By Kevin Schmit Daily Herald Sports Writer

Another week, another game.

Another dose of hype for Naperville Central.

Ever since the Redhawks claimed the state's No. 1 ranking early last season en route to the program's first state title, the spotlight has burned the turf at Memorial Stadium.

Never has it been brighter than it'll be tonight.

Naperville Central takes on Naperville North, ranked fourth in the Associated Press Class 6A poll, in a battle of unbeaten rivals at 7:30 p.m. tonight at North Central College's Cardinal Stadium.

Under an intense media glare and in front of an anticipated overflow crowd of between 10,000 and 12,000 fans, Naperville Central goes under the microscope one more time.

This game will decide the DuPage Valley champion. It'll have key seeding ramifications for the playoffs, and there's the never-ending search for bragging rights.

The savvy Redhawks (7-0, 5-0 DVC) are taking it in stride, just like they always seem to do.

"Actually, it's been rather calm lately," said senior linebacker Drew Kocsis. "I guess it's the calm before the storm."

That storm figures to be Naperville North (7-0, 5-0). This will be the highest-profiled regular-season game between these teams since the series began in 1975.

The last time both teams were unbeaten heading into their showdown was in 1995, before the interest of a half dozen television crews came along. But that game fell in Week Three, too early to have the full impact.

Neither side can remember a regular-season game with this much attention.

"There's a lot more media, there's a lot more interest," said Redhawks coach Joe Bunge. "It takes more of my time than I'd like, but I guess it comes with the territory."

The attention doesn't faze the Redhawks' players.

After going through last year's state-title run and the accompanying buildup, they've learned to look beyond the hype and focus solely on the game.

Eight returning starters on defense, along with key returners on offense, make it much easier to do that.

"Experience always helps, and a lot of our guys have been through this before," said Naperville Central senior wide receiver Kevin Noel, a three-year starter. "Each year, it just gets bigger and bigger. But we can't worry about that."

Interest in Naperville Central ebbs and flows depending on the particular week.

Coming off last year's state title, the Redhawks burst out of the gate as the unanimous No. 1 team this season. Instant hype.

The 21-game winning streak and six-week shutout streak rolled along, attracting further interest. They're ranked 13th nationally by USA Today and sixth by Rivals.com, giving the Redhawks exposure on a much grander scale.

Then there was the Week Three injury to quarterback Owen Daniels, who committed verbally to the University of Wisconsin just before a torn ACL ended his season.

Noel is another Division I recruit with several offers on the table. He took an official visit to Purdue last weekend. The defense, meanwhile, has its share of players with college possibilities.

In so many ways, this is a well-publicized team with a ton of interest.

"We try not to talk about it too much, we just try to keep it to ourselves," said senior defensive tackle Joe Alvarez. "It's something that we can eventually look back on. It's not something we want to focus on now."

It all comes to a head, though, in games like this.

Few events spark more interest in Illinois high school football than the annual Naperville game. With both teams being unbeaten this time, interest is going through the roof.

Having gone through it so many times before, Naperville Central won't blink an eye.

"You've got to be level-headed about the whole thing," Kocsis said. "Act like you've been there before, and act like you're going to be there again."