Rivalry revisited: Neuqua Valley vs. Waubonsie Valley

1999: NEUQUA VALLEY 14, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 6

Neuqua Valley finished 4-5, 4-3 Upstate Eight Conference;

Waubonsie Valley finished 4-5, 3-4 Upstate Eight Conference;

Upon meeting, Waubonsie Valley was 4-4, 3-3 and Neuqua Valley was 3-5, 3-3

In a battle between Waubonsie Valley tailback Tabyrone Evans (36 carries, 170 yards) and Neuqua Valley tailback Bryen Johnson (26 carries, 138 yards), Johnson's 2 second-quarter touchdowns (20, 2) allow Neuqua Valley to prevail.

Neuqua Valley quarterback Eric Ilich, who transferred from Waubonsie Valley prior to his junior year, said before the first Waubonsie Valley-Neuqua Valley game: "This one is going to be the biggest deal as far as emotions go and as far as backing up what's been said, because it's been going on for four years."

2000: NEUQUA VALLEY 21, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 17

Neuqua Valley finished 3-6, 3-4 Upstate Eight;

Waubonsie Valley finished 5-4, 4-3 Upstate Eight;

Upon meeting Waubonsie Valley was 5-3, 4-2 and Neuqua Valley was 2-6, 2-4

Neuqua Valley quarterback Mike Askren hits receiver Chris Genslinger on a touchdown pass from the Waubonsie 1-yard line as the clock winds down the last 15 seconds.

"It was a rollout and I didn't run one all year," Askren said. "…Now I gotta go celebrate."

2001: WAUBONSIE VALLEY 7, NEUQUA VALLEY 0 (OT)

Waubonsie Valley finished 6-5, 4-2 Upstate Eight;

Neuqua Valley finished 1-8, 1-5 Upstate Eight;

Upon meeting Waubonsie Valley was 2-1, 1-0 and Neuqua Valley was 1-2, 1-0

Three days after 9/11, tailback Andrew Block runs 7 yards on Waubonsie's second play in overtime -- after fumbling on the Warriors' last possession in regulation. Drew Weimer, who had missed 2 field goal tries, hit the extra point. Neuqua fails to score in four plays in overtime.

"It feels great to come in here and beat Neuqua Valley," said Block (30 carries, 120 yards).

2002: NEUQUA VALLEY 27, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 7

Neuqua Valley finished 6-4, 5-1 Upstate Eight;

Waubonsie Valley finished 3-6, 1-5 Upstate Eight;

Upon meeting Neuqua Valley was 1-2, 1-0 and Waubonsie Valley was 2-1, 1-0

Waubonsie Valley wins the coin toss but defers, allowing Jason Horton to return the opening kick 97 yards for a touchdown. He later got the game ball. Wildcat linebacker David Inman returns a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown as Neuqua gets its first 2-0 conference start in history as well as its first .500 start after the opening week.

Neuqua coach Bryan Wells: "Without a doubt this is the biggest victory in a long, long time, maybe in the entire program."

Waubonsie coach B.J. Luke: "I thought they big-played us."

2003: NEUQUA VALLEY 28, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 7

Neuqua Valley finished 7-3, 6-1 Upstate Eight;

Waubonsie Valley finished 3-6, 2-4 Upstate Eight;

Upon meeting Neuqua Valley was 2-2, 1-1 and Waubonsie Valley was 1-3, 1-1

In the first year this game was held at North Central College, five Waubonsie players including quarterback Paul Blalock and running back Larry Russell go out with injuries. Neuqua takes a 28-0 lead. Fullback Drew Fumagalli runs for 85 yards and tailback Mike Genslinger runs for 68 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Genslinger: "Once we got moving, we steamrolled from there."

2004: NEUQUA VALLEY 63, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 21

Neuqua Valley finished 8-2, 7-0 Upstate Eight;

Waubonsie Valley finished 5-5, 4-2 Upstate Eight;

Upon meeting Neuqua Valley was 3-1, 2-0 and Waubonsie Valley was 2-2, 2-0

Neuqua Valley scores on its first six possessions and nine of 11 overall. The Wildcats led 42-0 late in the second quarter, behind quarterback Ken Rice's school-record 244 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, and Mike Genslinger's 221 yards rushing and touchdowns of 1, 3, 54 and 14 yards.

Rice: "We didn't want to just beat them -- we wanted to show they can't play with us. And we did so."

Genslinger: "I didn't think it'd be this easy."

2005: NEUQUA VALLEY 22, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 3

Neuqua Valley finished 9-2, 6-0 Upstate Eight;

Waubonsie Valley finished 5-5, 4-2 Upstate Eight;

Upon meeting Neuqua Valley was 4-1, 2-0, Waubonsie Valley was 4-1, 3-0

In Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy's introduction to the rivalry, Rich Tronolone's 20-yard field goal gives the Warriors a lead. Neuqua Valley scores 22 unanswered points, 2 of which come on a Boomer Reuhl safety. Fullback Jonn Haywood runs for 100 yards, tailback Alan Smith for 165 yards.

Haywood: "I talked to (his teammates) on the sideline, told them, 'Hey, we've to step this up, got to bring the pain. They call me the Train over there, so I told them, 'The Train was about to leave the station.'"

2006: NEUQUA VALLEY 25, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 6

Neuqua Valley finished 8-2, 6-0 Upstate Eight;

Waubonsie Valley finished 5-4, 3-3 Upstate Eight;

Upon meeting Neuqua Valley was 4-1, 2-0, Waubonsie Valley was 3-2, 2-1

Neuqua tailback Anton Wilkins runs for 106 yards and a touchdown, Waubonsie linebacker Kevin Garbis returns an interception 20 yards for a touchdown, but Neuqua linebacker-tight end C.J. Robertson dominates with a 10-yard touchdown reception, an interception, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, and 18 tackles with 2 for loss. Waubonsie gains 128 total yards.

Robertson: "We really wanted to shut them down because earlier in the week one of (Waubonsie's) players was, like, 'Neuqua Valley's defense gave up 25 points (last week), we know we can score on them. That just set us off, to be honest with you. We were just like, 'Nope, not in our house, not this week.'"

2007: ??????

Upon meeting, Neuqua Valley is 1-2, 1-0 Upstate Eight; Waubonsie Valley is 1-2, 0-1 Upstate Eight

Neuqua Coach Bryan Wells: "They were the 14th ranked team (by one publication, fourth by the Daily Herald) at the beginning of year, weren't they? We're still treating them that way."

Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy: "Friday night should be a good game. I know they'll (Neuqua Valley) play their best game of the year."