Metea Valley (3-2, 2-1 Upstate Eight Valley) @ No. 7 Waubonsie Valley (5-0, 3-0 Upstate Eight Valley), 7:30PM.
Last week: Metea Valley won at South Elgin, 44-27; Waubonsie Valley won at Glenbard East, 28-27 (OT)
Storyline: While both on multi-game winning streaks, Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley meet with playoff eligibility squarely in the crosshairs of both programs.
Courtesy of last week’s dramatic overtime win at Glenbard East, Waubonsie Valley is now playoff eligible and will be looking to officially clinch its spot in the Class 8A postseason with its fifth win in as many tries against Metea Valley.
Zack Bennema’s 10-yard TD run in OT, coupled with a blocked PAT as the Rams tried to send the game into a second OT after scoring 18 fourth-quarter points, helped keep the Warriors unblemished this season.
The Warriors’ senior QB ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns as he, Tony Durns and Ryan Berg combined to score five rushing touchdowns for the Warriors against Glenbard East.
Meanwhile, senior quarterback Kyle Mooney threw four touchdown passes, including three in the first half, for Metea Valley in its 44-27 win at South Elgin, its second straight victory.
Mooney got tons of help from backfield mate Bryson Oliver, who ran for a season-high 257 yards and two TDs for a Mustangs team that continues to work their way towards their first-ever postseason appearance.
Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy on Metea Valley: “They’re like us. They’ve got good skill players and (Kleinhans) has got an offensive line to go with it this year. So offensively, they’re very, very dangerous because they can run and throw and they got some nice size and good speed on the defensive side of the ball. They’ve been playing very solid, fundamental defense and Friday night is going to be like a playoff game.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere for high school football. I’m hoping for a huge crowd and it’s going to be two playoff-caliber teams playing each other, so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
“(Oliver) is the real deal. Like Tony Durns, he’s short and very, very strong and very, very fast and I think he has a way of seeing the seam and finding the hole and bursting through with speed. He’s done a really nice job for them.
“(Mooney) has done a nice job of running their offense. When it’s time to throw, he finds the receivers that are open and he’s been very, very accurate with his throws.”
Metea Valley coach Ben Kleinhans on Waubonsie Valley: “They’re just so solid year in and year out. They’re one of the top teams, if not the top team, in our area right now—undefeated, 5-0 and played a tough schedule and have come out undefeated. So that obviously concerns you, just with their high level of play on offense and defense. They’re just very good. It’s hard to find a weakness.
“Coach Murphy and their staff do such a good job of adapting their offensive scheme to their players. It’s still the same plays; they just run them differently. They’re a lot more under center this year than they were last year with their veer-option stuff.
“Their defense is outstanding. I mean, they’re defense is probably the strength of their team and they kind of play to that offensively. They don’t want to give their opponents any chances with a turnover or anything because their defense has been so, so good.”
“Their linebackers are outstanding at timing their blitzes and falling hard to the ball and their two safeties come down real hard. I think one of their safeties is second on the team in tackles. They’re experienced on defense. A lot of those guys got (time) last year in different roles, so they execute at a very high level in their defensive scheme.”
