If anyone knows the difference between a 7-2 and a 6-3 record and what it means, Neuqua Valley would be a prime candidate to ask.
It was just a year ago where a fourth-quarter comeback from Waubonsie Valley in Week 8 forced Neuqua Valley to have to win at Metea Valley the next week just to finish at 6-3 to officially get into the playoffs.
After the Wildcats’ Class 8A first-round road loss to Homewood-Flossmoor, which would go on to lose to Stevenson in the Class 8A state title game, one could very easily understand the implications of the loss to the Warriors.
Fast-forward a year later and the Wildcats find themselves in the exact same position: straddling the fence between 7-2 and 6-3.
As red-hot No. 19 Glenbard North comes calling to finish out the regular season on Friday, No. 18 Neuqua Valley (6-2, 5-2) is determined to not let last week’s 28-21 home loss to Lake Park linger.
“I don’t think there’s going to be any letdown this week,” Stankoven said. “We’re already getting focused and we’ve already got a little wake up call and that’s going to stick with us this week. We’re going to have that taste in our mouth from this Friday going into Glenbard North and we’re not going to let it happen again.”
Stankoven threw three touchdown passes – a pair of those going in the direction of Western Michigan-bound Brett Borske – in the loss to the Lancers, but the Lancers’ running game won out.
On the way to securing a win in a must-win game, the Lancers ran for 354 yards on the ground as a team as three players recorded at least 94 yards rushing while three players scored touchdowns.
With the Panthers’ running back duo of junior Vittorio Tricase and senior Devion Hodges looming on Friday, Rodney Jones’ defensive unit may have its biggest undertaking of the season.
Through eight games, Tricase has recorded 1,020 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns while Hodges is up to 774 rushing yards and five touchdowns as Glenbard North (6-2, 5-2) has won its last six games after a 0-2 start.
Varsity Views Photo/VarsityViews.com
“They’re really good about staying the course and running the power attack,” Neuqua Valley coach Bill Ellinghaus said. “With backs like that, they run a power style offense and yet – those kids – they run power or they can cut back and make big plays in the run game.”
Added in for good measure is Hodges’ work defensively as he has recorded two pick-sixes and a fumble return for a touchdown to go along with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
The beneficiary of the exploits of both Tricase and Hodges, Panthers’ junior quarterback Shane Conway, isn’t taking that support lightly at all, especially in light of what they collectively did last week.
As Glenbard North put up at least 40 points for a fourth time in five games, Tricase and Hodges combined for 595 rushing yards and four TDs in its 45-9 victory over Metea Valley.
“It’s a lot of help,” Conway said. “It’s really sets up play-action, but – honestly – on a night like that, our line is opening up huge holes and the guys are hitting it hard, making guys miss. That’s really all I can ask for. The backs are doing a phenomenal job this year and it’s really making my job easier. It’s setting up a lot of things in the passing game, too, in weeks to come.”
Because of the work Tricase, Hodges and junior Isaiah Hawkins have all put in on the ground, Conway hasn’t needed to throw much.
Varsity Views Photo/VarsityViews.com
On the year, Conway has thrown the ball 84 times, completing 31 of them for 606 yards and six touchdowns – with half of them going to Jace James.
“They’ve got like a 3-3 stack going and they like to load up the box,” Conway said of Neuqua Valley’s defense. “But they can stop the pass. Owen (Piche) and Isaiah (Robertson) – they’re very good players, offensively, defensively – and that’s going to be a challenge for us.
“We got to make sure we stretch their receivers getting to the safeties, blocking the corners on our run plays and then just everything has got to be clean in the passing game. Give me time in the pocket, which I know we’re very capable of, and I know my receivers can get open. That’s really what it comes down to.”
With the help of Robertson, Piche and Borske – who have combined to catch 10 of his 11 touchdown passes – Stankoven has gotten more confortable as the season has worn on.
The two touchdown passes to Borske against Lake Park certainly is a good sign as the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Borske is up to 13 receptions for 286 yards and four TDs.
“I think our chemistry is starting to come through a little bit,” Stankoven said of Borske. “His first touchdown pass was nothing more than me tossing the ball up there and trusting him to go get that and that’s exactly what he did. With his size, he can do that. So it’s just our offense and play calling is coming and it’s becoming a little more comfortable. It’s just kind of allowing our playmakers to make plays and Brett’s one of them, definitely.”
Stankoven and the Wildcats’ offense will need to be clicking as they prepare to match wits with a Rich Smelko-coached defense that has held five of their last six opponents under 10 points.
Despite its loss to Lake Park last week, Neuqua Valley’s work since a Week 2 loss at Naperville Central has put it near the top of the DuPage Valley Conference standings.
While that seven-point loss to the Lancers has taken its DVC destiny out of its hands with the knowledge Naperville Central can win it outright with a victory at Lake Park, Neuqua Valley still harbors hope.
A victory over the Panthers not only moves it away from the line between 6-3 and 7-2 in hopes of getting a first-round playoff game, it also keeps it alive for a DVC share if Lake Park can help out.
“I know we were talking about it a little bit about it last (Friday) – me and some of the guys,” Stankoven said. “It would have been nice to come into the DVC the first year and win the title, but we’ll see. It’s still a possibility. Hopefully Lake Park can help us out and beat Central. They’re a good team, so there’s always a possibility.”
The same scenario exists for Glenbard North, which has dug itself out of a 0-2 hole after season-opening losses to Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley.
And in Conway’s eyes, for the Panthers to stay alive for a possible DVC share, they’ll have to beat a mirror image of themselves.
“I know that they’re a very good football team,” he said. “I know we beat Lake Park pretty good and I know Neuqua just lost to them, but that shouldn’t change the way we look at them. They’re still a phenomenal football team. They played a close game against Naperville Central, just like we did. They can throw the ball, they can run the ball, they can play defense. They can do it all. I think they’re a lot like us.”
