Highlanders have 'sense of urgency' for Bishop Mac

If Driscoll could draw it up, Bishop McNamara would not be the team it hosts to begin its defense of six straight state championships.

Was "Bishop Mac" on 9-0 Driscoll's radar of potential Class 4A first-round foes? Yes.

Are the No. 1 Highlanders jumping for joy? Not exactly.

"We can't worry about things we can't control," said Driscoll coach Mike "Buzz" Burzawa.

"So we're playing probably one of the best 5-4 teams in the state of Illinois, with one of the toughest schedules," he said. "They've lined up against Providence, Fenwick, De La Salle and Brother Rice, so their strength of schedule is outstanding."

No. 16 seed McNamara lost to each, the Fightin' Irish beating one team with a winning record, 28-27 over 5-4 St. Laurence.

Coached by Rich Zinanni, whose 32-year Hall of Fame resume includes Class 3A titles in 1982 and '85-'87, McNamara should not come in scared. Its 27 playoff appearances have produced a 50-22 playoff record, one win better than Driscoll's 49-9.

"The thing about Driscoll is they don't make many mistakes, and that's why they're hard to beat," said Zinanni, whose Pro I and spread sets offer tailback Jameel Hugh, receiver Keither Burczak and quarterback Matt Lambert, who's thrown for 20 touchdown and about 1,700 yards.

Zinanni said Bishop McNamara tried to get into the Suburban Catholic Conference in the mid-'80s.

"They're probably like the Immaculate Conception of our conference, in their (Chicago Catholic White) conference. They don't back down to anybody," said Burzawa, who compares Lambert to Driscoll's stellar David Schwabe.

Driscoll's emphasis will be to re-establish a running game bottled up last week by Montini, win the special teams and use its speed against a team Burzawa ranked with 2002 Burlington Central and 2006 Morton as the toughest first-round foes the Highlanders have ever faced.

"Right now," Burzawa said, "we have a sense of urgency."