Neuqua Valley (3-2, 3-0 Upstate Eight Valley) @ West Aurora (1-4, 1-2 Upstate Eight Valley), 7:30PM.
Last week: Neuqua Valley beat East Aurora, 69-27; West Aurora beat Bartlett, 34-28
Storyline: Balance was the name of the game for Neuqua Valley last week as 10 players found the end zone during its 69-27 victory over East Aurora.
Against the Tomcats, Indiana State-bound QB Broc Rutter completed nine of his 11 passes for 244 yards and four TDs, all in the first half and to four receivers, as the Wildcats established a new program single-game scoring effort with their 69-point effort.
Four Wildcats–Dominick Muoghalu, Charlie Hunter, Jacob Krajacic and DeVaughn Welch–ran for touchdowns while two others, Zach Herdman and Luke Sawicki, added kickoff returns for TDs as they used a 27-point performance in the first quarter to run away from East Aurora.
The Wildcats have scored 139 points in their last 10 quarters of play, dating back to the second half of their 26-6 win over Glenbard East on Sept. 12.
Looking to extend its winning streak to four, Neuqua Valley heads to Aurora to face off with a West Aurora team, which is coming in on a high after snapping a 12-game losing streak with a 34-28 victory over Bartlett a week ago.
Running back Drake Spears came back from an injury to help spark the Blackhawks with 123 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries against the Hawks while Blackhawks’ junior QB Johnathan Doyle completed all nine of his passes.
Phillip Malloy caught eight of Doyle’s nine completions for 84 yards in the West Aurora win over Bartlett, its first win as a returning member of the Upstate Eight.
Neuqua Valley coach Bill Ellinghaus on West Aurora: “Well, they have very talented running backs. I mean, they’ve got three really good running backs, I think, and their quarterback does a nice job. Offensively, they’ve got some weapons over there that are a big concern of ours. I know (Spears) just came back from an injury and we saw him play against Metea, but they weren’t 100 percent healthy against Metea, I know. They’re coming off a big win and being at home, I mean, I think that’s always a concern.
“But our main focus this week and every week is going to be is we have to focus on ourselves. We got to focus on getting ourselves better and if we can get ourselves better and work hard during the week and stay focused on what we have to do as a team, I feel like (we’ll continue to make strides). We just need to continue to improve each and every week.”
