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Considering all options

There's a theory in prep football that the biggest improvement comes between Week 1 and Week 2.

Eyes on Five won't make that same claim.

But we do return this week with some of our swirling thoughts.

1. Mud bowl:

Poor Duchon Field.

After weeks of little rain, of course a seemingly unending deluge had to strike Glenbard West's historic home field in the hours leading up to Saturday afternoon's season opener against Bolingbrook.

A lightning delay of more than an hour didn't help. It simply allowed more time for rain to swamp one of the area's few remaining grass stadiums.

Duchon Field was fragile heading into the season, and Saturday's game hurt it pretty badly. With three straight home games to start the season, it could be a rough and muddy fall.

To preserve the field - and ease concerns about player safety - there was speculation that Saturday's game might be moved to artificially turfed Glenbard South just south of Duchon. But that wasn't a realistic option for Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet.

"I don't ever want to move a game from Duchon," Hetlet said. "There's magic here for us. Our kids want to play here."

Hetlet said Monday night that Duchon already had been rolled and patched. It's still beat up, but a week of hot and dry weather should prevent a bad situation from becoming too much worse in the short term.

The problem, though, is a bunch of damage already has been done.

Glenbard West plays five home games this regular season. Then comes the playoffs, where a couple more home games are likely if the Hilltoppers' recent postseason history is any indication.

In other words ... rain, rain stay away.

2. Option football:

Last week we talked about scheduling options for the DuPage Valley Conference next season. Because the DVC has nine schools, one team needs to find a nonconference game each week while eight of the teams play each other.

The Upstate Eight Conference crosses over with the DVC for that one game a week this season, but it's only a one-year deal. Next season the DVC hopes to cross over with another conference that's in a similar situation, but those situations aren't easy to find.

Might the Southwest Suburban Conference be an option?

On Aug. 13 the Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 school board voted to close Lincoln-Way North at the end of the school year to help alleviate budget concerns. While the community heartbreak lingers, the reality for Southwest Suburban Red Conference athletic directors is that there's suddenly a hole in next year's football schedule.

It's possible the seven remaining schools in the Southwest Suburban Red could cross over with the league's Blue Division or someone else, but it's also possible the DVC could step in to fill that hole.

Even if it's only for a year, it'd give the DVC time to try and return to an even number of schools.

3. Numbers crunch:

One coach during the preseason told me he had seven freshmen come out for football. The numbers were sure to rise with the start of the school year, but the trend is clear.

Numbers continue to drop for football programs across the board.

Levels like Freshman C and Sophomore B are being eliminated, and in some cases freshman and sophomore classes are being merged into one team.

It all comes down to fears about player safety. Even with the athletes playing football, I've heard of some not wanting to play certain positions and others declining promotions to varsity from the sophomore level.

It's a trend that'll continue until there's definitive proof that safety initiatives are significantly reducing injuries.

4. Heat indexing:

Probably not the best weekend to head down to St. Louis to play one of the state's most-storied football programs, but that's the situation Montini finds itself in for Week 2.

With temperatures expected to be in the mid-90s with high humidity in southern Illinois, the Broncos and Flyers square off at 6 p.m. Saturday in a terrific showdown between teams coming off big opening wins. Montini edged Maine South and East St. Louis topped Simeon.

The heat index will be through the roof. There may be some relief as the sun goes down, but it'll be tough sledding for athletes in full football gear.

Let me offer one piece of advice: start hydrating now.

5. Stat time:

Westmont running back Manny Harper tied a program record dating back to 1997 by rushing for 5 touchdowns in a 49-14 win over Chicago Christian. The 5-foot-10, 194-pound junior ran for 195 yards on 11 carries, with one of his scores going for 91 yards.

Did we mention he did all that in one half of play?

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@kevin_schmit

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