Lisle leading the Large division

Funny thing about the Interstate Eight Conference Large Division.

It has a tough time against the Interstate Eight Small.

"Large" teams like Lisle, Manteno and Reed-Custer have to deal with schools like Coal City, Wilmington and defending Class 3A champion Plano to reach the playoffs.

For example, in 2006 Lisle lost only to Reed-Custer in its own division. The Lions went 1-3 against the smaller schools then after qualifying for the playoffs a sixth straight time lost to Plano in the first round.

Sticking to its own group, early thoughts have Lisle battling Reed-Custer and Manteno, which Lisle coach Dan Sanko called "a sleeper."

"They've got a couple kids coming back that were real good leaders and were tough," Sanko said.

"It's about time," Manteno second-year coach R.J. Haines said. "We're due."

Haines still picked Reed-Custer as the favorite though the Comets graduated 22 players. Offensive lineman Mike Redmann, 6-0 and 238, and cornerback Tim VanDuyne are returning starters.

Manteno, though, returns 18 of 22 starting positions, including all-conference players Dustin Sadler on the line and Jimmy Sandling at linebacker/running back.

Haines said his relatively inexperienced 4-5 team of 2006 points to good things.

"We think with everybody back you flip-flop that record and hang onto a few more games in the fourth quarter," he said.

Lisle hopes to hang on with sophomore quarterback John Surber and a big line on both sides of the ball -- a 235-pound average offensively, 225 defensively.

Besides the line, however, the Lions return little to no experience at running back or on defense. Senior receiver Joe McCarthy was the sole offensive contributor in 2006.

"It really is up in the air," Sanko said of the conference race. "We've got a lot of seniors down from obviously what was not a very good 5-4 team, so for us it's essentially a rebuilding year."