Finley the latest in a line of workhorse Glenbard North RBs
No matter the week, surprises loom around every corner during football season.
DuPage County experienced its share of surprises in Week 5, and this week's edition of Eyes on Five looks closer at the biggest.
And, as always, Eyes on Five looks to the future.
Next:
I take pride in my ability to rattle off the names of Glenbard North's feature running backs since I started covering DuPage Valley Conference football full time in 1999.
Brian Mitchell, Anthony Beljung, Matt Smith, Scott Doll, Tyler Doll, Evin Natick, Phil Jackson, Justin Jackson, Devion Hodges, Vittorio Tricase.
Nearly all of them were two-year starters and 1,000-yard rushers. Workhorse running backs, in fact, have been the trademark of Glenbard North football for decades.
Heading into this season, however, for the first time I couldn't name Glenbard North's feature running back. We've seen defensive starters Jayleen Fitzpatrick and Anthony Marre in the backfield, and we've seen 100-yard performances by Quintin Terry and Maksym Shershen.
What we hadn't seen in four weeks was "the guy." The guy for Glenbard North who carries the offense by dominating the ground game.
We finally saw it last Friday when junior Mark Finley made his season debut.
Finley, who's 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, missed the first four weeks but made a memorable first start by carrying the ball 46 times for 298 yards and a touchdown in a 20-7 victory over Naperville North that handed the Huskies their first loss.
"It looked vintage Glenbard North," said Naperville North coach Sean Drendel.
To put Finley's effort in perspective, Justin Jackson - now a record-setting running back at Northwestern who rushed for 6,500 yards in three seasons with the Panthers - carried the ball 42 times in a 405-yard effort against Naperville Central. Last season Tricase topped out at 39 carries in a game.
While it's too early to anoint Finley the next Glenbard North superstar running back, his emergence might be coming at the perfect time for Glenbard North.
With Finley in the mix, Fitzpatrick and Marre can focus solely on defensive play. Fitzpatrick's fresher legs showed against Naperville North when the linebacker had an interception and recovered a fumble.
If Glenbard North ends up thriving with Finley grounding and pounding behind a Jose Vazquez-led offensive line, watch out for the Panthers.
DVC dreaming:
In 2018-19 the DuPage Valley Conference shrinks to five schools due to the departure of Glenbard North, Lake Park, Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South. Planning for the future is well underway, and it's far from ideal.
As of now the five schools - Metea Valley, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley - must play two league teams twice. Rivals Naperville North and Naperville Central will play each other twice, as will Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley. The first matchup won't count in the conference standings.
Nonconference games haven't been easy to find, but next year's DVC schedules are filling up.
Metea Valley plays Bradley-Bourbonnais, Lake Park and WW South. Naperville Central has Hinsdale Central, Lincoln-Way East and Cary-Grove. Naperville North faces Simeon, Batavia and Huntley. Waubonsie Valley plays Oak Park, Edwardsville and Prairie Ridge.
As of now, Neuqua Valley has only two nonconference games on its schedule and still has a Week 1 opening.
Again, less than ideal.
Heads up:
There's never-ending hope that technology will save football from a slow and steady demise due to decreasing participation numbers at the youth and high school levels. It's well-documented that safety concerns are driving kids from the sport.
Riddell and Schutt are the dominant helmet makers in the industry, and both companies continue to unveil new products in an attempt to keep players safe.
Vicis is a relative newcomer to the market, but its Zero1 helmet was the top-ranked model in recent testing by the NFL and NFLPA.
The Zero1, which claims greater safety through four layers of various protection, is being used by numerous college and NFL teams. Proponents of the Zero1 believe it will prevent head injuries, and I hope that's true.
But if history tells us anything, time will be the ultimate judge.
I've been around football long enough to remember so many different football helmets. Interior webbing replaced by cushions, bars and visors added to face masks. Who could ever forget the helmet caps in the 1980s and 1990s?
The technological evolution has been a double-edged sword. The promise of added safety created a dangerous sense of invulnerability among players who felt they could launch themselves like human missiles with no consequences.
We'll see what happens with the newest generation of helmets, knowing the next generation is already in the technological pipeline.
Lost in a haze:
Last week the sport was rocked by hazing allegations at Wheaton College, a disturbing revelation that became national news and led to criminal charges. On Monday, Niles North High School administrators sent a letter to parents declaring varsity football operations are being suspended due to a hazing incident.
How does this keep happening?
No matter how much education and how much effort is invested into anti-hazing and anti-bullying awareness, these incidents keep popping up. It's disgusting, and it needs to stop.
It's up to every facet of a football program to prevent any level of hazing. Player, coach, trainer, manager...everyone needs to pitch in.
Football has enough issues to deal with right now. Let's not add to the pile with stupidity like this.
Stat time:
As the lone unbeaten team at 5-0, Naperville Central is the only DuPage County team that can clinch a playoff berth with a win this week.
Seven 4-1 teams - Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, IC Catholic Prep, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Wheaton North and Willowbrook - become playoff eligible with wins.
At 0-5, Glenbard East, Metea Valley, Wheaton Warrenville South and York are likely eliminated from playoff contention. St. Francis, at 1-4, likely needs to win its final four games to stay alive for the postseason.
Follow Kevin on Twitter