Wheaton College, North Central College aiming for a rematch

An epic yet familiar college football clash looms on the horizon.

First, North Central College and Wheaton College have some work to do. The NCAA Division III playoffs begin Saturday and the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin rivals each host noon playoff games.

Ranked fourth by the American Football Coaches Association and No. 5 by D3football.com, North Central (10-0) hosts unranked Rose-Hulman (Indiana) at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

Wheaton (9-1), ranked No. 12 by the AFCA and No. 13 by D3football, hosts consensus No. 25 Huntingdon (Alabama) at McCully Stadium.

Should each DuPage County program advance they would play a second-round rematch of the Oct. 15 contest North Central won 35-25 in Naperville.

Coaches of both teams, which produced a combined 26 all-CCIW players including the league's offensive and defensive players of the year, stress that no one is looking ahead.

"Huntingdon is gonna give us all we want," Wheaton College's 21-year coach Mike Swider said of the 9-1 Hawks. They won a second straight USA South Conference championship behind quarterback Luke Bailey's 377 total yards and 4 touchdowns in a 42-14 win over Averett on Nov. 12.

To an extent it'll be immovable object against impenetrable force. Huntingdon's 48.8 points rank fifth in Division III while Wheaton is 18th in scoring defense at 14.2 points per game. The Thunder, featuring CCIW defensive player of the year Caleb Ashby at linebacker, is second in the country in rushing defense and trails only North Central College in quarterback sacks.

"We're playing really good defense right now," said Swider, who also has second-team all-CCIW linebacker Luke Sahly of Wheaton North making an impact. "Offensively, we're playing well as well. We're peaking at the right time, running the ball well, explosive in the passing game. I feel good about our football team."

Its furthest run being a 2008 semifinal appearance, Wheaton College is making its third straight playoff appearance. The Thunder's closest rival, North Central College, is back for the first time since 12-time and defending national champion Mt. Union beat the Cardinals 41-40 in the 2013 semifinals.

"We've been itching to get back into the playoffs and measuring ourselves against the best teams in the country," said Cardinals coach Jeff Thorne, named CCIW coach of the year on Tuesday.

Rose-Hulman (8-2) isn't necessarily one of those, but in the playoffs anything can happen.

The Fightin' Engineers made the 32-team field on a tiebreaker, beating Franklin 23-22 to share the title of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Among other local products, Naperville Central graduate Kevin Nowak leads Rose-Hulman with 5 interceptions.

It's Rose-Hulman's first playoff appearance in history. North Central owns a 2-0 series lead, but those games occurred in 1956 and 1957. It's doubtful back then the Engineers averaged 90 offensive plays a game as they have this season.

North Central is led by CCIW offensive player of the year Broc Rutter, the quarterback out of Neuqua Valley who transferred from Indiana State. Leading the Cardinals to their fourth 10-0 record in history, Rutter paced 588 yards of offense in a 59-17 win over Elmhurst College on Saturday, setting a record of 27 touchdown passes in conference play.

His targets include a pair of second-team all-CCIW receivers with local ties - Ryan Kuhl out of Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley graduate Dylan Warden, a converted quarterback. Another ex-Neuqua player, linebacker D.J. Warkenthien, made 2.5 sacks against Elmhurst to help the Cardinals finish with 49 sacks, best in Division III.

A freshman, Rutter has thrown 34 touchdown passes to just 4 interceptions. He's third in the country in passing efficiency (Huntingdon's Bailey is fourth), sixth in touchdown passes and ninth in completion percentage.

Great numbers. Thorne, though, says the keys are protecting the ball and playing "really good defense."

"We want our program to be known for our defense, and our defensive staff has done a tremendous job," he said.

Rest assured they're all focused on Rose-Hulman, not on a potential second-rounder against Wheaton College.

"This is a good football team we've got to prepare for," Thorne said, "and if we're fortunate enough to come away with a win Saturday, as soon as Saturday night we'll be preparing for our next opponent."

'Something different'

Chaz Taft wasted no time starting a new tradition at his alma mater.

The first-year Fenton boys basketball coach, who coached at Waubonsie Valley and South Elgin but graduated from Fenton in 1996, is initiating what he called "Bison Buckets" at 7 p.m. Friday.

With performances by Fenton's Dance Force and cheer squad and a deejay, Taft said it'll be Fenton's version of a season-opening college festival.

Also planned is a scrimmage between faculty members and seniors not involved with a winter sport. Taft looks like he could still guard the heck out of people.

"I might make an appearance (on the court) for 30 seconds or so," he said.

Diving duo

There is a way to tell identical twins Emily and Elizabeth Aument apart, though one may need to attend the girls state swimming and diving finals Friday and Saturday at Evanston to find out.

"I'm a lefty with twisting and Emily's a righty," said Elizabeth Aument, the more outgoing twin although both Downers Grove North senior divers are world-class gigglers.

They're sharp in the pool, too. Ranked Nos. 3-4 among all sectional divers entering Friday's finals, Emily has earned all-state honors each year while Elizabeth did so as a freshman and junior. Elizabeth tore a labrum in 2014 and amazingly still reached the state meet, just not the podium.

"They're both at the very same level, so having that double whammy on your team all the time is very comforting," said Gerry Petit, Neuqua Valley's veteran diving instructor who also coaches other divers with the DuPage Diving Academy. He's coached the twins for six or seven years now.

"Maybe six," the girls said, unintentionally in unison.

Emily began diving shortly before her sister. They've since become a package deal. Illinois State recruited them as such, and the girls signed their National Letters of Intent Nov. 9.

"At first I didn't really want to go to the same school because I thought I wanted to be more independent," Elizabeth said. "But as time went on I realized I can still have independence and go to the same school with her."

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

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