This much is clear: Playoffs on the line for these 3 teams
The football playoff picture, murky for many, shines with stunning clarity for others.
There's no better example than in the DuPage Valley Conference.
Three DVC teams - Wheaton Warrenville South, Glenbard North and Naperville Central - are guaranteed postseason spots because each has seven wins. Two teams, West Chicago and West Aurora, know they won't garner playoff berths.
That leaves three conference teams with 4-4 records, all with abundant playoff points, fighting for their playoff lives. Naperville North needs to beat West Chicago to seal its 13th straight postseason appearance and, in a winner-take-all showdown, Wheaton North faces Glenbard East.
At the start of the season, none of the three teams figured to be in this precarious position. But here they are, hoping 48 minutes of football tonight lead to 48 more next week.
"Just having the opportunity to play a 10th game gives us motivation," said Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski. "It'd be nice to say we were good enough to make the playoffs."
Heading into Saturday night's unveiling of the playoff pairings by the IHSA, the two DVC games highlight a slate of Week 9 games in DuPage County with little drama, although five-win teams Fenton, Montini, Waubonsie Valley and Wheaton Academy would love to punch guaranteed playoff tickets with a sixth win this weekend.
Every other DuPage County contender - Downers South, Glenbard North, Glenbard South, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, Lake Park, Naperville Central, St. Francis and WW South - is in the field by having at least six wins.
So for all the quality games this weekend, the two DVC tilts matter the most. In many ways the playoffs already have started for Naperville North, Glenbard East and Wheaton North.
"We felt our playoffs started last week," said Glenbard East coach Dennis Lueck. "We used that experience to get ready for this week."
Glenbard East and Wheaton North both needed victories last week to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Rams took care of business by beating West Aurora 35-33 while Wheaton North edged Naperville North 10-7 to put the Huskies on the postseason tightrope.
The sense of urgency is fierce for all three DVC teams.
Glenbard East seeks the program's second playoff appearance and its first since reaching the Class 6A semifinals in 1999. In 2006 the Rams entered Week 9 with four wins and a shot at the postseason, but a loss crushed their hopes.
Wheaton North is all too familiar with this situation. The last two seasons the Falcons qualified for the playoffs by pulling off Week 9 wins. Keeping their chances alive last week came down to beating Naperville North for the first time since 2002, so losing tonight would be tough to swallow.
Naperville North's qualified with relative ease during its stunning postseason streak, the only blip coming in 2001 when the Huskies entered the playoffs at 5-4 after clinching its spot in Week 8.
The last time the Huskies experienced this kind of qualifying pressure came in 1996. They lost in Week 9 that year to Wheaton Warrenville South, marking the only season since 1986 the program hasn't made the playoffs.
Obviously, the stakes are mighty high tonight.
Naperville North is heavily favored against West Chicago, while either Glenbard East or Wheaton North will happily await Saturday's pairings announcement.
The sense of urgency will live on for one, the sense of what might have been will linger for the other.
Sometimes clarity can be a little too real.
kschmit@dailyherald.com