Roughly 1,700 tickets have been sold for Saturday's game - about 1,000 through Naperville Central and approximately 700 through Naperville North, said the schools' athletic directors.

"It's a Saturday afternoon," said Marty Bee, Central's athletic director. "More people might have things to do on a Saturday."

The season's first showdown between the two schools was held on a Friday night - Oct. 13 - at North Central College. The game drew about 15,000 spectators.

But as the teams gear up for the playoff game, which starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at Naperville Central's Memorial Stadium, the atmosphere at both schools has been somewhat quiet this week.

"It's pretty subdued, really," said Neil McCauley, North's athletic director. "You have to keep the kids down some. They can get too high for stuff like this, too emotional. You have to treat it as just another game as much as you can."

As the game gets closer, students likely will build up the hype more, Bee said.

Central students plan to paint their faces in red and white before classes start today. And North will hold a pep assembly this afternoon to recognize all fall sports teams.

"We'll have a mini-rally for the football game, but it's not for that alone," said North's Principal Peter Pasteris.

Tickets for Saturday's game cost $5. Bee expects anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 people to attend.

The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of the Plainfield-Glenbard North game, also being played Saturday.

For details on Saturday's game, call (630) 420-6966, ext. 4444.