Waubonsie Valley eyes vital fifth win of season

Waubonsie Valley graduates returning to Friday's homecoming game against Larkin might see something that hasn't occurred in a decade.

After beating Indian Prairie District 204 newcomer Metea Valley 21-20 last week, the Warriors moved to 4-1 on the season. In the Paul Murphy era at Waubonsie Valley, that ties the 2005 start, Murphy's first year succeeding B.J. Luke.

Were the Warriors to beat Larkin at Dick Kerner Field they would move to 5-1 for the first time since 2000. Homecoming fans would like that. Murphy would like that.

"Anytime you get to that five-win level you start to feel pretty good about your team," he said.

He wasn't so rosy about 4 fumbles and 87 yards of penalties against Metea. A win's a win, though.

"Even though we didn't play well we found a way to get a victory and be 4-1 after five games," said Murphy, who should return quarterback Tommy Kolzow and running back Austin Guido this week from concussion symptoms.

Waubonsie Valley has aspirations for automatic playoff qualification and a home playoff game. It also still has Neuqua Valley and South Elgin remaining on its schedule. The Warriors can't be satisfied with their fine start.

"It's got a chance to be a real special group if we can keep our eyes on the prize," Murphy said.

Transition for the better: A shift at quarterback for St. Francis has enabled the Spartans to become a better football team. A win-win situation occurred when junior Nick Donati took over behind center for senior Colin O'Donnell.

In Week 4 Donati led a couple successful drives in the Spartans' second-half rally against Montini, relieving O'Donnell after halftime. The 6-foot-1 junior tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Rutkowski, then in last week's win over Wheaton Academy Donati added another touchdown strike to Jack Petrando.

O'Donnell, meanwhile, is better able to utilize his speed and athleticism as a starting wingback, lockdown cornerback and dangerous return man.

"It turned out to be the right thing to do and we just decided to stay with that change as we go forward," said Spartans coach Greg Purnell. "Not only with the job Nick has done, but the big reason is we're able to use Colin in so many different ways. We're just a better football team."

Last week, for example, the 5-foot-9, 155-pound O'Donnell came up from cornerback to collect a team-high 5 solo tackles with 2 assists in St. Francis' 40-23 win over Wheaton Academy. He ran the ball 5 times for 55 yards, and on special teams O'Donnell had a 27-yard kickoff return and averaged 23 yards on a pair of punt returns.

Switching quarterbacks midstream can be a prickly proposition. Not so, Purnell said, due to O'Donnell's makeup of character and positive personality.

"When you have a quality football player who has tremendous leadership skills like Colin O'Donnell, that's why we were able to make this transition," Purnell said.

Another homecoming: Paul Parpet Jr. returns to Glenbard West this weekend for his 20th high school reunion.

He won't be wearing green and white.

Parpet Jr., a 1990 graduate of Glenbard West, is in his first season as Addison Trail's head coach. A longtime defensive coordinator for his father, who retired after last season, Parpet Jr. has mixed feelings about an emotional return.

"I've competed against them for 16 years so it's lost a little luster," he said. "But it's still special. I've been hearing from all kinds of people about this weekend. People I haven't talked to in years."

Parpet Jr. moved to Glen Ellyn just before his freshman year in high school. A little tentative at first, he soon thrived with the Hilltoppers.

In four years his teams lost only five games one was a 10-7 loss to his father's Addison Trail team his junior year. A two-year varsity starter, the free safety was part of four conference champions.

Parpet Jr. knows the daunting task the Blazers (3-2) face against Glenbard West (5-0). A little extra motivation never hurts.

"The football game is just another football game, but there is a personal side," he said. "I want to compete. I want to make sure we compete the best we can."

Jockeying: York (5-0, 3-0) travels Saturday to LaGrange in a key West Suburban Silver showdown against fellow unbeaten Lyons Twp. (5-0, 3-0).

With both teams yet to play Glenbard West (5-0, 3-0), Saturday's game looms large in the Silver picture.

"They're unbeaten, we're unbeaten," said York coach Bill Lech. "Both teams are playing well right now. It's a big game for both of us."

York held off Downers Grove North 20-14 last week, giving the Dukes consecutive wins by a combined margin of only 8 points. Lech voiced concern about his team's offensive deficiencies against the Trojans: no trips to the red zone and only 32 plays.

The Dukes also didn't meet their team goal of 300 total yards, but it wasn't all doom and gloom. York didn't commit a turnover, which helped contribute to the most important stat in the win-loss column.

"As long as we're winning, it doesn't matter that it's only by a few points," Lech said. "Good teams just find a way to win."

Bouncing back: Needless to say, it was a rough couple of weeks for Benet.

In the third and fourth games of the season, the Redwings lost to Marian Catholic and Notre Dame by a combined 5 points. The difference in the Marian Catholic game was a blocked extra point, while a blocked punt proved costly in the loss to Notre Dame.

Falling to .500 after a strong 2-0 start tested Benet.

"What I tried to get through to them was that we're all frustrated and we just have to work through it," said Benet coach Pat New. "It's never one thing in a loss. Every phase of the game we could get better, and every phase needs to take responsibility for the losses."

Every phase responded in last week's 35-14 win over Glenbard South, setting the stage for a critical stretch of East Suburban Catholic Conference games as Benet (3-2, 0-2) vies to compete for a playoff berth.

The Redwings travel to Mundelein this weekend to play unbeaten Carmel. St. Viator and Joliet Catholic both sitting with 4-1 records await in the regular season's final two weeks.

"Our guys realize the importance of these games with Carmel and Joliet Catholic coming up," New said. "Every game's important at this point."