Teams feeling pain of injuries
Glenbard West's experienced offensive line suffered a setback when senior Marty Detmer, a two-year starter and co-captain who played right guard, suffered a broken leg in the Hilltoppers' win over Leyden. Up from the sophomore squad comes 6-foot-2, 250-pound Jordan Walsh to fill in.
"It's bad from a personal standpoint, and from a team standpoint," Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said of Detmer's injury.
Neuqua Valley absorbed the loss of senior linebacker Will Konovsky in the Wildcats' Week 1 loss to Naperville North. He made 6 solo tackles with 3 assists before leaving with a hyperextended knee and bruising on the bone. Konovsky will miss at least two more weeks.
Waubonsie Valley kicker Mitch Ewald, an Indiana recruit, remains questionable for Friday's game against St. Charles East. He suffered a stinger in his left arm while trying to make a tackle against Naperville Central in Week 1, and it's been slow to heal. In Castro's absence junior receiver Scott Kuehn is doing the place-kicking, senior defensive back Kevin Dugal the punting.
The good news for Waubonsie Valley is two-year starting defensive tackle Spencer Matlock returns from injury to make his 2008 debut against St. Charles East.
Back in the pocket: After injuring a knee during preseason practice, Naperville North senior quarterback Matt Manade may be ready to return to the lineup.
Coach Larry McKeon said Manade was slated to come back to practice early this week. If he's not ready to go the Huskies again will lean on 6-foot-5 sophomore Matt LaCosse, who's filled in admirably the first two games.
"Probably a little better than expected," McKeon said.
Still, there's no substitute for experience. Last year Manade backed up graduated all-stater Jordan Tassio, and even though Manade didn't see much varsity time, he started every junior varsity game.
With three years invested in the program, Manade's comfort level in the double-wing offense is pretty high.
"Because (LaCosse) hasn't been in the system as long, we've limited the playbook," McKeon said. "And you can't go through the whole season running the ball. At some point you have to pass."
Naperville North has 773 rushing yards through two games compared to 191 passing yards. Manade's experience and expanded knowledge of the playbook should allow the Huskies to balance the numbers in the coming weeks.
"He's very poised and knows the intricacies of the patterns," McKeon said. "He has a pretty good working knowledge of the offense."
DVC dominance: The DuPage Valley Conference did it again, blasting its nonconference opponents by a 14-2 margin in the first two weeks.
But while the unbeaten records of Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville North are no surprise, Glenbard East is also 2-0 for the second time in three years after posting wins over Willowbrook and Oak Lawn.
"I think it's been real important for us from a confidence standpoint," coach Dennis Lueck said.
The true test begins tonight as the Rams travel to play Naperville North.
The Huskies' vaunted double-wing offense will face a Glenbard East defense headed by tackle Connor Flood, linebacker Dan Ropinski and cornerback Clinton Omsberg.
"It'll be a challenge for us," Lueck said. "But if you want to compete at a high level, you've got to play a high level of competition."
Fast and furious: St. Francis' Mark Kachmer will get the full attention of Driscoll's defense tonight after his 412-yard, 6-touchdown game last week against DeKalb.
Driscoll head coach Brandon New, the Highlanders' defensive coordinator the past three years before succeeding Mike Burzawa this season, said: "He's probably the fastest kid we'll see all year. He beat our fastest (Driscoll running back Pierre Washington-Steel) at the conference track meet."
St. Francis coach Greg Purnell gets to see Kachmer every day.
"In the 40 years I've coached he is undoubtedly one of the most intense, driven athletes I've ever been around," Purnell said.
The coach also praised Kachmer's work ethic and teamwork. During conditioning in a recent practice, Purnell said Kachmer completed his running then went back to help a struggling teammate finish his.
Keeping the faith: Though Downers Grove North beat Addison Trail 38-6 last week, it doesn't appear this will be one of Trojans coach John Wanders' stronger teams. The Trojans allowed 573 yards of offense in their Week 1 loss to Prospect.
Wander remains positive, saying this group is a very hard-working one, which makes coming to practice each day a joy.
"I'm not discouraged at all," he said. "It just makes me a better coach."