10/10/01

  Things will look and feel a little different for the Naperville North and Naperville Central football teams when they take the field Friday.

   North hosts West Aurora and Central challenges Glenbard East in Lombard — neither venue is comparable to North Central College's Cardinal Stadium, site of Friday's cross-town classic. Both teams will have to tap the same emotional source retrieved for their rivals to survive potential spoilers in the last two weeks of the regular season. Central, bidding for the No. 1 seed in the state playoff series, and North, trying to clinch a playoff berth, have to withstand West Chicago and Glenbard East, respectively, in Week 9.

   While Central's glorified shutout and North's abominable loss last week have become a thing of the past, it still marks a time to put their seasons in perspective.

   "Last year, losing to (Central) built our season," Naperville North defensive coordinator Sean Drendel said. "I think our kids were embarrassed losing to them because we didn't give them a good showing in front of 15,000 fans, and looking at our kids, it seemed like people second-guessed North's program."

   North rebounded and beat Central in the state quarterfinals, handing the Redhawks their only loss in the last two seasons. Central garnered revenge in front of 14,000 fans last week, but only time will tell the remainder of this season's tale.

Look who's talking
 

  Senior running back Jason Paquette — or perhaps it's safe to pigeonhole him as a tailback — blossomed from what many thought a limited-down fullback into a box-office star after his 160-yard, three-touchdown performance against North this year.

   Much like Bruce Willis without shoes in "Die Hard," the area's rushing touchdowns leader persevered through an off-week of academic ineligibility prior to the big game and stormed through North's defensive line. After filling in for the sidelined Kyle Griffith — the starting senior tailback who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament — Paquette dedicated the game to Griffith, reducing to a more compassionate Willis as seen in "The Sixth Sense."

   Bouncing from interview to interview like a pinball, Paquette acted cool and confident in the spotlight, much like Willis as a guest star in the television series "Friends," but still second to Central's star-studded cast: the Redhawks offensive line.

   "I've always been intrigued by (Central coach Joe Bunge's) offense," Drendel said. "Their offensive line is always outstanding. Obviously, they like the running game. Everything comes from the running game, and they were one of the first teams at the high school level that use what's now called the zone play. A lot of people have learned that and applied it to their team."

   The zone play asks the offensive linemen to block whomever it makes sense to block, creating holes and allowing the running back to pick a seam. Minus a 69-yard rushing performance against West Aurora — what might be considered senior quarterback Phil Horvath's sharpest performance in the air through the first four weeks — Central has averaged 183 yards rushing per game with this system.

   This facet of the DuPage Valley Conference's most formidable offense allows Horvath the extra time to throw to wide receivers Tyke Spencer and Dan Passarelli and tight end Curt Benson.

   "We don't feel anyone can cover us one-on-one," Spencer said of himself and Passarelli. "If they come out and want to put one guy on one of us, we feel we can execute all day. And if they drop off, we can run on them."

   Subtracting Horvath's 54-yard passing performance against Marian Catholic in Week 1, the Redhawks average 202 yards passing per game. Horvath recorded his best performance of the season against the Huskies, throwing for 231 yards on 14-of-21 passing.

Look who's talking, too
 

  Naperville North coach Larry McKeon can't remember the last time the Huskies lost three games in a row, and it's been a decade since they lost two straight.

   The problem? For starters, North has lost to the Sun Super 10's No. 1-ranked team, last year's state runner-up (Glenbard North) and John Thorne's bunch (Wheaton Warrenville South), which is playing with emotion in his 22nd and final season. But North senior fullback Steve Sarm spoke last week before the Huskies' third consecutive loss about the team's faltering unity and inability for the offense and defense to show up on the same day.

   "I think after the first loss it was kind of, everything was down a little bit, and I think that's why we played poorly in the second game," Sarm said about the loss to the Tigers, the DVC's second-place team. "It was a lackluster game. No team unity, no nothing. After the second loss, we realized we had to play a lot better to win."

   The unity showed against the Redhawks, stopping them on three fourth-down plays in the first half and recording a turnover before entering halftime in a scoreless tie. And even after Central scored on its first drive after the break, North seemed positive. But Sarm, North's offensive leader and defensive staple at strong safety, failed to get a first down on a fake punt and then fumbled the ball to Central on consecutive possessions, aiding Central to its five consecutive scoring drives. Perhaps North saw Central stop its best player twice and thought again about its chances at winning.

   "When you're playing good teams, you can't lose the turnover game and win," said Drendel, who mentioned the Huskies recorded a favorable 15-3 turnover ratio in their first four victories but since have quickly neared minus 10 in three consecutive losses.

   After scoring 25 touchdowns through Week 4, North has managed only three in the last three weeks. For both teams, the climax marks a time for review of the season and preview for the remaining road to the playoffs. The hype will be missing in weeks 8 and 9, but the importance will rival that of the first seven weeks and the theme will remain, "Get the job done."

10/10/01