Mills, Kent on same page for promising Wauconda
If Wauconda football coach Dave Mills and Brian Kent don't get sick of each other, they just might have the best coach-quarterback relationship since ... Mike Martz and Jay Cutler.
As a junior, Kent had two classes with Mills.
"So besides (football), he and I were able to develop a relationship," said Mills, whose Bulldogs host Huntley on Friday night in their 2010 opener.
Mills knows Kent is a student of the game, besides being a good student (26 ACT, 3.5 GPA). Mills also believes the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder has the potential to have an outstanding football season.
As Kent became more and more comfortable running Mills' shotgun option last year, the more Wauconda looked like a team that could give opposing defenses fits.
The Bulldogs' 2009 season ended 1 win shy of being playoff-eligible, despite an impressive season finale. Wauconda upset playoff-bound Lakes 41-12, as Kent passed for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 115 yards and 3 TDs.
"Brian has the ability to take advantage of the teams that are going to put eight in the box and stop the running game," Mills said.
The Bulldogs' shotgun-option offense is not common.
"It's the Urban Meyer influence at University of Utah," said Mills, who played football for Brigham Young and coached high school football in Utah before joining former college teammate Glen Kozlowski, when Kozlowski got the job at Wauconda in 2002.
"When I left the Utah high school scene, (the spread) was just becoming 'the' offense. Everybody was going to it.
Coming out here, (North Suburban Conference) Prairie Division, everybody runs more of Georgia Southern spread option. We incorporated it when the changes happened here. I'm from a West Coast college. I got a kid who can throw it, and I remember as a 'D' coordinator, trying to stop option was a nightmare. So we've combined those two together into our version, and that's shotgun option."
When Wauconda has the football with Kent under center, what should be predictable is that the Bulldogs will be unpredictable.
"We run a lot of option," Mills said. "We run counter option out of it, we run a lot of what you'd call a veer option, and then we have a variety of passing schemes that I learned from some pretty good guys. We're just trying to hone them down to high school."
Kent is just the man for Mills' offense.
"Brian will take advantage of what's out there," Mills said. "Brian understands our offense. There are times when he'll come to me and say, 'Coach, this is not what you want to run. You said it backward.' I'll say, 'You're right. Let's go.' "
Friday night, it's go time.
Hibbing opts for baseball: The North Suburban Prairie Division returns some experienced quarterbacks in Brian Kent (Wauconda), Steve Nelson (Vernon Hills) and Tom Sears (Antioch). Lakes, however, has a new starter in Jeff Eder after last year's starter, Nick Hibbing, decided to focus on baseball.
Hibbing, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, is a University of Iowa baseball commit. While he said he'll miss the team aspect of football, he thought he lost some speed on his fastball this year, so he wants to work on his baseball conditioning this fall.
Antioch to honor Abderholden: Antioch will remember longtime Antioch resident Dr. Edward Abderholden before Friday's season-opening game against Streamwood.
Dr. Abderholden passed away on Aug. 3 at age 83.
In addition to his practice, Dr. Abderholden was very involved with many community groups and was a volunteer team doctor for the high school.
The recognition will occur before the national anthem at around 7:25 p.m.