Coaching
counterparts Joe Bunge and Dave Pendergast are no longer friends. At
least not until late tonight. The two have been buddies since
their high school days when Bunge was at Gordon Tech and Pendergast
was at DePaul Academy. For now, though, that's history.
When Naperville Central (11-0) and Conant (9-2) square off in
their Class 8A quarterfinal game, the friendship goes on hold.
"Dave's a good guy, but we're not friends this week," Bunge said
with a laugh. Bunge's Naperville Central team is the top seed in 8A
and is in the quarters for a fifth straight year.
Pendergast's No. 9 Cougars are making their first quarterfinal
appearance since 1993 after beating Wheaton Warrenville South 30-14
to advance.
"They're a tough team, we definitely know that," Redhawks
receiver Dan Passarelli said. "Wheaton South is a great team.
Beating them is a big deal, so we know Conant must be good."
If there's one player for the Redhawks to watch out for, it's
Conant's Joe Rizzo (8 interceptions). He snared 2 interceptions last
week, including one returned for a touchdown. He also caught 2
touchdown passes.
Conant's running game is led by Leon Wiggins (637 rushing yards),
although WW South limited Conant to just 73 yards on the ground.
The Redhawks' inside linebacker tandem of Mike Lucas and Nick
Ehrlich will likewise look to shut down the run game. "Defensively,
they've probably become a little more aggressive," Pendergast said.
"The two inside linebackers are very imposing kids and the secondary
is very athletic."
Naperville Central quarterback Phil Horvath had an off-game last
week while completing 4 of 12 passes for 87 yards, but he is the
clear leader of the unit. Tailback Jason Paquette rushed the ball 25
times for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns in his fifth game as starting
tailback. The receiver tandem of Tyke Spencer and Passarelli is one
of the best around.
The Redhawks are also getting more healthy. Defensive lineman Pat
Watson returns from an injury this week, while Spencer and offensive
lineman Jeff Houghtaling are both close to 100 percent. "We're
starting to get healthy, which is good for us because we've been
pretty banged up," Bunge said. "Three or four of our guys are
getting close to 100 percent."
Pendergast and Bunge met seven times in the regular season from
1992 to 1998, and Naperville Central won each matchup. The one
time Conant beat the Redhawks, however, was a 20-13 playoff decision
in 1989. "Yeah, I remember that game," Bunge said. "We're going to
try and not let that happen again." |