A lot to look back at on memorable opening weekend
Observations from the opening weekend of the 2008 high school football season:
• Scoreboard operators better pay close attention because points were scored at a breakneck pace last Friday night. Six of the nine local teams were winners while averaging 35.5 points per contest.
Even the three area squads who suffered defeats - Aurora Central Catholic, Batavia and St. Charles North - all topped the 20-point mark.
• Referees should be required to answer postgame questions from media (if there are any that need to be asked) rather than just take off for the locker room after games.
One of my colleagues approached the referees with a question moments after the final whistle was blown in the Batavia vs. St. Charles East game but was turned away.
• What questions did we have for the referees? For starters, what exactly transpired during and after Wes Allen's 2-yard second-quarter touchdown run that upped the Saints' halftime lead to 26-7? What calls were made and not made?
After offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties were called in the end zone, the head linesman went over to the Saints' sideline and discussed the matter with their coaching staff.
Meanwhile, a visibly upset Allen retreated toward the bench, never to step onto the playing field the rest of the game. Since no explanation was given, fans and media alike were basically left in the dark as to what exactly took place.
Nearly 72 hours later, neighbors were still asking me why Allen didn't play in the second half. Most assumed Allen had been ejected from the game but supposedly that was not the case.
Here's what I think took place - the Saints' coaching staff was left with the decision of sending Allen back on the field in the second half and possibly losing him (via suspension) for Friday's nonconference clash with state-ranked Geneva.
"My coaches told me if they had not taken me out for the second half, I would have been suspended for another game (vs. Geneva) so they just chose to take me out," said Allen, who rushed for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half of the Saints' eventual 32-21 victory.
Did the referees actually barter with the Saints' coaching staff during the late first-half confusion? Did they basically say that Allen's second-half return would have jeopardized his chances of playing the following week?
Saints coach Ted Monken didn't reveal any secrets during his postgame media session.
"Someday, I'll write a book titles, 'My Memoirs,' and I'll tell you all about it," he quipped.
When asked if Allen would have been lost for Week 2 if he had been sent back to the field for the second half last weekend, Monken answered, "I don't know anything about that."
• It was only Week 1 but Bartlett may have emerged as the team to beat in the Upstate Eight Conference this season. The Hawks and Saints were the only UEC teams to emerge victorious last weekend. Since the Upstate Eight is an 11-team conference, every team obviously doesn't play the same schedule. For example, coach Tom Meaney's Hawks won't have to face St. Charles East or Waubonsie Valley, while St. Charles East will take on Waubonsie Valley, Neuqua Valley and St. Charles North.
• Once again, the DuPage Valley showed why it is often considered to be the state's top football conference. Seven of the eight DVC teams won their respective season debuts last weekend. Ironically, the only DVC team to lose - Glenbard North - is expected to contend for the conference crown after earning Class 8A state runner-up honors a year ago.
Who was the Panthers' opening-week foe?
Bartlett.
• While most of the attention figures to be centered on the dynamic tailback tandem of Geneva's Michael Ratay and St. Charles East's Wes Allen Friday night at Burgess Field, I'll go out on a limb and give the nod to the team that plays the best defense.
And don't be surprised if there's a playoff rematch sometime in November.
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