The skinny on Naperville N. vs. Glenbard N.

Glenbard (9-4) vs. Naperville North (12-1)

IHSA Class 8A state football championship game

7 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign

The game: Appearing in its third title game, its first since 2000, Glenbard North is trying to become the sixth DuPage Valley Conference school to win a state football title. Naperville North, Class 6A champions in 1992, also earned its third title game berth and seeks its second crown. While Naperville North won the Week 5 DVC meeting 37-7 for its sixth straight win over the Panthers, Glenbard North has won both prior playoff meetings, including a 22-12 win in the 2000 semifinals.

The road to the title game: On paper 14th-seeded Glenbard North upset every team it's faced in the playoffs, including three previously unbeaten teams. The Panthers beat No. 3 Whitney Young 23-0, No. 6 York 35-12, No. 2 Fremd 32-28 and No. 1 Mt. Carmel 28-21. Naperville North, a No. 2 seed in the lower bracket of 8A, struggled little on the way to its first title game appearance since 1994. The Huskies beat No. 15 Marian Catholic 21-0, No. 7 Bolingbrook 37-14, No. 6 Lincoln-Way East 21-7 and No. 16 Homewood-Flossmoor 20-8.

The coaches: Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens has led the Panthers to the playoffs in each of his three years, compiling a 20-13 record. Naperville North coach Larry McKeon, whose Huskies teams have failed to make the playoffs only once since 1986, has an overall record of 245-83 that includes five years at Plainfield Central. He is 215-66 in 25 years at Naperville North.

Glenbard North's offense (311.8 yards, 25.7 points per game) vs.

Naperville North's defense (208.9 yards, 9.3 points allowed per game): Offensive consistency arrived for Glenbard North just in time for the playoffs. Watkins has developed into one of the state's top junior quarterback recruits with a playoff run of 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Watkins has completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,820 yards and 20 touchdowns. His No. 1 target is invaluable Ng, who has 56 catches for 775 yards and 11 touchdowns. "I'm living my childhood dream," Ng said. "I've dreamed about going to state my whole life." Doll has 1,667 rushing yards and 11 100-yard games. A pure workhorse, he's averaging 28 carries a game. An underrated part of the offense is a line anchored by all-DVC Iossi, a returning starter along with Radar and Hester. This may be Naperville North's best-ever defense. Three third-year starters lead the unit: Lackner, the DVC's defensive lineman of the year, Denard and Crawford. A key move came early in the year when Lackner and Salutric flipped spots. Smart and lightning quick, the corps of linebackers dominates. Bailin and Salutric, who boasts 18 tackles for loss, are the leading tacklers with 179 combined. The secondary is led by Hess, with 5 interceptions, and Kelsey, who has 13 pass breakups. Watch how effective the back four is in run support. It's a clear strength of the defense, which allowed only 170 yards in the first meeting with the Panthers. "Getting back to the state title game is huge for us," Hess said. "We've been wanting it since freshman year."

Naperville North's offense (370.2 yards, 36.2 points per game) vs.

Glenbard North's defense (208.8 yards, 16.7 points allowed per game): Naperville North's offense has been ultra-powerful with a mix of the run-oriented double wing and the pass-favored spread. At the heart is Tassio, the DVC's offensive player of the year. He's a dual-threat quarterback who has 1,391 passing yards, 693 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. Glenbard North must be wary of Tassio's deceptive speed as well as his power. "We've really jelled big time over the last 13 weeks," Tassio said. "That's been a huge help to us." Typically balanced in the run, Mlady emerged as a go-to guy with 1,267 rushing yards. Costantino has more than 1,000 total yards, including 35 catches as the team's leading receiver. The biggest player on the offense is Saunders at fullback. He's the man on short-yardage dives behind a light but quick line that includes all-DVC tackle Domyancic. The Huskies have been pretty conservative, mainly because they haven't needed to be fancy. Is this the game they pull out all the stops? Glenbard North's tradition starts with defense, and this season is no different. Linebacker Leal, with a team-high 115 tackles, is the glue but key additions made the unit shine. Montgomery provided a boost when he added linebacker duties in the playoffs. Same with Doll, who has played some in the secondary. Ng has been a two-way starter all year, while even Watkins has played safety the last two weeks. Wahrman, who snared a key interception against Mr. Carmel, leads DuPage County with 9 picks on the season.

Intangibles: Glenbard North's two-way players obviously haven't worn down, but it's something to keep an eye on against the two-platoon Huskies. The kicking game is pretty equal between Hackett and Tassio, but there's one big difference. Tassio's rugby punt -- where he takes the long snap, runs to either side of the field and makes a read as to whether he'll run or kick -- is extremely dangerous. As emotional as this game will be with DVC teams facing each other in a title game for the first time since 1995, don't expect lingering effects from the first meeting this season. "That game is over," Ng said. "We're not even thinking about it."