By Stacy St. Clair Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on October 12, 2000
Don't despair if you're not among the 10,000-or-so spectators at Friday night's
Naperville Central-Naperville North football game.
You may not be able to see the game, but you'll definitely be able to hear it.
Three radio stations - more than any in the rivalry's 26-year history - will be
carrying the cross-town classic live.
The stations' interest reflects the excitement surrounding the much-hyped
showdown. With a state ranking, conference championship and city bragging
rights on the line, many are considering it the biggest high school game of the
regular season.
"It's the biggest game we've had," said Pat McCarthy, sales manager for
WMVP 1000-AM. "The biggest match-up by far."
That's high praise, considering the station airs only marquee meetings for its
Wendy's High School Game of the Week. Bill Simonson, host of the HUGE
Show, will handle the broadcast.
The teams kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at North Central College's Cardinal
Stadium. The game was moved to the campus to accommodate the throngs of
fans and media expected to attend.
Without North Central's press box, it would have been difficult to handle the
three stations' requests to broadcast live. At least a half-dozen TV stations also
intend to air remotes from the game.
The media, no doubt, is relishing the inherent drama surrounding the annual
grudge match. The game will mark the first time in recent memory the Redhawks
and Huskies have met this late in the season with unblemished records.
Central comes into the contest ranked first in state, with North holding the No. 4
spot. The two teams, however, struggled to survive tough games last week and
both will be starting backup quarterbacks.
The annual grudge match has never seemed so electric - or so up for grabs.
"You don't usually think of high school sports being this exciting, but this game
is," said Scott Corriere, sports director at WONC 89.1-FM. "It's incredible."
WONC, North Central College's campus radio station, will begin its festivities
at 3 p.m. with remote broadcasts from Cardinal Stadium. The pre-game show
begins at 6:30 p.m. with a sports reporters round table and interviews with
former Redhawks and Huskies.
The station is devoting so much energy to the game, it doesn't have enough
personnel to give equal coverage to the college's own homecoming the next
afternoon.
"This (North vs. Central) is like a Cubs-Sox game," Corriere said. "No matter
how either team is playing during the season, it is always a good game."
Aurora-based WKKD 95.9-FM also will broadcast the game live. Though the
station rotates among area high school football teams on Friday nights, the
Naperville contest is the season's highlight.
"We've had our eye on this one all summer," programming director Mike
Noonan said. "It's obviously our biggest game of the year outside the playoffs."
Amid all the media hoopla, the two high schools are trying to maintain normalcy.
They treat the contest like any other regular season game - no bonfires or pep
rallies - even if the rest of the world doesn't.
"The media is certainly giving it a lot of attention," Naperville Central Athletic
Director Marty Bee said. "And it deserves attention because these are two great
teams. But we just look at it as another Friday night football game."