DuPage Co. teams getting geared up for season
There's a theory in DuPage County.
Even though high school football is played only three months a year, the other nine months are spent getting ready for high school football.
All kidding (sort of) aside, another season kicked off with the start of practice on Wednesday and already there's plenty to talk about.
Perennial private school power Driscoll, an eight-time state champion, closed its doors in June.
A pair of 2008 state champs - Immaculate Conception and St. Francis - look to defend their titles from a new league, the Suburban Christian Conference. Another finalist from last year, Class 8A runner-up Hinsdale Central, also aims for a return trip to Champaign.
The area welcomes new coaches at Immaculate Conception and West Chicago. On the flip side this is the last year for Addison Trail coach Paul Parpet, who is retiring after 29 years at the helm. Fellow hall of fame coach Larry McKeon is considering retirement after this 27th year at Naperville North. He's holding off on an official decision, however, until after the season.
"It's something we're still looking at," said McKeon, who coached the Huskies to state titles in 1992 and 2007. "At the end of the season, we'll make a decision. Right now I'm just thinking about getting this team ready."
Get ready, indeed. Here's an early peek at the football landscape in DuPage County.
Top teams
It's painful just looking at Wheaton Warrenville South's schedule.
"I think I've got the toughest schedule in the state this year," said Tigers coach Ron Muhitch. "This could be the toughest schedule in the history of the program."
WW South opens with Hinsdale Central and Maine South - the teams that played in last year's Class 8A title game. Add in the typically brutal DuPage Valley Conference slate of games, and the Tigers won't get a breather.
Still, an experienced offense and burgeoning defense has WW South looming as a favorite in the DVC and in Class 7A. Five offensive starters return led by quarterback-receiver Mack Tracey, running back Julian Banuelos and lineman-kicker Nick Immekus.
Right off the bat, though, the Tigers face another of the state's top teams in Hinsdale Central. A state title threat in 8A, the Red Devils return electric quarterback John Whitelaw, who accounted for nearly 3,500 total yards in 2008.
Maine South, despite graduating all-state quarterback Charlie Goro, brings back 1,000-yard rusher Matt Perez and quarterback Tyler Benz, who actually played on the defensive line last year.
Defending DVC champion Naperville North, with quarterback Matt LaCosse and linebacker Nick Lifka, reloads with a young but talented group. Look for improvement from Naperville Central, led by returning quarterback Nick Linne, and Waubonsie Valley.
"We have such a young team, it's hard to say how we'll be," McKeon said. "We have some talent, though."
As for Class 7A, expect another loaded group of contenders. Defending champion East St. Louis and quarterback Detchauz Wray enter the season as the state's top-ranked team. WW South, St. Rita, Glenbard West, Carmel, Prospect and others highlight a deep field.
Top dogs
According to Rivals.com recruiting guru "Edgy" Tim O'Halloran, the talent pool for colleges is half full for the Class of 2010 in Illinois. Even though the group as a whole is not as strong as many in the past, it's better than last year's class.
"It's kind of a different year, better than last year but last year wasn't a great year," O'Halloran said. "That's not to say the teams aren't going to be good, but the individual talent isn't quite where it's been in past years."
O'Halloran ranks Proviso West receiver Kyle Prater, offered by national powers such as USC, Alabama and Oklahoma, as the top recruit in the state. Johnsburg tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, committed to Illinois, is ranked No. 2.
Wheaton North quarterback Taylor Graham, the top recruit in DuPage County who recently committed to Ohio State, is ranked third by O'Halloran. Illinois-bound Chandler Whitmer of Downers Grove South is No. 11 as the only other DuPage County player ranked in the Illinois top 30 by Rivals.com.
"From a grade standpoint, I'd say it's about a 'C' class," O'Halloran said. "It's a real good quarterback class, but it's thin at other positions."
Graham and Whitmer headline an extremely strong quarterback class in DuPage County. Whitelaw, offered by Toledo, and Linne, offered by Illinois State, join Glenbard West's Tyler Warden, Montini's Brandon Pechloff and Lake Park's Larry Nawrot on the list of recruited area signal callers.
While quarterback is the hot spot in DuPage County, O'Halloran said a traditionally strong position is running relatively cool.
"It's not a good offensive line class, which is weird for Illinois," he said. "And it's not just us, it's the whole Midwest. Schools are scrambling right now to find linemen."
Ex-Driscoll factor
The thought of Driscoll ex-patriot Nick Campanella playing football at Montini triggered his chums' gag reflexes.
