Who wants it?

When Glenbard North's Mike Fierro got Naperville Central's Sean Kelly in his grasp Friday at Memorial Stadium, it illustrated Central's situation as a team. By losing 14-13 to the Panthers, the Redhawks fell further from the playoffs.
Danielle Gardner / Staff photographer

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As the Neuqua Valley football coaches entered the locker room before practice Monday, they were asked to remain outside. The Wildcats wanted to hold a players-only meeting, a sometimes drastic step taken by a team struggling to keep a season from slipping away.

"We talked about why we started playing football," senior free safety Owen Larson said. "We got down to the point where we were like, 'We want to have fun.' We haven't been playing to have fun. We've been playing tentative."

The Wildcats, 1-2 for the second year in a row, are hoping to implement their change in attitude tonight against Waubonsie Valley, another team reassessing itself. The Warriors are 0-3 for the first time in more than a decade.

The teams, both 0-1 in the Upstate Eight Conference, meet in the Indian Prairie Classic at 7:30 tonight at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville.

The Warriors also met without coaches following several practices this week. When the coaches headed back inside, the players stuck around on the field to listen as senior Sherrod Stancil addressed them Monday. Fellow seniors Mark Hilgers, Mitch Ewald and Tyler Castro joined in as well.

They were concerned because it seemed not everyone properly understood the situation facing the Warriors. Ewald pointed to some players laughing and enjoying themselves on the bus ride home after a 21-0 loss at St. Charles East last week.

"We really wanted to get these guys into shape and to get their minds right," said Ewald, an Indiana-bound kicker. "The season's not over. We can still make the playoffs. It's going to be hard, but it's not over yet."

If the Warriors are looking for proof of that, they need look no further than across the field. Last season Neuqua fell to 1-3 after losing to Waubonsie, but still rallied to reach the playoffs and knock off Lyons Township in the first round.

For more inspiration, they can look at Glenbard North, which started 2-4 last season before advancing all the way to the Class 8A state final, where the Panthers lost to Naperville North.

"There's no need for us to give up now," said Castro, who is 1-1 versus Neuqua at quarterback. "This is my last year being in the green and gold. I'm not going to give up on this. Even if we're 0-8, I'm still going to fight."

Whichever team comes out on the losing end, it's going to be an uphill battle the rest of the way. The Warriors, co-UEC champs with St. Charles East last season, have the easier part of their schedule in the second half. Their final five opponents have four combined wins. But they would have to win all five games just to be playoff eligible.

Neuqua, meanwhile, which won three straight UEC titles before last season, has a slew of formidable opponents awaiting, including unbeaten Bartlett in Week 7. The Wildcats also have both St. Charles teams coming to Neuqua.

It means the Wildcats could be facing a stern challenge to their run of six consecutive playoff seasons.

"In the summer we were playing more like a team, and then we came out here (for the season) and it's been a little sloppy," senior wide receiver Mike Camire said. "Execution has been killing us. We've been beating ourselves and we're not fixing that."