Scouting West Aurora at Wheaton North

West Aurora (2-2, 0-2) at Wheaton North (3-1, 1-1)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: Wheaton North 24, West Aurora 13.

Last week: Naperville North 21, West Aurora 7; Glenbard North 17, Wheaton North 14.

Outlook: West Aurora coach Buck Drach was nearly at a loss for words after the Blackhawks' 45-6 loss to Naperville Central in Week 3. Fortunately, defensive coordinator Tony Melchiori was in full throat. His reinforcement of the importance of tackling resulted in an outing against Naperville North that had Drach gushing. "That was as good an effort as we have had in years," he told Daily Herald correspondent Kevin McGavin after the game. Drach later credited linebackers Brandon Warren, D.J. Nelson and Kendall Williams for protecting the inside. West Aurora will need a similar effort in this DuPage Valley Conference contest, against a quarterback in Reese Butler who Drach said may be the best signalcaller his team's seen thus far. The Blackhawks' pass defense, which will have practiced against the same basic shotgun-spread offensive scheme for the past four weeks, is more geared to stopping Butler's 10- to 15-yard passes than it was Naperville North quarterback Matt LaCosse's deeper throws. The Falcons, who may be tempted to look ahead to next week's game at Wheaton Warrenville South, have trailed West Aurora at one point in each of the last four meetings. That leads to one of several critical factors for the Blackhawks: confidence. They also have to eliminate mistakes like ill-timed penalties and fumbles, and be able to block an 8-man front. Josh Campbell connected with Cole Childs on a 10-yard touchdown pass last week, but the goal is to get backs Tyson Lassiter and Marcus Waller rolling. "We just need to get some consistency on offense and get the running game going," Drach said. "That's something we haven't done so far."

Next week: West Chicago (1-3, 0-2) at West Aurora, Oct. 1; Wheaton North at Wheaton Warrenville South (4-0, 2-0), Oct. 1.