A little bit of everything at the halfway point

Throwing to all my receivers as the football season heads past the halfway point this weekend and into the home stretch...

First and 10: Here's hoping with Geneva and Batavia joining the Upstate Eight next year, and Kaneland finding schools its size out west, we have a stable conference situation that is a good fit for all in the years to come.

But when you look at some of the scores in the Western Sun, it's once again surprising there was such a rush by some schools to get out. Geneva 21, Yorkville 10. Rochelle 30, Batavia 6. Geneva 28, Sycamore 21.

"I still don't understand it particularly as competitive as the league is this year," Batavia coach Mike Gaspari said. "Football drives most decisions, at least in this area, and it's hard to fathom why this has happened."

Second and 10: I left the traffic backup in the parking lot at Kaneland Friday trying to figure out the last time I had seen such a buzz in the crowd.

Turns out it had only been 24 hours, the night before at St. Charles East-St. Charles North volleyball.

This kind of excitement halfway through the regular season? Just wait until the playoffs get here. The support for high school athletics continues to impress.

Third and 10: Kudos to St. Charles East under first-year coach Mike Fields, now with three straight wins to put the Saints in contention for an Upstate Eight championship.

Now the work begins.

St. Charles East closes its regular season with road games at Waubonsie Valley and Bartlett, then home games against Neuqua Valley and St. Charles North.

Don't forget the season began with Geneva and Naperville North.

That's a killer, especially in an Upstate Eight Conference with its unbalanced schedule. I know every conference at every level has its share of teams that are down, yet year in and year out the UEC seems to have more than most, and often the conference race can hinge on how many of those you find on your schedule.

Fourth and 10: While covering Northern Illinois' 34-31 loss to Idaho Saturday, I must admit my eyes were focused on the linebacker position much more than most football games. That's where Geneva grad Pat Schiller mans the middle for the Huskies.

First impression? I should do this more often. I'm guilty of following the ball too often and focusing on the skill position players. It was fun to watch the game from Schiller's perspective and see how he reacted to different plays and formations. Schiller, just a redshirt sophomore, made a career-high 11 tackles, missed a couple others, but it's great to see him playing such a key role so early in his career.

I also got to thinking of watching Schiller play at Geneva. The Vikings went 11-2 his senior year in 2006, losing to Batavia in the Class 6A semifinals.

It's always fun to watch the top players in the area and try to figure out which make the best college prospects. In Schiller's senior year at Geneva, much of the focus was on Kaneland quarterback Boone Thorgesen and wide receiver Casey Crosby, or Schiller's teammate at Geneva Shaun Ratay, and Batavia lineman Mike Garrity.

Here's Schiller with the chance to have the best college career of the bunch, though of course Crosby has himself a pretty promising baseball career.

Who from this year's class will we be writing about in two or three years? The obvious answer is Geneva lineman Frank Boenzi, yet you know there's going to be players who might not get all the press clippings now and wind up as impact college players.

Looks like this drive has stalled. Just one more thought. Thanks to everyone who expressed their thoughts for my sister after a column I wrote three weeks ago. The response was overwhelming and just another reminder of how fortunate I am to work and live in this community.

jlemon@dailyherald.com