SCC promises to be difficult again
It might be a brand new year, but it's the same old story in the Suburban Catholic Conference.
"Driscoll, Montini and Woodstock (Marian) and the rest fight for scraps," is how veteran Aurora Central coach Mike Curry sees the race.
"A couple teams if nobody gets hurt can challenge for second and third, but I don't see anyone catching those teams."
Illinois' best "small-school" conference is big-time.
Montini has no less than three Division I recruits on its roster entering the season.
Marian Central has a player headed to Notre Dame and another, still a junior, who is getting looks from the majors.
For whatever reason, juggernaut Driscoll constantly has its stars shunned by big schools. Still, over the past few seasons the Highlanders have forged a pipeline to Northern Illinois.
Coming off a season in which two Suburban Catholic Conference teams attracted attention by playing for state titles -- with Driscoll a landslide winner of its sixth straight -- can this conference match up in 2007?
One coach thinks so.
"I think it's going to be one of the toughest years that it's ever been," said Immaculate Conception coach Bill Schmidt, whose senior running back, Jonathon Ellis, has earned mid-major and some Big Ten interest.
The prevailing thought is if a team can beat the "Big Three" of Driscoll, Montini and Marian Central it's a great season. That remains the case, though the likes of Marmion, IC and St. Francis look to upend.
"We have a tremendous amount of confidence in ourselves," said Driscoll coach Mike "Buzz" Burzawa. "We understand we just have to come out and execute on both sides of the ball."
The Highlanders' outstanding coaching staff practically ensures that. This year, though, Driscoll will snap the ball to a quarterback, David Schwabe, who's yet to throw a forward pass in a game.
All Schwabe's done in two years as a starting safety is pick off 21 passes to approach the state record of 28. Schwabe will get major help in the backfield with Tim Franken, who ran for more than half of his 1,250 yards in the playoffs.
Driscoll doesn't return loads of starters on defense or offense, but the defense will be as punishing and deep as always, led by Schwabe, college prospect linebacker Kevin Palermo and 6-foot-4 end Anthony Campanella.
Driscoll will get its biggest tests late. The Highlanders visit Marian Central in Week 8 and host Montini Week 9.
Montini has no less than three Division I commits. Two-way starter Dex Jones verballed to Wisconsin, 290-pound lineman Chuck Porcelli to Northwestern and two-way lineman Garrett Goebel -- rated among the nation's top 100 preps -- will head to Ohio State.
At 5-8, 165, three-year starter Johnny Borsellino wouldn't figure to get a Division I sniff. He'll only be one of the SCC's top players.
"We expect to have a great year," said Montini's Hall of Fame coach Chris Andriano. "These guys were outstanding all the way through. Last year we had a great team, really, and lost to a lot of good teams."
Though Marian Central lists just 24 players on its varsity roster, it's a select group.
Sean Cwynar, a 6-4, 290-pound defensive tackle, is right up there with Goebel in prestige. Cwynar's committal to Notre Dame bests even last year's Hurricanes standout Bryan Bulaga, now at Iowa.
Along with an 1,100-yard returnee in back T.J. Pappas, Marian returns junior quarterback Jon Budmayr, who directed the Hurricanes to a Class 5A championship loss to Sacred Heart -Griffin.
Coach Dan Thorpe's Marmion squad -- "one of best coached teams in the conference," Schmidt said, took teams to the wall last year and returns highly regarded defensive back Manny Juarez. The Cadets will be motivated by last year's playoff snub despite a 5-4 record.
Schmidt's Knights return 15 starters, nearly all their skilled positions on both offense and defense.
St. Francis, which has impressed new coach Greg Purnell with its own skilled-position players, will battle as the Iowa Hall of Famer sees SCC quality first-hand.
"It doesn't take rocket science," Purnell said, "to see there's talent in this league."
DuPage Valley:ŒAfter 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.
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 head coach Buck Drach.
-- Kevin Schmit
Private School League:ŒWelcome back, Wheaton Academy.
The Warriors will play varsity football for the first time since 1989, re-entering play in the Private School League.
You know what? They might just hang tough.
"I know it's their first year of varsity, but I think Wheaton's going to be competitive in our league," said Chicago Christian coach Mark Vander Kooi. "They've got some kids who are hungry and I think they've got a good coaching staff."
What they don't have is lots of experience against the likes of Chicago Christian, which has won the last five PSL titles and is 42-10 overall in that span.
Chicago Christian, Walther Lutheran and Aurora Christian -- who combined to outscore Wheaton Academy 102-20 in the Warriors' preparatory schedule in 2006 -- will vie for the conference title.
"Those are the teams that we want to measure ourselves against," said Wheaton Academy coach Ben Wilson, whose junior varsity squad went 3-4, 2-1 on frosh-soph.
Warriors sophomore quarterback Brian Pell, the team's leading offensive force in 2006, will measure his progress against the likes of Jordan Roberts, the Aurora Christian junior who has great help in back John Smith and wideout Mike Friend.
Or all-conference Chicago Christian quarterback Alex Haan, who in his career has thrown 35 touchdown passes to just 6 interceptions.
Walther Lutheran fields a running back, Dan Green, who is committed to Miami of Ohio. As a junior he ran for 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns.
-- David Oberhelman