Fighting like cats and dogs
After a seven-year hiatus, the DuPage Valley Conference once again lived up to its lofty status last season.
The vaunted league claimed its first state football championship since 1999 thanks to Wheaton Warrenville South's stunning 44-21 victory over Mt. Carmel in the Class 8A title game.
Will conference history, highlighted by 11 state titles, continue to repeat itself this season? Another solid batch of teams is about to find out.
The two-time defending champion Tigers will be pushed by an experienced Naperville North squad that won the two previous titles. Expect the rest of the teams to lean on both of them.
"In this conference," said Naperville North coach Larry McKeon, "there aren't many teams that go 6-1 and win the title. In the past you've had to go unbeaten to win it, and that's not easy to do."
If anyone goes 7-0, it may very well be Naperville North and its 14 returning starters.
Leading the way for the Huskies is third-year starter Jordan Tassio, an All-Area pick as a junior entering his second year as quarterback. An even bigger veteran presence looms on defense.
Naperville North's lineup of four third-year starters includes Andre Crawford, Sean Denard and Kyle Lackner on the defensive side of the ball. Six other starters return to the defense.
WW South and others plan to vie for the DVC title, but right now the Huskies rate an edge over the rest of the field.
"Everyone's looking at Naperville North," said Wheaton North coach Matt Foster. "We're all new except for them. For the rest of us it's a dogfight."
WW South returns four starters including offensive lineman Will Matte, who verbally committed to Indiana. Quarterback Mike Piatkowski started last season's semifinal win over York.
Quarterback Harrison Daniels and running back Michael Caulfield return to Naperville Central's offense but the early-season suspension of defensive lineman Josh Jelesky, verbally committed to Vanderbilt, hampers an inexperienced defense.
Wheaton North may be the sleeper team in the DVC. Northwestern-bound Nick Adamle and Kevin Whitt, committed to Air Force, lead a solid offensive line in front of junior running back Mike Trumpy.
It won't be difficult to find Glenbard North's most intriguing player this season. Six-foot-six junior quarterback Evan Watkins, a varsity starter in basketball and baseball as a sophomore, brings tremendous potential to the Panthers' offense. He'll benefit from the return of receiver Matt Ng.
Glenbard East brings back one of the DVC's top players in fourth-year starting linebacker Pat Walker. Another All-Area pick last season, receiver Jason Callahan, also returns for the Rams.
"The conference is balanced like it always is," said Rams coach Dennis Lueck. "You're not going to see a team dominate like Wheaton South did last year."
At West Chicago, first-year coach John Walters, the program's longtime defensive coordinator, takes the helm from Bob Stone. Improvement for the Wildcats rides on an experienced offense led by returning quarterback Chris Wille.
West Aurora, winless in the conference since 2004, also looks for improvement in its second year under coach Buck Drach.