Scouting Aurora Central @ Marmion
Aurora Central (1-4, 0-1) at Marmion (4-1, 2-0)
Game time 7:30 p.m. today.
Last yea: Marmion 40, Aurora Central 14.
Last week St. Edward 42, Aurora Central 14; Marmion 54, Guerin 14.
Outlook Regardless of records Marmion coach Dan Thorpe is highly respectful of Hall of Fame ACC coach Mike Curry and his ballclub. "They beat us two years ago (27-21 in 2007) when we had a playoff team," Thorpe said. "We (both) have a lot of players from the St. Charles area, and we learned a lesson in that the whole team has to realize the importance of the ACC-Marmion tradition." Curry knows the lesson his team needs to learn - this Marmion team is the fastest he's seen. "I don't know if we've got the speed to stay with them," Curry said. "The key to the game Friday night will be if we can move the chains and stay with them." Another key is for the Chargers to hold onto the ball. A fumble last week at St. Edward's 9-yard line led to a Green Wave touchdown, and Curry said each of ACC's 11 give-aways have led to opposing points. Before the horses left the barn and Alex Schaefer scored his fourth rushing touchdown late on a 25-yard run, a highlight was Stewart DeWaard's second touchdown pass of the season, a 10-yarder to tight end Kent Brauweiler that trimmed St. Ed's lead to 18-6. This week the Chargers must be cognizant of Marmion's slew of perimeter-based backs including Matt Pircon, T.J. Lally, Mike Carbonara and Adam Andras, and then the inside traps designed for fullback Bobby Winkel. They all provided the bulk of 316 yards rushing last week against Guerin. Marmion will not field fast quarterback Will Sterne (knee), but Bobby Peters did all that was required last week, completing 3 of 5 passes for 63 yards with a touchdown to Nick Scoliere. John Belovich, Andrew Scott and the rest of ACC's offensive line will be challenged by a tough Cadets defense, bolstered by 290-pound tackle Ryan Lovelace, that can send its safeties in to make tackles while maintaining a Cover-2 scheme. "I'm very impressed with their offensive and defensive lines," Thorpe said. "They're big and they're strong and they do things right." As far as the rivalry card, Curry said that quickly goes out the window. "The rivalry intensity tends to wane with each passing second," he said.
Next week: Aurora Central at Montini (3-2, 0-1), Oct. 9; Marmion at Lincoln-Way West (1-4).