"At first they told me, 'You're going to our rival? You're kidding me, Nick,'" said Campanella, arguably Driscoll's top player in 2008 after the running back scored 18 touchdowns as a junior on 1,675 all-purpose yards.
Campanella wasn't kidding. He and five other Highlanders went to the dark-maroon side after Driscoll closed in June.
Greater Lombard has apparently suffered no ill effects.
"I love it there. Everyone's accepting me with open arms," said Campanella, supported in his decision by his older brother Anthony, a defensive lineman on Driscoll's 2007 state champions.
"He's already gained the respect of the kids on the team by the way he conducts himself," said Montini coach Chris Andriano, who inherited a potential Suburban Christian Conference player of the year in Campanella and regained a possible starting lineman - senior Sam Lichounas, a transfer to Driscoll in 2008 after spending his first two years at Montini.
Campanella owns the highest profile among former Driscoll players scattered in search of pigskin, but Pierre Washington-Steel, who ran for 399 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2008, joins a crowded offensive backfield at Glenbard West.
No sooner did Lake Park coach Andy Livingston visit the weight room after 2008 Christmas break when he encountered Clay Cooper, who got the jump on Driscoll's closing by transferring after first semester.
Livingston sees Cooper as a two-way starter for the Lancers after the senior averaged 11.8 yards a carry and 17 yards a reception at Driscoll.
"He hits top speed in about a step," the coach said. "That's the kind of acceleration he's got."
Immaculate Conception hit the jackpot. The defending Class 2A state champions landed 12 varsity players, with experienced Austin Hennessey, Connor McDannel and Brian Palermo among eight potential starters from Driscoll.
IC overall gained some 95 Driscoll students to help bulk its enrollment to around 360. Seventeen boys from Driscoll's 2008 roster arrived, plus incoming freshmen.
Knights first-year head coach Mike Alberts was ready.
"We talked about it with (returning IC players) even before the first transfer showed up," Alberts said.
"I think they're understanding in realizing the other guys are kids just like they are. I think they put some of the pettiness and the rivalries aside and brought those guys into the fold."
Wherever they are, like Alberts said, they're boys playing football.
"They like me and we all have a cause," Campanella said of his new teammates. "We want to win."
The new SCC
The Suburban Catholic Conference, which boasted 11 state champions since 2001 - seven by Driscoll and two last year by St. Francis and Immaculate Conception - was regarded as the best small-school conference in the state.
With the arrival of Wheaton Academy, Aurora Christian, Chicago Christian and Guerin - and Walther Lutheran in 2010-11 - the Suburban Christian Conference will debut.
The league will be split into Blue and Gold divisions, the Blue harboring the larger schools but tweaked in the future determined by success. Aurora Central Catholic took a one-year concession to go to the Blue, and the 2009 Gold champion will switch with ACC for the 2010 season. Driscoll's closing hastened the search that reeled in Walther and initially made the league uneven, but an IHSA ruling will allow the Blue an automatic playoff bid.
"It will help the smaller schools in the conference and give them a more level playing field, in all sports across the board," said Montini coach Chris Andriano. "And the schools coming in, they're all private schools and all good people. It's a step forward. It just ensures the strength of our conference."
Blue members Montini, St. Francis, Marian Central, Marmion will duke it out, while the Gold will still present a challenge to the likes of a St. Edward program, whose sole playoff appearances were in 1983 and 2003.
IC has two state titles and a quarterfinal berth since 2002. Aurora Christian is on a seven-year playoff skein that includes last year's Class 4A runner-up slot. Chicago Christian has reached the playoffs nine straight years. Guerin is the least football-savvy at 15-30 over its five-year history, though playing in the Chicago Catholic League didn't help.
Wheaton Academy targets a conference title in its third varsity season after a 19-year layoff.
"I'm excited. It's going to be fun," said Warriors coach Ben Wilson, who after debuting at 2-7 in 2007 nearly reached the 2008 playoffs at 4-5 in the Private School League's swansong.
"It's a well-run league, every game is going to be competitive. I like to play competitive football, and I felt a couple times last year the games just weren't that way," said Wilson, unenthused by a 1-0 forfeit win over Luther North or a 119-32 margin in three other victories.
The results of the new SCC will be forthcoming. Wilson's already a full-blown convert.
"We're a new program but we're a legitimate program," he said. "We're in the best small-school conference in the state."
So what else is new?
