The three-year total speaks for itself.
Since Bill Ellinghaus took over, Neuqua Valley has proved it could win inside the Upstate Eight Valley.
A record of 18-1 inside the division has highlighted Ellinghaus’ three years at the school that has seen the program win 28 games.
But how will that success translate into the DuPage Valley Conference?
At an enrollment of 3,858 entering the 2015-16 academic year, Neuqua Valley instantly becomes the biggest school in the DVC, with Naperville Central following 970 students behind at 2,888 students.
As two of the team’s anticipated offensive anchors see it, the challenge from going from the Upstate Eight to the DVC is simple.
“It’s going to be big for us to get off to a good start, joining a new conference,” senior quarterback Jack Stankoven said. “We kind of want to prove ourselves, let the rest of the conference know that coming from the Upstate Eight, we’re still a good team and we’re ready to compete at the DVC. We’re definitely excited about joining it. Getting off to a good start, that’s going to be crucial for our team, getting some confidence.”
Games at Metea Valley and Naperville Central to begin the season, followed by a Sept. 11 home date with Waubonsie Valley, brings a sense a familiarity right away for the Wildcats.
The only Upstate Eight Valley loss under Ellinghaus? A 35-28 loss to Waubonsie Valley at North Central College last October, which saw the Wildcats lose a 28-21 lead.
While matchups with the two Napervilles, the two Valleys and Lake Park aren’t new for the Neuqua Valley faithful, games against the two Wheatons and Glenbard North present a tantalizing unknown.
“We’re very excited about that, too,” Stankoven said of creating rivalries with Glenbard North, Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South. “As you know, we were in the Upstate Eight and we had a couple of those games where the competition wasn’t as tough. But joining the DVC, there’s no off-week. Every week is going to be a good game. So it’s going to raise our competition level, make us a better team, I think.”
What’s unknown now won’t be unknown nine weeks from now, all while offering up a great chance to measure up in arguably the best football conference in the state of Illinois.
“I know we’re all excited to just get our first season in the DVC, show what we’re made of,” Western Michigan-bound tight end Brett Borske said. “Show that we belong in the DVC. Just get our name out there and just show all the people that we can hang in the DVC. So all the guys are excited to get into the DVC this year.”
The Wildcats certainly enter this year with some momentum as outright Upstate Eight Valley titles in 2012 and 2013 and the title it split with Waubonsie Valley last year will attest.
Eight Upstate Eight titles and 11 postseason appearances highlight a program history that didn’t see a run past the second round of the postseason until 2012, Ellinghaus’ first year succeeding Bryan Wells.
Ellinghaus’ career record of 28-7 has shown he’s been able to expound off the foundation Wells built as he led the program to the Class 8A state semifinals in 2012 and the Class 8A state quarterfinals in 2013.
In a lot of ways, the unblemished regular season in 2012 may have opened a lot of observers’ eyes about what Neuqua Valley could be.
Three years later, 2015 may go a long way towards showing what Neuqua Valley will be.
“I feel like we can compete with anybody in the state,” Ellinghaus said. “I’ve always felt that way. I don’t back down from that. I know this is going to be a ‘bloodbath,’ as they call it. You’re going to run through the gauntlet, so to speak, with the DVC. I’ll tell you that I think it’s exciting to be playing in at least one of the best conferences in the state, if not the best conference in the state.
“I think that’s an exciting thing for the community and for the kids and for our school. Certainly going to be a challenge every single week, but the goals for our kids and the expectations don’t change depending on what conference we’re going into.”
