Is it revenge time for Wolves?
Losing to Oswego 56-42 in the second round of last year's Class 6A playoffs, a game Prairie Ridge trailed 28-0 at halftime, may have been a blessing in disguise for the Wolves.
"I think that game last year, especially the second half, is one of the biggest reasons why we're 10-0," Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp said this week. "We gained a lot of confidence in the second half of that game, especially offensively. We saw that we can score a lot of points on playoff teams.
"And defensively, we saw where we needed to get to, that we weren't where we needed to be. We really had to raise our level."
With 18 starters returning from that team, Prairie Ridge has indeed raised its level on both sides of the ball in 2007. The Wolves have outscored their opponents 404-135 so far. Through 10 games last season PR had outscored its opponents 309-255.
"Our offense doesn't feel like it has all the pressure on them," Prairie Ridge inside linebacker Zack Zuidema said. "We take pride in that. We both have confidence in each other more than we did last year."
Prairie Ridge's improvements will be put to the test tonight at 7:30 p.m. when the second-seeded Wolves host No. 7 Oswego (8-2) in a second-round game in Crystal Lake.
The winner will advance to the state quarterfinals against the winner of Saturday's 7 p.m. tilt between No. 6 Lemont (8-2) and No. 3 Grant (10-0).
Oswego runs the ball four out of five offensive plays, which will be a welcome change for a Prairie Ridge defense that has prepared for spread passing offenses the last two weeks in Johnsburg and Marmion.
Oswego splits carries between the rushing tandem of speedy, do-it-all junior halfback Tim Riley (1,400 combined rushing and receiving yards) and powerful fullback Matt Casula, who has gained approximately 1,200 yards on the ground, according to first-year coach Dave Keely, who spent 25 seasons as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator under two-time state champion coach Karl Hoinkes.
"They're going to want to come out and run the ball," Schremp said. "We've been pretty good stopping the run, so it'll be interesting."
Defensively, the Panthers employ the same 3-5 defense as the Wolves, though they tend to blitz their linebackers more often than Prairie Ridge.
"They blitz all five of those guys sometimes; It's amazing," Schremp said. "They try to put a lot of pressure on you. They probably blitz in third-and-long and passing situations more than they do on running downs. We'll really have to play sound up front. We've reviewed our pass blocking schemes."
Oswego's defense has to deal with a potent Wolves offense that includes poised junior quarterback Bryan Bradshaw (70 of 121, 1,159 yards, 11 TDs) and running backs Sam Campbell (161 carries, 1,520 yards, 26 TDs) and junior Kevin Keener, who has rushed for 396 yards on 69 carries since replacing injured junior Joe Rategan.
"They are a very good team with a lot of kids coming back who have a whole other year of experience," Keely said. "They're stronger and more mature. They might have an advantage because we beat them last year, which means they'll come into the game with an edge."