Naperville Central at Naperville North When: 7:30 tonight at North Central College. Last week: North defeated Wheaton Warrenville South 26-24; Central defeated Glenbard North 31-30. What to expect: Central playing North is like the Chicago Cubs playing the Chicago White Sox — the better team has no guarantee of winning, especially when playing at a neutral venue. Both teams struggled in earning their seventh wins last week, edging opponents by a combined three points. Central stopped North's 2-point conversion attempt on the last play of the game. North recovered the Tigers' onside kick with less than a minute to play and benefited from Wheaton Warrenville South's two missed field goals. Both performances last week revealed flaws, but don't use them as a gauge for this game. Anything can and will happen in what is the decisive game for the DuPage Valley Conference title.
Although Central's defense struggled early against Glenbard North running back Brian Mitchell, it has proved all season that shutouts are the norm. Central helped the Panthers believe it could compete when the Redhawks surrendered a touchdown on Glenbard's North first drive of the game. Central did it again when it turned over the ball at the 6-yard line on the opening kickoff of the second half. Big mistakes empower good teams, and Central can't afford many against North.
The Huskies offensive scheme ranks among the best, scoring at least 30 points in four games this season, and North has thrived without veteran running backs Bill Jurjovec and Kevin Hahn. North's offense, which averages 28.7 points per game, will have to dent Central's average of 4.3 points allowed to beat the Redhawks. The Huskies have recorded only one shutout and face a Central team that averages 38.1 points per game. North ranks fourth in the DVC for points allowed (112) behind Glenbard North (106), Glenbard East (93) and Central (30), allowing an average of 16 points per game. Brad Engel's pick: Naperville Central.