Wheaton Academy learning all about playoff foe Hillcrest
Once the football playoff pairings were announced, Wheaton Academy coach Ben Wilson was asked about his first-round Class 5A foe, Hillcrest. At first he chuckled.
"I would rather play Montini or St. Francis again, to be honest with you," he said.
That was less an indictment of Montini or St. Francis as it was a fear of the unknown.
After watching film on coach Ernest Sutton's Hawks, Wilson is a little more comfortable facing the No. 1 seed in the 5A field's northern bracket - even after Wilson's 16th-seeded Warriors (5-4) lost their final game to squeeze into the postseason at the cutoff of 38 playoff points.
"They're just as good as the playoff teams in the (Suburban Christian Conference), like Montini, St. Francis," Wilson said of Hillcrest. "They're just as good - but no better."
Montini defeated Hillcrest 33-20 last season in Class 5A, right before falling to eventual state champ St. Francis.
This fall Hillcrest (8-1) earned a three-way split in the South Suburban Blue Conference, dealing Lemont its only loss, 16-10 in overtime. Hillcrest's defeat was a 40-6 loss to 8-1 Oak Forest in Week 8, a game marked by the suspension of Hawks leader Herb Offord.
Spread-option quarterback Offord and tailback-slot Ryan Keen head the offense of a team Wilson said is the fastest the Warriors have seen. That makes sense since Hillcrest won the boys Class 2A track title in May.
While Hillcrest has reached the playoffs seven of the last eight seasons, Wheaton Academy is in the third varsity season of its renewed program.
Quarterback Brian Pell and receiver Anthony Ritchie have excelled from the start. Pell has thrown for 1,876 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this year while Ritchie has 57 receptions for 874 yards, 7 touchdowns, plus a team-high 61 tackles. Kai Libby, Jimmy Johnson, Jon Fink, Luke Thorson and Sam Cote add to the quality.
"We've shown all year we can score points on anybody," Wilson said. "But if we can't stop them we can't beat them. So it comes down to tackling, and stopping the big play."