Is there ever a good time to play your biggest rival?
For Neuqua Valley, timing may very well be everything.
Saddled with a second 1-1 start in the last three years, Neuqua Valley hosts 20th-ranked Waubonsie Valley as the series moves away from North Central College.
Friday’s meeting between the two District 204 rivals marks the first time since 2002 the annual regular-season tilt won’t be staged at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
And in Neuqua Valley coach Bill Ellinghaus’ opinion, the Warriors might be exactly what his team needs following last week’s 14-7 loss at Naperville Central.
“Yeah, I think it is a good time because it’s a natural letdown playing the second-ranked team in the state or whatever it was – fourth-ranked team in the state in Naperville Central,” he said. “The kids were geared up, fired up for that game and I think it’d be a natural letdown after playing them close like we did.
“But because we’re playing Waubonsie – there’s certainly never going to be a letdown when you go play your sister school and a rival you’ve had since we opened.”
An all-time series record of 13-5 in the Wildcats’ favor instills confidence – with last season’s 35-28 loss to the Warriors providing motivation in hopes of avoiding a 1-2 start in the rugged DuPage Valley Conference.
Neuqua Valley senior quarterback Jack Stankoven acknowledges the potential benefit for the Wildcats (1-1, 1-1) to get an early opportunity to deal with Waubonsie Valley (2-0, 2-0).
“Coming off Central, we need a big game,” he said. “We’re looking forward to Waubonsie. We know and we saw them at Red Grange and we played against them in the 203/204 jamboree and we saw the things we could use to be successful – passing-wise.
“But I think coming off Central’s game, a takeaway is Central keyed in on our run. They took away our runs second half, so we’re going to need to go to the air a little bit more and get the ball to our playmakers’ hands.”
A week ago, Stankoven was held to just 108 passing yards by the Redhawks as the Wildcats’ offense ran collectively for 153 yards but was slowed down as the game went on.
To Stankoven’s point, no Wildcat had more than Owen Piche’s 34 receiving yards against Naperville Central – with Isaiah Robertson close behind with 32 receiving yards.
Through two games, the Neuqua Valley passing game has accounted for just one TD – a 20-yard pass from Stankoven to Robertson against Metea Valley in Week 1 – while its running game has five touchdowns.
For a Waubonsie Valley defense that has held its first two opponents – Lake Park and Glenbard North – to 13 combined points, limiting the Wildcats’ skill on the outside is objective No. 1.
“You got two dynamite receivers in Piche and Robertson,” Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy said. “I’m sure you got a third guy to go with it. You got the (Brett) Borske kid. It looks like (Ellinghaus) has got a running back by committee because he’s got some kids out.
“When his other kids that are hurt get healthy – obviously it’s probably going to make them even better. So they got a ton of offensive weapons, so our defense is really going to have to be zeroed in on what the reads are and what are the things that we want to do defensively.”
Warriors’ defensive coordinator Ron Griffin’s charges have forced four turnovers apiece in both of the Warriors’ first two games as four players own interceptions.
One of the biggest benefactors of what Griffin’s unit has done this far, senior quarterback Jack Connolly, is quite thankful for the support.
“Our defense is incredible,” he said. “Obviously, they’ve held (Lake Park and Glenbard North) to six and seven points. The biggest thing is the turnovers. They’ve forced a lot of turnovers – big plays after big plays.”
As Connolly continues to improve on running Waubonsie Valley’s triple option, Murphy estimates Connolly is at about 75 percent with the reads.
Murphy’s hope is to get Connolly eventually around 85 to 95 percent.
Connolly agrees, saying that the process is “still a work in progress” to a degree.
“It’s something that has got to be working for us if we want to (win games),” he said of the triple option. “Our offense isn’t where we want to be right now and a whole part of that is because our option isn’t (clicking). We got to get better at running the option, with me making reads and everything because once we get that, we’re hard to stop.”
Waubonsie Valley managed just 165 yards of total offense against the Panthers last week and will be operating against a Neuqua Valley defense that has lost its middle linebacker for the season.
The news of junior Jon Rhattigan’s torn ACL, suffered in Friday’s loss at Naperville Central, was tough for the Wildcats to swallow but won’t deter them from moving forward.
One thing you won’t see is senior Nick Osikowicz, who has 26 tackles, three TFLs and four rushing TDs, moving over to Rhattigan’s spot in Rodney Jones’ defense.
“Osik is just playing so good where he’s at right now,” Ellinghaus said, “and the fact we’re moving him on the offensive side of the ball as well – I don’t want to change his position right now. He’s taken on a big load. I don’t want to change his responsibilities now for him.”
Both Connolly and Murphy concede the Warriors haven’t played their best game yet.
The fact they’re 2-0 says a lot about how much improvement the young Warriors hope they can continue to make throughout the rest of the season.
“There’s a lot of good football games left ahead of us – Neuqua being the next one on our docket,” Murphy said. “But you can’t get too high or too low. You just got to keep plugging away and do the best you can. My goal for us is ‘we’re young, let’s keep getting better. Let’s see how good we can be.’”
Despite with it coming in Week 3, the first meeting between the two programs as DVC schools carries significant weight.
Along with a third 3-0 start in the last four years, Waubonsie Valley is aiming for a second straight victory over Neuqua Valley after three straight losses.
Neuqua Valley – on the other hand – would like to avoid its first 1-2 start since 2008 as it plays at home for the first time this season.
“I think one of the things we have going for us playing against Waubonsie versus playing one of the other teams is they’re not a new opponent,” Stankoven said. “We’ve seen them before, so we know from the past what’s worked, what hasn’t and we’ll be looking to use our previous experiences with them to help us overcome their defense.”
