Post by momto4 on Oct 2, 2009 8:19:34 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/sports/highschools/1785362,6_2_NA23_FOCUS_S1-090923.article
(I can't find the edited version of this story that appeared in yesterday's Fox Valley Villages Sun, so this is an older version from 9/23 that was published in the Naperville Sun)
By PATRICK MOONEY pmooney@scn1.com
Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley are expected to pack North Central College once again Friday night for a rivalry game that could have postseason implications.
Waubonsie, a preseason favorite in the Upstate Eight Conference, is 3-1 and tied for first after notching two quality league victories over Bartlett and St. Charles North.
Neuqua is 1-3, but it has accumulated the most playoff points in the conference. Last week's 16-0 shutout of Bartlett could be the turning point it needed after three narrow losses by a total of 13 points to open the season.
But outside the head-to-head comparisons, there's now a third school in District 204. It has pulled students and coaches from Waubonsie and Neuqua. It will join the UEC and begin competing on the varsity football level in 2010.
The impact of Metea Valley has been felt, though it's difficult to measure completely.
"It hasn't effected the varsity yet, because we only lost our freshmen from last year who would be sophomores this year," Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. "So we lost half of our freshman team. We had 85 freshmen football players and 45 of them went to Metea.
"And then on the other hand, we picked up about 12 sophomores for this year that came from Neuqua, (so) our numbers are in the 50s on the sophomore level, which is right where we thought it would be.
"Our freshman class - obviously I don't know what I didn't get - that's gone to Metea. But I do know students that were in the Tall Grass/White Eagle area of our school district now come to us. (There are) some pretty darn good football players in our freshman class that are in that group that have come to us."
Wildcats coach Bryan Wells echoed that point. Neuqua is in the middle of its 12th varsity season, and the program's overall number of players has in recent years gone from roughly 300 to 270, in part because of Metea, which officially opened its doors to freshmen and sophomores last month.
"Those have been two good subdivisions -- White Eagle and Tall Grass," Wells said. "We've had a lot of players who've come out of there over the years."
During the preseason, Murphy said his program brought in more than 60 freshmen, some of which came from successful youth programs -- the Naperville Patriots and St. Raphael -- Waubonsie didn't draw from previously.
"The numbers are down a little bit at the lower levels, and I think that's to be expected any time you have a split, Murphy said. "But once again, in that group of freshmen I would say 10 or 12 of them are from (those) Naperville Patriot or St. Raphael programs. That's more than we've had in the past."
The UEC will split into two seven-team divisions next season with the incorporation of Metea, Geneva and Batavia. The District 204 schools will be grouped in one division.
There had been talk that crossover games between divisions could be decided by enrollments or the previous year's record. Waubonsie athletic director Mike Rogowski indicated that the seventh conference game will be decided by a draw.
The UEC should get a boost in credibility with Geneva, which is ranked No. 21 by the Chicago Sun-Times and advanced to the Class 7A final last season. Geneva will join the division opposite District 204. The comparisons to the DuPage Valley Conference will remain.
"Geneva is a really good football team that I think could beat anybody in our league and half of the DVC, if not all the DVC," Wells said. "And that's no disrespect to the DVC. I just think they're that good of a football team, at least right now."
Meanwhile, Metea will continue building its own tradition. The Mustangs are 4-0 on the sophomore "A" level. The freshman "A" and "B" teams are both 3-0.
"I think all three schools are gonna have a chance to be pretty good," Metea coach Ted Monken said. "I think it just creates more opportunities. I think this district is so big there's enough talent to fill three good teams. We'll have to wait and see."
(I can't find the edited version of this story that appeared in yesterday's Fox Valley Villages Sun, so this is an older version from 9/23 that was published in the Naperville Sun)
By PATRICK MOONEY pmooney@scn1.com
Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley are expected to pack North Central College once again Friday night for a rivalry game that could have postseason implications.
Waubonsie, a preseason favorite in the Upstate Eight Conference, is 3-1 and tied for first after notching two quality league victories over Bartlett and St. Charles North.
Neuqua is 1-3, but it has accumulated the most playoff points in the conference. Last week's 16-0 shutout of Bartlett could be the turning point it needed after three narrow losses by a total of 13 points to open the season.
But outside the head-to-head comparisons, there's now a third school in District 204. It has pulled students and coaches from Waubonsie and Neuqua. It will join the UEC and begin competing on the varsity football level in 2010.
The impact of Metea Valley has been felt, though it's difficult to measure completely.
"It hasn't effected the varsity yet, because we only lost our freshmen from last year who would be sophomores this year," Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. "So we lost half of our freshman team. We had 85 freshmen football players and 45 of them went to Metea.
"And then on the other hand, we picked up about 12 sophomores for this year that came from Neuqua, (so) our numbers are in the 50s on the sophomore level, which is right where we thought it would be.
"Our freshman class - obviously I don't know what I didn't get - that's gone to Metea. But I do know students that were in the Tall Grass/White Eagle area of our school district now come to us. (There are) some pretty darn good football players in our freshman class that are in that group that have come to us."
Wildcats coach Bryan Wells echoed that point. Neuqua is in the middle of its 12th varsity season, and the program's overall number of players has in recent years gone from roughly 300 to 270, in part because of Metea, which officially opened its doors to freshmen and sophomores last month.
"Those have been two good subdivisions -- White Eagle and Tall Grass," Wells said. "We've had a lot of players who've come out of there over the years."
During the preseason, Murphy said his program brought in more than 60 freshmen, some of which came from successful youth programs -- the Naperville Patriots and St. Raphael -- Waubonsie didn't draw from previously.
"The numbers are down a little bit at the lower levels, and I think that's to be expected any time you have a split, Murphy said. "But once again, in that group of freshmen I would say 10 or 12 of them are from (those) Naperville Patriot or St. Raphael programs. That's more than we've had in the past."
The UEC will split into two seven-team divisions next season with the incorporation of Metea, Geneva and Batavia. The District 204 schools will be grouped in one division.
There had been talk that crossover games between divisions could be decided by enrollments or the previous year's record. Waubonsie athletic director Mike Rogowski indicated that the seventh conference game will be decided by a draw.
The UEC should get a boost in credibility with Geneva, which is ranked No. 21 by the Chicago Sun-Times and advanced to the Class 7A final last season. Geneva will join the division opposite District 204. The comparisons to the DuPage Valley Conference will remain.
"Geneva is a really good football team that I think could beat anybody in our league and half of the DVC, if not all the DVC," Wells said. "And that's no disrespect to the DVC. I just think they're that good of a football team, at least right now."
Meanwhile, Metea will continue building its own tradition. The Mustangs are 4-0 on the sophomore "A" level. The freshman "A" and "B" teams are both 3-0.
"I think all three schools are gonna have a chance to be pretty good," Metea coach Ted Monken said. "I think it just creates more opportunities. I think this district is so big there's enough talent to fill three good teams. We'll have to wait and see."