There's a buzz going around Wheaton North

This weekend Wheaton North plays its first home playoff football game since 2002.

Expect a standing ovation.

The Falcons have been nothing short of inspiring during their surprise run to the Class 7A quarterfinals. While across-the-board improvement showed in the past few weeks, Wheaton North truly will see how far it's come in Saturday night's rematch against Lake Zurich.

Eleventh-seeded Lake Zurich (8-3) beat the 15th-seeded Falcons (7-4) 35-9 in Week 2. After upsetting No. 3 Crystal Lake South 30-28 in the second round, it's safe to say the Bears are playing some of their best football of the season, too.

"We are getting better," said Falcons coach Joe Wardynski. "But I think you could say the same thing about them."

While the Falcons' four-game winning streak's been exhilarating, it's also taken a toll. Wheaton North lost Ohio State-bound quarterback Taylor Graham to a knee injury several weeks ago, and then lost running back Mekael Wesley two weeks ago.

In a 38-24 second-round upset win over Prospect, junior quarterback Reece Butler again shined with 12-of-16 passing for 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Richard Finley. Justin Swider, a defensive back playing double duty, stepped up at running back with 100 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

Playing against a Lake Zurich team that prides itself on defense, the Falcons face one of their stiffest tests of the season. It's still good timing, though, considering they notched a season-high point total last week.

Wheaton North, which rushed for 95 yards in the first Lake Zurich game, posted one of its better ground efforts with 170 yards against Prospect.

"We haven't had the best running game this year, but we put an emphasis on it last week," Wardynski said. "The kids bought into it."

Strong safety Carson Rajcan, who had an interception and sack last week, and the Falcons hope to do a better job defensively than the first meeting with Lake Zurich. The Bears, led this season by running back Jacob Brinlee's 1,500 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, piled up 292 yards on the ground in the first meeting.

Saturday night, though, Lake Zurich faces a completely different Wheaton North squad.

"We'll see how much better we are," Wardynski said. "Everyone's excited about playing them again."