Schaumburg counts on quick thinking

Schaumburg hopes speed thrills its fans and chills opponents.

The Saxons hope opposing defenses struggle to get a handle on threats such as Dionte Hackler, Darrel Williams, Warren Brewer and Kevin Hilliard when they get their hands on the football.

"Our speed is as good as it's been since I've been here," said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling. "I think our defensive speed is really good but it's hard to tell because of the speed of Hackler and Brewer."

They hope to make up for the graduation of prolific quarterback Anthony Iannotti and receiver Josh Spandiary from last year's team which made a dramatic run to the Class 8A quarterfinals.

The Saxons will have another Iannotti at quarterback in junior Mark, who tossed an option touchdown to Anthony in the second-round playoff romp over Warren.

"He looks good at times but we need him to continue to develop his consistency," Stilling said. "He's a better runner than we thought he was and he's definitely a threat running the ball.

"Mentally he's done a real good job of picking things up. Those three (playoff) weeks helped him in terms of where he's at with his development."

Starting guard Mario Echevarria is back after tearing his ACL in mid-October. Richard Barnes stepped in and returns to start at tackle.

"We don't look like the North-enders (Palatine, Fremd and Barrington) but we're bigger," Stilling said.

The Saxons also have nine players on defense who have some starting experience. Senior nose tackle Dan Malik is the only one who started all 12 games.

"The kid doesn't know how to take a play off," Stilling said of the anchor of an athletic front.

Defensive end Ed Zawilla saw significant time the last five weeks of last season. Inside linebacker Patrick Derbak returns for his third year on varsity and junior Bob Quilico should make a big impact at safety.

"Not only will he hit you," Stilling said, "but he's an extremely good technician in terms of tackling."