Friendship put on hold until after quarterfinal game
Daily Herald

 

By Kevin Schmit Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted on November 9, 2001
 
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."

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