Spears, O-line could have West Aurora running wild
If any team in the DuPage Valley Conference would favor a track meet type of football game, it would be West Aurora.
Charismatic 6-foot-3 receiver Aviance King has all-state finishes in state high jump the past two track seasons, while fellow wideout and defensive back Marcus Waller qualified last season in the 400-meter hurdles.
Running in the Blackhawks' all-state 400- and 800-meter relays was none other than their top running back of 2008, Leon Spears.
While graduated cornerback Josh Zinzer anchored those two relays, younger brother Nate is around to uphold the family tradition. The list goes on: Rob Lauzen, Max Souvannasing, Jarrick Phillips...
"Our key is getting the ball a lot to our skilled kids, and creating turnovers and getting the ball back on defense and giving those kids an opportunity," said West Aurora coach Roger "Buck" Drach. "And staying healthy."
You can't hit what you can't catch, and in Spears the Blackhawks have a burner. As a junior he led the team in rushing, carrying the ball 112 times for 622 yards, a 5.6-yard average, with 5 touchdowns.
Spears was the Blackhawks' second-leading scorer behind graduated all-DVC special teamer Markus Cocroft.
"He might be one of the finest tailbacks I've coached in 35 years," Drach said of Spears. "I've had some good ones, and he's right up with them all. Great speed, great vision."
Drach also praised Waller and King, the latter contributing 20 catches for 339 yards and 3 touchdowns a year ago.
As a junior, Malcolm Wood wasn't going to come out for football, but his change of heart paid off when this summer he won the quarterback job. Drach expects the senior, apt at reading defenses, to manage a good game.
That job should be made easier by a big offensive line that returns four starters: college prospect and three-year starter Matt Gorges; guard Marcos Hernandez; 6-foot-5, 310-pound tackle Michael Kim, projected by Drach as the "sleeper of the bunch"; and Dave Hulett, a tight end converted from tackle.
"He's big enough he can whack somebody," Drach said.
As the coach said earlier, West Aurora will have to whack somebody and get the ball back to its offense. And then hold on.
Last season the Blackhawks - who won their two nonconference games then went 1-6 in the DVC - turned the ball over 22 times while enjoying just 6 takeaways themselves. The diminished time running offense resulted in only 233.2 yards per game.
Offensive execution will be more important particularly since middle linebacker Tony Ellison is the sole returning defensive starter. He made 16 solo tackles with 9 assists to rank 11th on last year's squad.
"We're competitive every year," Drach said. "The thing is, we've got to stay healthy and get to the next game."