Scouting DuPage County college football
Top teams: North Central, Wheaton.
Top players: Benedictine: Ryan Schwartz, tb, sr.; Derek Hitt, tb, so.; Eric Ritter, fb, jr., Dave Klinger, qb, sr.; Quarandus Taylor, ol, sr.; Pete Thompson, ol, sr.; Alex Dewey, lb, sr.; Devin Montgomery, lb, sr.; Ryan Kozicynski, lb, jr.; Kyle Schulz, de, sr.; Eddie Hill, de, jr.; Mike Hatfield, fs, jr.; Travis Newsome, cb, sr. College of DuPage: Michael McNulty, tb, so.; Bryant Venson, rb, fr.; James Kurtz, wr, fr.; Krystopher Watkins, fb, so.; Kevin Koch, qb, so., Jackie Hoffman, ot, so.; Trulon Henry, ss, so.; Deshon Conley, fs, so.; Keith Lewis, cb, so.; Jeremy Johnson, de, so.; Brandon Bias, lb, so.; Terran Buck, lb, so. Elmhurst: Randy Wright, lb, sr.; Brandon Jones, lb, jr. Joe Stumpfoll, dt, sr.; Kurt Nitschke, de, sr.; Jon Janus, ss, so.; Dane Paul, cb, jr.; Tyler Lomnicki, k/p, sr.; Erik Personius, c, jr.; E ; Chris Kool, ot, so.; Phil Pedi, qb, sr.; Blake Veldhuis, wr, sr.; Nick Herrera, rb., jr.; Lex Cisler, te, jr. North Central: Aaron Fanthorpe, qb, sr.; Dominic Sulo, rb, sr.; Steve Hlavac, jr. wr; Hank Johnson, wr., sr.; Kyle Fiedorowicz, te, jr.; Josh Delancy, ol, sr.; Kyle Antos, ol, jr.; Matt Wenger, lb, sr.; Derek Sulo, cb, sr.; Joe Schneiderbauer, fs, jr.; Scott Skuteris, lb, so.; Tim Janecek DE, sr.; Wheaton: Sean Norris, qb, sr.; Rocky Gingg, tb, jr.; Freddy Ellis, wr, jr.; Danny Hindman, wr, sr.; Mike Berttucci, te, sr.; Justin Carpenter, ot, sr.; Nick Biggee, c, jr.; Nick Theobald, dt, sr.; Nic O'Neal, dt, jr.; Tyler Langs, cb, sr.; Steve Lutes, lb, sr.; Ryan Hoyt, lb, sr.
Scouting report: We've got what promises to be one of the best Division III matchups in the land right here in DuPage County. On October 24 preseason No. 4 North Central hosts No. 6-ranked Wheaton in a game that could decide the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship. When John Thorne took over the coaching reins at North Central he promised to build the Cardinals football program into a perennial contender. Now in his eighth year, Thorne has delivered on that promise with a piece of the conference championship in 2006 and 2007 and an outright title last year. And, even though it didn't win the CCIW, Wheaton went deeper into the postseason than ever before, reaching the semifinals of the NCAA playoffs before being knocked off by perennial nemesis Mount Union.
The respect the two teams get from the pollsters and preseason national magazines is evidence that both clubs are loaded again this year. The Cardinals bring back 18 starters, while the Thunder are into the "reloading" process after losing the largest senior class in their history. North Central is led by record-breaking quarterback Fanthorpe and running back Dominic Sulo, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards. All-region combatants Delancy and Antos spearhead a veteran offensive line. On defense eight starters return led by All-America linebacker Wenger.
"We've been humbled by the attention our program has gotten in a lot of the preseason publications, and we hope to work hard enough to earn that type of attention," Thorne said.
Wheaton, a consistent winner no matter how many regulars graduate, still has plenty of playmakers who can take the Thunder back to the postseason. These include highly rated signalcaller Norris, running-back extraordinaire Gingg, all-conference tight end Berttucci and a trio of talented wide receivers. The offensive line has a trio of returning starters, while all-star tackle Theobald and cornerback Langs anchor a defense that lost heavily to graduation but maintains a strong core of experienced stoppers.
Both schools have excellent freshman classes, so it would seem that the rivalry is just heating up.
Elmhurst, which is coming off its best season in two decades, has some holes to fill, especially on offense, but there are eight starters on defense with preseason All-America Wright leading the way.
"We had a very good season in 2008," said Elmhurst coach Tim Lester. "We want to continue to improve and take our program to the next level. Wright should be even better this year."
College of DuPage coach Fred Fimbres is quietly building the Chaparrals back to their past glory days, and he's doing it with some prominent former local high school stars. COD was 5-4 in the regular season and won in the first round of the playoffs. There are some key leaders on both sides of the ball returning from that squad. Local players include Koch (Immaculate Conception), Venson (Glenbard West) and Bias (Downers Grove North).
Benedictine coach Jon Cooper begins his fifth season with more than 60 returnees from last year's roster and a good group of freshmen joining them. With the entire offensive backfield returning, led by Schwartz, who has nearly 2,000 career rushing yards, the Eagles are hoping to be in the thick of the Northern Athletics Conference race. On offense Taylor and Thompson and defenders Dewey, Montgomery, Schulz and Hill received all-conference recognition.
Key dates: College of DuPage at Harper, Sept. 5; Elmhurst at Benedictine, Sept. 5; Wheaton at North Central, Oct.24; Elmhurst at Wheaton, Oct. 31; Elmhurst at North Central, Nov. 14.