Nowhere to run
St. Edward coach Mike Rolando was not a happy camper Friday.
Rolando didn't hold back in expressing his disappointment with the Green Wave during the team's postgame meeting on Greg True Field following a 23-18 loss against Aurora Christian.
(Michael Smart/Staff Photographer)
After watching St. Edward miss tackles, drop passes and generally get pushed around on both sides of the ball by the Eagles, Rolando's frustration came as no surprise.
Friday's defeat aside, the Green Wave's football resurgence this fall has been one of the feel-good stories of the season around the area. But things suddenly aren't so rosy for St. Edward going into the final two weeks of the regular season.
All year the Wave appeared on its way to the program's first trip to the playoffs since 2003 and third postseason berth in school history. At 5-2 overall, St. Edward is already eligible for the playoffs, but a 10th game this year is far from guaranteed.
The Wave must win one more contest to clinch a postseason berth, but that won't be easy as Marian Central and Wheaton Academy loom. Both of those opponents are 5-2 following impressive victories this past weekend.
Unfortunately for St. Edward, a 5-4 record likely won't be enough to punch a ticket to the playoffs. That's because the Wave is short on playoff points, which factors in the combined number of wins a team's opponents have compiled to decide which 5-win squads go to the postseason.
Simply put, St. Edward must get things back on track in a hurry if it wants to extend its season.
"It was disappointing," St. Edward senior Jon Godfrey said of Friday's loss. "But we'll just move on and start to think about next week."
Larkin and Genoa-Kingston are in much the same situation as the Wave. Both of those teams are 4-3 and likely need to win both remaining games to get to the postseason due to a lack of playoff points.
That won't be easy for either squad as the Royals square off against South Elgin in Week 9 and the Cogs take on state-ranked Stillman Valley next Friday.
For St. Edward, it will take a much better effort than the one the team showed Friday to pick up another win.
The Wave looked like an offensive juggernaut for the first six games of the year, averaging 41.3 points, 438 total yards and 280.5 rushing yards per game.
Against Aurora Christian, offensive production was hard to come by as St. Edward mustered only 199 total yards and 60 rushing yards, both of which are season lows. In the end, the Wave simply couldn't contend with the pressure the Eagles brought at the line of scrimmage.
"(Aurora Christian) started to bring a bunch of guys and blitzing their outside linebackers," Rolando said. "We had trouble getting their backers off the line and we couldn't get outside because they have good team speed."
How St. Edward bounces back will define how this 2009 season is remembered. We'll find out what the Wave is made of the next two weeks.
Without further delay, here is a look back at Week 7 and quick look ahead to Week 8.
St. Charles North continued to add to its reputation as the best team in the area by throttling Neuqua Valley 31-5. The North Stars clinched their eighth straight trip to the playoffs while ending the Wildcats' postseason hopes.
All signs pointed to a competitive game when struggling District 300 rivals Dundee-Crown and Jacobs squared off. In the end, it wasn't much of a contest as the Golden Eagles took out some frustration with a 37-6 whipping of the Chargers for their seventh straight win in the series.
St. Charles North at South Elgin, 7:30 p.m. on Friday -- Expect a playoff atmosphere when these two postseason-bound teams collide. The North Stars will be trying to stay in the Upstate Eight Conference title race.
Burlington Central at Hampshire, 7 p.m. on Friday -- The Rockets need to beat the rival Whip-Purs for the third time in four years to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
Marian Central at St. Edward, 7 p.m. on Friday -- A playoff berth will be on the line for both teams when these former Suburban Catholic Conference foes renew pleasantries.
