Dundee-Crown vs. Jacobs: A rivalry with meaning

Both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Each has been on the receiving end of some lopsided scores lately.

And the main reward for a win this Friday is an escape from the basement in the Fox Valley Conference's Valley Division.

However, a drive down Randall Road through Algonquin shows that the rivalry football game between District 300 sister schools Jacobs and Dundee-Crown means as much in years like this one, when the teams enter with identical 1-5 records, as it does in the banner years. Probably more.

"Separated by a river, brought together by a rivalry," the Jacobs message board on Randall Road reads this week.

Dundee-Crown leads the all-time series 16-10, dating back to 1983, but Jacobs has won the last 6 meetings. However, the annual Jacobs-Dundee-Crown game (Friday at 7:15 p.m. at Jacobs), has never been about records, even in the best of years.

It is rooted in players who know one another from their middle school days and families living blocks apart, whose children attend different high schools. It's about bragging rights at the summer block party, or at work, or at a little league game next spring. The annual community get-together reminds everyone involved of the similarities between the people who populate both high schools while simultaneously celebrating their uniqueness. The players know one another well, and they don' want to lose to old buddies.

"When you have a good rivalry game, it's always going to be a good, hard-fought game," D-C coach Mike Davis said. "It's always exciting and the kids love it. I think we're very fortunate to have a true rival because not everyone does. It would be better if we were both playing for the playoffs as far as interest in the game, but the kids who are going to play the game are excited. It should be a good game."

The rivalry, though always intense on the field, is kept in perspective.

"I think both teams have a lot of respect for each other," Jacobs coach Dean Schlueter said. "This has always been a big game every year we get together. It's a great rivalry we have in every sport. And this comes at a good time."

Both teams need a win. This season has not been kind to the Golden Eagles (1-5, 0-2) or the Chargers (1-5, 0-2), though each opened the year with a victory. Jacobs beat Moline 21-9. Dundee-Crown was pushed to overtime at Elgin but prevailed 20-19, when the Chargers stopped Elgin's 2-point conversion attempt. But both schools have since endured 5-game losing streaks.

Dundee-Crown went on to lose a close Week 2 game to Streamwood (28-27) before losses to Johnsburg, Grayslake North, Crystal Lake South and McHenry, a stretch during which the Chargers were outscored 193-52.

After beating Moline, Jacobs lost to Johnsburg (42-28), Prairie Ridge (27-10) and Grayslake Central (20-0) before one-sided losses to Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South by a combined score of 107-6. The Golden Eagles return home for the first time since its Week 3 homecoming on Sept. 11.

The game is being played in Week 7, not in the season finale as it was the last two seasons. Davis would like to see the game revert to Week 9.

"I don't know if it would make the game better, but it would make the last four or five weeks of the season more interesting for the guys," he said. "I've always said they should do it like they do it in college, where you play that rivalry game the last game of the year regardless because you both could be 0-8 going in and the kids are still going to play the game hard because it means a lot to them."