Scouting local college football teams

Top area teams: Wheaton College, North Central College.

Top area athletes:

Benedictine:

John Gromer, ot, sr.;

Michael Chapman, dl, sr.;

Shawn Morris, te, jr.;

Devin Montgomery, lb, so.;

Bob Corey, dl, sr.

College of DuPage:

Tom Specia, qb, so.;

Tim Haiges, wr, so.;

Dan Bermea, de, so.;

Jeffrey Lemon, db, so.;

Bo Cielenski, OL, so.

Elmhurst:

Chris Kudyba, qb, sr.;

Ryan Freund, te, sr.;

Blake Veldhuis, wr, jr.;

John Scardullo, lb, sr.;

Pat Ambriz, db, sr.;

Kyle Maple, db, sr.

North Central:

Dominic Sulo, rb, so.;

Michael MacIntosh, wr, jr.;

Don Kasper, og, sr.;

Wes Kostellic, lb, sr.;

Matt Wenger, lb, so.;

John Guzaldo, dl, sr.;

Derek Sulo, db., so.;

Tyler Venier, db, jr;

Jordan Hoffman, db, sr.

Wheaton:

Andy Studebaker, de, sr.;

Mike McKinney, lb, sr.;

Jonathan Toal, lb, sr.;

Pete Ittersagen, db, jr.;

Kirk McKenney, db, sr.;

Zach Ullrich, qb, sr.;

Andrew Hersey, rb, jr.;

Chris Fossum, wr, sr.;

Noah Dreyer, wr, sr.;

Geoff Rowson, og, sr.;

Thomas Christner, ot, sr.

Key dates: Elmhurst at Benedictine (Sept. 1); Grand Rapids at College of Dupage (Sept. 8); Lakeland at Benedictine (Sept. 29); Wheaton at North Central (Oct. 6); North Central at Elmhurst (Oct. 13).

Scouting report: Circle that Oct. 6 date on your schedule because the showdown between last year's College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin co-champions promises to be a real barn-burner. Both teams are loaded, especially on defense, and they're ranked in several preseason polls. North Central coach John Thorne appreciates the rivalry but feels the Cardinals will have arrived when they can win as much as they lose against the Thunder. North Central's only victory in the past five years was in 2005.

CCIW Player of the Year Studebaker and fellow All-America candidate Ittersagen lead the Wheaton defensive charge that helped the Thunder to the second round of the NCAA playoffs before falling to eventual champ Mt. Union.

The Cardinals, who have improved every one of the past five years, also won a game in the postseason. "This group wants to go deeper into the playoffs than we've ever gone," Thorne said. "They'd love to have a shot at the National Championship."

Both teams' fortunes rest in part on the shoulders of new starting quarterbacks.

While Elmhurst is not ranked in the preseason, the Bluejays come off a 6-4 season with 14 starters returning and they're looking to rise above their fifth-place CCIW finish of last year. Quarterback Chris Kudyba, who led the Elmhurst offense two years ago, went down with a knee injury in last year's season opener. With Kudyba healthy Bluejays coach Tom Journell is optimistic about the coming campaign.

Both Benedictine and College of DuPage are continuing the progress they made last year.

In Jon Cooper's second year, the Cardinals finished 4-6 and placed fifth in the Illini-Badger Football Conference. With 19 starters returning, Cooper believes the Eagles can finish above .500 and move up in the conference.

After a string of miserable seasons at COD, Fred Fimbres took the coaching duties and the team turned the corner, earning a pair of victories and giving a strong account of themselves in most of the losses. QB Tom Specia will once again lead the attack as the Chaps hope to continue their progress.

"If we stay disciplined and work hard, I believe we can turn a few of those losses into wins," Fimbres said.

-- Neil Shalin