Naperville North (0-5, 0-4 DuPage Valley) @ No. 10 Neuqua Valley (4-1, 3-1 DuPage Valley), 7:30PM
Last week: Naperville North lost at Glenbard North, 46-6; Neuqua Valley won at Bartlett, 21-7
Storyline: Playoff eligibility is on the line for Neuqua Valley Friday as it meets Naperville North for the first time as DuPage Valley Conference foes.
As comfortable as the Wildcats were playing at Millennium Field against Bartlett last week – playing Naperville North in Week 6 is a little different after opening up the regular season opposite each other from 2005 until 2014.
Behind a 25-yard TD run from Owen Piche and Zach Greenberg’s 25-yard interception return for a touchdown, the Wildcats turned back Bartlett’s 7-0 lead on their way to securing a 21-7 victory.
Neuqua Valley recorded 251 total yards against the Hawks with quarterback Jack Stankoven only throwing for 96 yards as its running game combined for 142 yards on 29 carries.
While Neuqua Valley has a playoff berth squarely in its sights, Naperville North will be using the last four weeks of the season to get a young team ready for 2016.
The Huskies, after last week’s 46-6 loss at Glenbard North, will miss out on postseason play in back-to-back years for the first time since 1984 and 1985.
All three of the Huskies’ quarterbacks played against the Panthers with Vic Slopecki’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Cheatham late in regulation providing their only points.
Naperville North’s running game, spearheaded by Jaylen Lockhart, has kept it competitive throughout the year as three of its five losses have come within seven points.
Lockhart will be looking to get back on track after Glenbard North limited him to 25 yards on six carries while holding the Huskies to 112 rushing yards collectively.
Naperville North leads the all-time series with Neuqua Valley, 7-4, but Neuqua Valley has won four of the last five meetings.
Naperville North coach Sean Drendel on Neuqua Valley: “They’ve got some great players across the board. The offensive line is super physical. They do a lot of good things. (Stankoven) has an uncanny knack of getting out of bad situations. Whichever running back they’re playing, they give you two different looks but both are very effective and tough.
“They give you good two looks at tailback and then I haven’t even talked about what’s probably their best attribute – they’re super good at wideout (with Isaiah Robertson and Piche). Their tight end (Brett Borske) is a complete mismatch, so you know you’re talking about six or seven positions where the matchup isn’t good and you’ve got to find ways to disguise and move around and try to create mistakes by them. So in terms of their offense, they’re a handful – as I know everyone who has faced them believes.”
“I think our offense is a half-a-step away from being really good and I’m waiting for them to break out like they did early in the season. They’re going to make some plays and I think Neuqua Valley’s defense is one of those defenses that really flies around and puts a lot of pressure on you. They have a lot of guys that are super quick and make plays. So they’re a handful on both sides of the ball. I’m surprised but not surprised where they’re at. You could easily see them being an undefeated team at this point.”
Neuqua Valley coach Bill Ellinghaus on Naperville North: “They’ve been very competitive. Really, until last week, they were extremely competitive in every game that they played. They’re big up front again. It’s just another one of those classic Naperville North teams where they’re big and they’re physical and they’re going to be in every game. You could make an argument for their record being 3-2 or 2-3 right now, as well. They’re right there with the rest of the pack, really.”
“They’re running the ball very well this year. We don’t see the double wing, so – for us – it’s new. Our defensive coaches have been working really hard to make sure that we got this new scheme figured out. I anticipate our defense playing well, but any time you go up against a new offense or an offense you haven’t seen, at least the speed at which they’re running it, you can run into a little bit of a learning curve. I hope that learning curve takes a few plays rather than a quarter or a half. But I think it’s like everything else, sometimes you just got to see it in game speed.”
“(Lockhart) is running the ball very well right now. He really is. You just got to know where he is at all times. He’s a guy that you really got to contain offensively. Once again, you got a back that you’re not going to be able to stop. But if you can contain him and limit his big plays, then you feel like you got a good chance.”
