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Learning from our Week 1 football lessons

Where do we go from here?

Coaches talk about the training of “nine months for nine weeks,” but I'm wondering how many football players actually maintain that kind of perspective when nine months of training leads up to one monumental opening night.

This week's Eyes on Five looks at the impact opening night can have on an entire season.

1. Up arrow:

If you want an apples-to-apples comparison, look no further than Wheaton North.

Two years ago a season-opening loss turned into an 0-3 start. Last season's opening loss — an overtime gut-wrencher to Wheaton Warrenville South — became an 0-2 start. In both seasons the Falcons finished 4-5 and just missed the playoffs.

Flash forward to Friday when Wheaton North beat WW South 36-21. You could almost feel the sense of relief from the Falcons that a season finally started on a positive note.

Where will they go from here? It's a question that'll take eight more weeks to answer.

No team — win or lose — wants to put any undue importance on a season opener, but how do you pull the reins on the hype of an opening win over a cross-town rival?

The challenge will be for the Falcons to come back down to earth for Friday's nonconference matchup against Joliet Catholic. Win that and the path to five wins and a playoff berth becomes much more clear.

2. Down arrow:

Clarity hit Downers Grove North when last week's loss to Lockport sank in.

Last year the Trojans beat Lockport in the season opener and survived a four-game losing streak to reach the playoffs at 5-4. It won't take long to find out the kind of damage Friday's loss inflicted.

Downers North should even its record this weekend with a win over Proviso East, but then the same four-game West Suburban Silver gauntlet awaits — consecutive games against powerhouses Hinsdale Central, Glenbard West, Oak Park and Lyons Twp.

If the Trojans lose all four games for a second straight season, they'll be out of the playoff picture by Week 7. They must win at least one of those games to stay alive for the postseason heading into the cross-town home game against Downers Grove South.

3. Mixed morale:

At the other end of Wheaton North's victory was WW South. How do the Tigers — or any team — recover from an opening loss to their cross-town rival?

Talk about pressure.

It's another angle of the DuPage Valley Conference's curse. No one wants to play their rival in the season opener, but that's what happens when there are four league games every week...including Week 1.

Opening with a rival presents the dual danger of building up the game too much and then suffering a letdown the week after. Think Naperville North and Central want to play in an opener, or Waubonsie and Neuqua Valley?

Of course not. But when the DVC eventually draws its 2018 schedule, that's exactly what might happen.

4. Most impressive:

Regardless of Week 1 results, it generally takes a few weeks to figure out where teams stand.

Four DuPage County teams, though, looked way too impressive to ignore — Glenbard North, Glenbard West, IC Catholic Prep and Naperville North.

The most impressive opening performance? Geez...tough choice, but I'm going with IC Catholic Prep (mainly because it's an easy excuse to give a plug to one of my favorite players, Northern Illinois-bound running back Jordan Rowell).

The Knights hammered defending Class 3A champion Bishop McNamara 34-0. The Fightin' Irish beat IC Catholic Prep 49-32 in last year's opener and 42-14 in the state semifinals, then came into this season as the state's top-ranked team in 3A.

With last week's dominant performance, the Knights are ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Class 3A poll. They'll add to their impressive resume if they beat St. Laurence this weekend.

5. Stat time:

Is offense ahead of the defense early in the season? Try these numbers on for size.

Last week Peoria running back Geno Hess carried the ball an amazing 64 times for 574 yards and 8 touchdowns. Turns out he needed every last one of those yards in a 70-63 marathon win over Normal West.

Surprisingly, neither mark is an IHSA record. Austin's DeAndre Hooper rushed for 593 yards in a 1996 game. Three players have rushed for 10 touchdowns in a game while seven other players have rushed for eight.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit

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