This year offers the head coaching debuts of West Chicago's Paul Reinke and Immaculate Conception's Mike Alberts.
Reinke spent the last three seasons on the varsity staff at Cary-Grove and graduated in 1995 from Rich South, but he's also steeped in DuPage Valley Conference football.
Reinke coached three years at Wheaton North at the sophomore and varsity levels. Rubbing shoulders with former Falcons assistant Steve Thonn, Reinke later joined Thonn with the Georgia and Grand Rapids franchises in the Arena Football League.
Reinke becomes West Chicago's fourth head coach in four seasons, succeeding the one-year term of Hal Chiodo, now at Highland Park.
"I'm just excited to get going and start creating some excitement with the program," Reinke said. "We had a real good summer. The players, the coaches ... everyone's been working hard."
At IC, Alberts follows the successful four-year reign of Bill Schmidt, whose new position as vice principal of Woodridge's Thomas Jefferson Junior High precludes him from coaching.
Schmidt directed the Knights' 2A title in 2008 and was the late Bob Cozzi's right-hand man on the 2002 championship squad. He'll be hard to follow.
Alberts, however, was firmly in the mix. He was defensive coordinator in his first year as an assistant in 2002. Alberts moved to Schmidt's assistant head coach in 2005, shifting to offensive coordinator. Last season, Alberts' option offense racked up 4,090 yards rushing.
There's lots new underfoot. Turf fields have either been installed or are in the process at Naperville North, Naperville Central, Glenbard North, Willowbrook, Addison Trail and York.
For some it's a race against time.
"I'm hoping it'll be done during game week," said Addison Trail coach Paul Parpet, who noted that issues with soil and drainage may limit preseason practice time on the new surface to "maybe one day."
Parpet said Willowbrook's field is finished, and Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens said the Panthers' surface will be ready for its Sept. 4 home opener.
York's Bill Lech is not so sure: "I'll believe we have a turf field when I walk on it."
York was to play its first three games at home but it appears the Dukes' first home game will now come in Week 6.
That's three weeks earlier than at Naperville Central. While Naperville North got an early start and had the FieldTurf ready on May 17 - Huskies graduation was held on it May 20 - Naperville Central waited.
Between opening with Waubonsie Valley at Benedictine University and playing two games at North Central College, Mike Stine's Redhawks won't have a true home game until Week 9 against Glenbard North.
Naperville North did suffer a setback. Sometime during the night of July 16 or early morning of July 17, vandals spray-painted colorful - and obscene - graffiti on the midfield logo. The damage was fixed July 27-28, and security cameras have since been installed.
Culprits have yet to be identified.
"We'll take any leads," Naperville North athletic director Doug Smith said. "Whether through this office or the police."
Must-see football
Just some of the top matchups of 2009...
Week 1, Aug. 28-29
Waubonsie Valley vs. Naperville Central at Benedictine University (Saturday)
Glenbard West at Glenbard South
Hinsdale Central at WW South
Naperville North at Neuqua Valley
Week 2, Sept. 4-5
Downers Grove South at Glenbard West (Saturday)
Montini vs. Benet at Benedictine University
Neuqua Valley vs. Naperville Central at North Central College
WW South at Maine South
Week 3, Sept. 11-12
Marmion at St. Francis
Hinsdale Central at Glenbard West (Saturday)
Glenbard South at Batavia
Naperville North at Glenbard North
Week 4, Sept. 18-19
Naperville Central at WW South
Riverside-Brookfield at Fenton
St. Francis at Montini (Saturday)
Downers Grove North at Downers Grove South
Week 5, Sept. 25-26
WW South at Naperville North
Neuqua Valley vs. Waubonsie Valley at North Central College
Hinsdale Central at Hinsdale South
Wheaton Academy at St. Francis
Week 6, Oct. 1-3
Glenbard North at Glenbard East
Naperville North vs. Naperville Central at North Central
WW South at Wheaton North
Immaculate Conception at Aurora Christian
Week 7, Oct. 9-10
Naperville Central at Wheaton North
Neuqua Valley at St. Charles North
Downers Grove North at Hinsdale Central
York at Glenbard West (Saturday)
Week 8, Oct. 16-17
Wheaton North at Naperville North
WW South at Glenbard North
Westmont vs. Lisle at Benedictine
Waubonsie Valley at Lake Park
Week 9, Oct. 23-24
Glenbard North at Naperville Central
Montini at Marmion
Lake Park at Bartlett
York at Willowbrook