Instant classic II?

Much like last year’s Week 9 meeting between Naperville North and Wheaton Warrenville South, all eyes will be on Tigers linebacker Pat Dansdill (48) and his teammates as they march into Harshbarger-Welzel Field to challenge the Huskies tonight.
(Sun file photo)

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Nick Mlady and Evan Watkins sat in the stands of Ryan Field on Saturday as Northwestern-Purdue played out in front of them.

The Naperville North senior running back listened as Watkins - a 6-foot-6-inch quarterback who has verbally committed to Northwestern - explained how his Glenbard North team hung on for a 14-13 victory over Naperville Central the night before.

Surprisingly, Wheaton Warrenville South never really came up in conversation.

Consider that Evanston scene an exception because the rivalry is still a good reference point for the message boards, the media, even North's students and staff.

"Every time anyone ever asks you about a game, they always ask you about the Wheaton South game and when it is," Mlady said. "It could be Week 2 and they'll be like: 'So, when do you guys play Wheaton South?'"

And if players start slacking off in the weight room, they will be reminded of a 42-41 triple overtime loss.

"Coaches, all they have to say is: 'What happened last year at Wheaton South?'" Mlady recalled. "Everyone just knows exactly what they're talking about. (It) just kind of turns the mentality all around."

That regular-season finale was considered an instant classic, and there are the YouTube clips to prove it. Tonight in Naperville it's another showdown for the DuPage Valley Conference championship featuring two undefeated teams ranked second and third (North and Wheaton South, respectively) in the latest Chicago Sun-Times poll. By late Thursday afternoon, 21 media members had already requested to be on the pass list, including at least four print outlets, two television networks and two radio stations.

But this isn't necessarily about players you will see Saturdays on ESPN. Mlady (1,052 yards rushing, 16 touchdowns) has received an offer from Navy, spoken to several Ivy League schools and taken unofficial visits to Northwestern and Northern Illinois.

Outside of Mlady and 6-foot-5-inch, 270-pound offensive tackle Jake Baratz, the Arizona recruit who has helped the Huskies rack up 2,424 rushing yards, there aren't many upperclassmen on the Football Bowl Subdivision radar.

Instead, Harshbarger-Welzel Field will showcase two programs with the infrastructure to withstand graduation losses, injuries and external expectations.

"This is a fun team, a bunch of ordinary Joes playing football," WW South coach Ron Muhitch recently told Taylor Bell of the Sun-Times.

According to the IHSA, the official combined enrollment of the two schools is 5,571. So when a running back like Peter Jarrett - who had accounted for more than 500 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns through the season's first six games - suffers a season-ending knee injury, know that WW South will find a replacement.

And when the Huskies lose 10 defensive starters from the 2007 Class 8A state champions, they can slide in a sophomore linebacker - Nick Lifka - and watch him lead the team with 53 total tackles.

It helps that the lone returning starter - defensive end Tim Weidenbacher (eight-plus sacks) - is flying off the edge. And that the DVC tested North's defense with back-to-back games against Glenbard North and Central.

"We learned how to play a little bit harder, play with a little bit more emotion," North defensive coordinator Sean Drendel said. "We talk about a younger group, but they learned a lot from the past group - how to play hard, (the) winning attitude."

Next week North will be making its 12th consecutive postseason appearance. The Huskies will have missed the playoffs once in the past 23 seasons. Their last losing season came in 1983, or Larry McKeon's first as coach. That run includes state titles in 1992 and 2007.

Next month WW South will be looking for its sixth state title in the past 17 seasons.

The last time WW South lost a DVC or regular-season game was exactly four years and two days ago. It happened less than two miles from the North campus at Memorial Stadium, where Naperville Central secured a 20-17 victory on Oct. 22, 2004.

Since then the Tigers have won 27 consecutive conference games and 35 straight in the regular season. This week the Rivals network ranked WW South 91st in the country.

"It's great tradition and really good programs. I'm guessing the coaching is tremendous over there with how good they do every year. And we have pretty good coaching too," North senior wingback Pat Waite said. "Football is a game where little things can make a difference and coaches push hard for those little things that will make a big difference."

If necessary, the Tigers know they can win a game late with special teams. In Week 4 against Glenbard North Nick Immekus - a 223-pound offensive lineman who looks nothing like a kicker - drilled a 45-yard field goal with 1.6 seconds left to lift WW South to a 16-14 victory. For either program, tonight could trigger another historic run.

"So much of coaching is getting kids to believe in themselves and then getting opportunities like this for that to play out, and that's exactly what happened here tonight," Muhitch said at Grange Field after last season's victory. "This team will be a pretty tough team in the playoffs, I'm gonna tell ya, by this victory. This will make them a totally different group of kids."