Neighbors set to meet at Memorial Field

On the surface, a game between a pair of winless teams might not seem all that intriguing.

However, when Elgin and South Elgin meet tonight at Memorial Field, plenty will be on the line.

First off, both teams will be trying to move beyond especially disappointing efforts in Week 3. While the Maroons were being pounded at home by Kankakee 61-0 last week, the Storm was in the midst of a stunning 6-3 loss at East Aurora that marked the Tomcats' first win since the 2006 season.

In addition, there is the added excitement that comes with playing a neighboring rival.

After Elgin beat South Elgin 44-20 in the first meeting between the schools in 2006, the Storm returned the favor last year with a convincing 49-7 triumph. With bragging rights on the line, the winless records for both teams can be thrown out the proverbial window.

"Our kids have already told us there was some bantering back and forth over the weekend," South Elgin coach Dale Schabert said. "Familiarity makes the rivalry. We know each other pretty well, so we're excited."

Added Elgin coach Dave Bierman: "Something we stress to the young men is ... you always want to try to beat everybody in your district. There's a little sense of pride in that, but we know South Elgin is going to be hungry too."

Problems on defense have played leading roles in the slow starts to the season for both teams.

South Elgin surrendered almost 400 yards and over 30 points in each of its first two games before limiting East Aurora to 233 yards in sloppy playing conditions last week. The numbers are worse for Elgin, which is allowing an area-worst 49.7 points per game, 348.7 total yards per game and 6.8 yards per rushing attempt.

Offensively, both squads have had their moments, but haven't been able to come through at key times.

The Storm piled up over 200 yards in each of its first three games, but hasn't scored a touchdown since its season opener against Marmion. Nonetheless, Bierman is wary of a South Elgin offense led by quarterback Pat Rae and standout receiver Josh Smith.

"(South Elgin) runs multiple formations, so one key for us is going to be our alignment," Bierman said. "After that, it's just getting to the ball."

On the other side of the ball, the Maroons continue to adapt to Bierman's spread offense. After decent efforts in the first two weeks of the season, Elgin took a step back last week as it was limited to 69 total yards and eight rushing yards on 17 carries.

The lack of a ground attack has been a major issue for Elgin, but Schabert knows that three-year quarterback Tom Roth and talented receiver/running back Jamal Cook are capable of producing big numbers.

"Tommy is a very good athlete," Schabert said. "Cook lines up in the slot and in the backfield. He does a lot of things for them and we're going to have to make sure we know where he's at constantly. Not to take away from any of the kids on their team, but he's a playmaker."

South Elgin expects junior linebacker Sean Kolber to be back in action after battling an injury. Elgin junior Julian Smith is questionable as he continues to deal with an injury.

Schabert will also be back after missing last week's game for health reasons. He said he was disappointed to miss a game for the first time in his over 20-year coaching career, but he was back leading practice Saturday morning.

He added that he's especially excited for tonight's game, which marks his return to Memorial Field. Schabert spent many years on the sidelines at the field both as a Larkin player and later as the Royals' head coach from 1995-2004.

"I haven't been back to Memorial in four years and I keep telling these kids it's a great place to play a football game," Schabert said. "I'm looking forward to going back. When you think of that venue and some of the teams and players that have played there, it's got a lot of history."