"By my calculations we should have a minimum of 40 (playoff) points with a chance for perhaps 43 or 44, which has been enough in the past," sixth-year coach Chuck Ahsmann said.

A young team overall, particularly on offense, the Gators played 3 of their last 4 games at home. They finish the regular season on the road against the top three teams in the FVC Valley: Huntley (6-0, 2-0), Jacobs (5-1, 1-1) and Cary-Grove (5-1, 1-1).

The Gators have nothing to lose, according to their coach.

"We feel like we're in," Ahsmann said of the playoffs. "Now, it's a matter of playing for the conference and seeing where we go from there."