Week 7, Metro Suburban: St. Edward meets Ridgewood in East Division test
St. Edward (4-2, 2-0) at Ridgewood (4-2, 2-0)
Metro Suburban (East)
Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday
Last week: St. Edward 41, Walther Christian 0; Ridgewood 52, Chicago Christian 19
Last year: St. Edward 38, Ridgewood 0
Outlook: The winner of this showdown between first-place teams gains the inside track to the Metro Suburban East title. Neither faces an opponent with a winning record in the final two weeks. Both squads walloped lesser teams last Friday. St. Edward won its homecoming game 41-0 in a contest played at Northern Illinois University. Coach Mike Rolando hopes his team enters this key division game with the same intensity as the Rebels, who will play before a homecoming crowd. "Coming off NIU and all that excitement my biggest fear is coming out flat against a team fighting for their playoff lives," Rolando said. "Our job is to pump them up and make them realize the importance of this key conference game. It could be the difference between a home playoff game or an away game. It's an important game. I hope the boys realize it and play like it." The Green Wave enter as healthy as they've been since the season opener. Linebacker/running back Patrick Brown returned to action in earnest last week and defensive end Joey Murray returns from a shoulder injury. Running back Dwayne Allen has missed two games and halves of two others, but last week returned to form with 12 rushes for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Mlinarich threw 3 touchdown passes against Walther Christian. He has completed 34 of 60 attempts for 474 yards and 4 scores.
Next week: St. Edward at Chicago Christian (1-5); Ridgewood at Guerin (2-4)
Aurora Central Catholic (3-3, 1-1) at Glenbard South (4-2, 2-0)Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday.
The quick hit: Last week Glenbard South's Sean Cooke set school records with 314 yards rushing, 7 touchdown runs. Getting him the ball remains the key. Dillon Valdez, Raiders' defensive player of the week, Jimmy Ebbole and Talha Ayman again look to play fast.
IC Catholic Prep (5-1, 2-0) at Wheaton Academy (4-2, 0-2)Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday.
The quick hit: IC's Jordan Rowell has 705 yards rushing. After allowing big ground gains last week to Glenbard South, the Warriors' Steven Sellers and Grady Crawford will target the junior. IC linebacker Anthony Silva will help against Wheaton's weapons.
Riverside-Brookfield (5-1, 1-1) at Fenton (2-4, 0-2)Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday.
The quick hit: After falling 15-7 to IC, Riverside-Brookfield quarterback-linebacker Ryan Swift will be primed to get back on track. Fenton's Greg Cazares and Eric Lonergan each had solid games last week with 61 and 60 yards rushing, respectively.