#5 Chicago (Brother Rice) (6-3) at #4 Naperville (Central) (7-2) (map), Fri., Oct. 31, 7:30PM
If anyone knows the virtues and capabilities of a 6-3 football team and the relative insignificance of any record entering the postseason, it’s Naperville Central.
After all, Naperville Central entered the postseason a year ago at 6-3 and went on to rattle off five straight victories en route to winning the 2013 Class 8A state title.
So upon hearing of his team’s Class 8A first-round assignment—Brother Rice—on Saturday night, Naperville Central coach Mike Stine knows full well of the challenge that awaits his fourth-seeded charges on Friday.
“On film, they’ll be the best that we’ve seen on film. They’ve got (a) dual-threat quarterback, who’s very good,” Stine said. “They’ve got a great running back, who’s a speed kid. They’ve got a sophomore receiver. They’re very good. They put up a lot of points, so we got to try to keep them off the field if we can with our offense.”
“Their defense is very good, too. I mean, they didn’t win that conference. They only lost to Providence—the only team in the state that they lost to. So they’re very good. So it’s going to be a big challenge.”
Leading the entire state with 51 playoff points, fifth-seeded Brother Rice (6-3) has played one of the toughest schedules in the state, courtesy of playing in the Chicago Catholic League Blue.
Back in the postseason after a one-year hiatus under third-year coach Brian Badke, the Crusaders have notched victories over the likes of defending Class 8A runner-up Loyola, defending Class 7A state champion Mount Carmel and St. Rita.
Led offensively by quarterback Alex Alarcon, Northern Illinois-bound running back Marcus Jones and wide receivers Ricky Smalling and Julian Blain, the Crusaders average just a shade over 31 points a game and will provide a test for a Naperville Central defense that has played at an extremely high level for much of the year.
On the year, Alarcon has thrown for 1,961 yards and 16 touchdowns while Smalling has 56 receptions for 830 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Yeah, they play very good defense. Yeah. Obviously, we’re a very well balanced team and that’s not easy to defend,” Badke said. “We’ve got some good speed and we’ve got to utilize that as well as we can and just ball-control, try to do the best we can at protecting the football. We’ve got some talent, as well, offensively that I think can definitely combat with their defense.”
Their seven-game winning streak snapped by Wheaton Warrenville South last week after Keishawn Watson recovered a Jonathon Johnson fumble and returned it 82 yards for the eventual game-winning score in a 27-20 Tigers’ victory, the Redhawks (7-2) are turning the page.
“I thought we played pretty well. Offensively, we moved the ball. It was a great high school football game. The game went back-and-forth,” Stine said. “Each team made big plays. On that last play, we were just there emotionally thinking, ‘You know what? We got them pinned back. We can get the ball back, maybe get a chance to a first down or two and maybe get in field goal range.’ Next thing you know, the ball bounces and they catch it and return it for a touchdown.
“We had the ball bounce our way in the state championship game a year ago, so we know that that’s all part of the game and the ball bounces your way sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t. Our kids, yeah, they were discouraged that we lost the game. It was a great football game between two really good football teams. That one is behind us now and now we’ll get ready and prepare for Brother Rice. That’ll be a great challenge.”
Last week, Kevin Clifford ran for 110 yards and had a 77-yard touchdown run as the Redhawks jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead and lost despite outgaining the Tigers 285-252.
Clifford, who has 1,194 yards and nine touchdowns entering the postseason, has been the offensive focus for Naperville Central for much of the year in hopes of taking some of the pressure off junior quarterback Conor Joyce.
Joyce has been more of a threat with his legs than his arm, evidenced by just throwing two touchdown passes in nine games, and Badke acknowledged the need to stop Clifford.
“That’s really the goal. No. 1 is you got to stop the run and do the best you can with that and force them (to pass),” Badke said. “We got to win that first down. I think that’s really important, especially when you play ball-control like Naperville Central does. So that’s going to be really important moving forward into this game. They’ve got some skill though, too. So they’re a very good football team and we’ve got a tough task on Friday night.”
With both teams coming out of two of the best conferences in the state, going up an opponent like the one each team will see across the line of scrimmage isn’t a new concept.
It’s just the benefit of being battle-tested and playing good people on a weekly basis.
“We’ll just keep trying to do what we do (offensively). That’s what we’re going to try,” Stine said. “I mean, we’ve been trying to do that over the last half of the season, trying to get an identity and in the playoffs now, the one thing is our conference prepares us because every possession matters. We’ve played a bunch of those games and that’s what the playoffs are.”
