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20/20 foresight for
2002 football season
August 23, 2002 BY STEVE TUCKER STAFF REPORTER A 20/20 look at the
upcoming 2002 high school football season: 1. WHO ARE THE CHICAGO
AREA'S MAGNIFICENT SEVEN? A returning Sun-Times
All-Area and All-State selection and the area's top-rated prospect, as well
as being one of the nation's top 25 in USA Today, Buffalo Grove
quarterback-safety Tom Zbikowski tops the list. He proved to be effective as
a passer, runner and defender. After the Bison knocked off Glenbrook North in
the state playoffs, Spartans coach Frank Whalen said, "I am the head of
the Tom Zbikowski fan club.'' Others are Benjy Kennedy,
Morris, QB; Terry Love, Proviso East, WR; Martin O'Donnell, Downers Grove
South, OL; Mike Jones, Richards, OL; Akim Millington, Wheaton North, OL; and
Corey McKeon, Naperville North, LB-RB. 2. WHO ARE DOWNSTATE'S
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN?
Another preseason USA
Today All-American, 6-5, 275-pound lineman Lawrence "Moe'' Dampeer of
Decatur MacArthur, is the best. Last fall, he had 97 tackles, 47 for losses.
The others are Zach Kettelkamp, Sacred Heart-Griffin, LB; Jake Cunningham,
Pontiac, WR-RB; Milan Woodard, Edwardsville, RB-DB; Luke Drone, Mount Carmel,
QB; Larry Moore, Moline, RB; and Andre Brown, Bloomington, QB. 3. WHO ARE THE
PRESEASON PICKS TO WIN STATE TITLES? In Class 8A, defending
champion Downers Grove South rates a slight edge with 11 starters back. The
Mustangs have a huge and very talented offensive line and figure to add to
the 12-game winning streak they bring into the season. Two big holes were
left on offense with the graduation of quarterback Mike Cuzzone and receiver
Kent Hughes, who made the 34-31 upset of Naperville Central in the 2001 title
game a personal highlight film.
You
can never count out Mount Carmel. The Class 7A favorite will feature running
back Greg Owens, who coach Frank Lenti said "could well be the best
running back we've had since I've been coaching here.'' That says a lot.
Mid-Suburban East powers Buffalo Grove and defending 7A champion Prospect
also will be heard from. In Class 6A, Richards,
which was smashed by Providence in last year's title game, looks for another
shot. The Bulldogs are well-coached and in what is being called "the
year of the offensive lineman,'' veteran coach Gary Korhonen may have the
best in Mike Jones. The defense is ahead of
the offense right now, according to Joliet Catholic coach Dan Sharp. The
Hilltoppers have a great shot at a fourth consecutive state crown for the
second time, after pulling off a four-peat from 1975-78 under Gordy
Gillespie. Somewhere along the line, 2001 runner-up Morris will contest the
issue. Others to watch are
Montini in Class 4A, Spring Valley Hall in 3A, Aledo in 2A and Westmer in 1A.
4. WHO SAID YOU HAVE
TO HAVE SENIORS? Lincoln-Way East fielded
its first team in 2001, and there wasn't a senior in the school. But coach
Rob Zvonar had a team that went 9-0 as sophomores before Lincoln-Way split.
So all he did was lead the Griffins to a 6-3 regular-season mark and a
playoff berth. Now how many coaches have ever been able to say that all 22
starters are back? Led by quarterback Dustin Powell and lineman Otto Linwood,
the Griffins figure to make a lot of noise this fall, and depth will come
from a sophomore squad that went 9-0 last fall. 5. WHAT IS THE
PRESEASON ALL-AREA OFFENSE? QB: Tom Zbikowski,
Buffalo Grove; RB: Greg Owens, Mount Carmel; Pierre Thomas, T.F. South; WR:
Terry Love, Proviso East; Brandon Tobias, Thornton; TE: Brandon Davis,
Riverside-Brookfield; OL: Mike Jones, Richards; Martin O'Donnell, Downers
Grove South; Akim Millington, Wheaton North; Steve Douglas, Joliet Catholic;
Drew Nystrom, Prairie Ridge; P: Kris Coffee, Downers Grove South. 6. WHAT IS THE
PRESEASON ALL-AREA DEFENSE? DL: Charles Myles,
Harper; Otto Linwood, Lincoln-Way East; Chris Flores, Wheaton South; James
Ryan, Batavia; LB: Ryan Lincoln, Joliet Catholic; Corey McKeon, Naperville
North; Sean Walker, Carmel; DB: Steve Oliver, Homewood-Flossmoor; Donald
Parker, Vocational; Ryan Galka, Rolling Meadows; Dan Brummond, Joliet. 7. WHAT IS THE PRESEASON
ALL-PUBLIC LEAGUE OFFENSE? A four-year starter who
is still mending from a hernia operation last month, Hubbard quarterback Nick
Davis is the consummate leader for a team that has dominated Public League
play for four years, but went too far in the state playoffs the last two
seasons to play in the city playoffs. The others--RB: Antoine
Doby, Hubbard; Cinque Chapman-Pratt, Morgan Park; WR: Steve Embry, Harper;
Antwain Allen, Kenwood; TE: Christian Hopkins, Hyde Park; OL: Charles Myles,
Harper; Chris Acevedo, Curie; Mark Demopoulos, Lane; Seren Woodfork-Bey, Hyde
Park; Otis Hudson, Marshall. 8. WHAT IS THE
PRESEASON ALL-PUBLIC LEAGUE DEFENSE? Defensive lineman Kambium
Buckner was a big reason Morgan Park won the Public League playoffs. In fact,
it was a trifecta for the Mustangs, who were city champions at the sophomore
and freshman levels as well. The others--DL: Keith
Bond, Julian; Michael Slaughter, Dunbar; Laurence Rodgers, Simeon; LB: Joe
Mays, Hyde Park; Chris Patterson, Hubbard; Shaun Jourdan, Bogan; DB: Nathan
Lyles, Hubbard; Bryan Jackson, Whitney Young; Aaron Taylor, Robeson; Donald
Parker, Vocational. 9. WHO ARE THE AREA'S
TOP 10 JUNIORS? Two linebackers, Chris
Patterson of Hubbard and Sam Carson of Downers Grove South, who made the only
interception in last year's Class 8A championship game, head the list. The others are RBs Marcus
Randle El of Thornton, Matt Caffey of Romeoville, Bobby Buchanon of Joliet
Catholic and Erik Newman of Downers South, QBs Sean Lewis of Richards,
Jeffery Ziemick of Oswego and Britt Davis of Riverside-Brookfield, who takes
over for 2001 Player of the Year Tim Brasic, now a freshman at Illinois, and
WR Jeremy Fears of Joliet. 10. WHO ARE THE AREA'S
TOP FIVE SOPHOMORES? Barrington quarterback
Garrett Seeger was exceptional as a freshman. At 6-2, 180, he figures to be
among the area's best for three more seasons. Others include Joliet
Catholic impact linebacker Chris Jeske; Naperville North's Greg Wunderlich,
who was the first freshman to play varsity quarterback for coach Larry
McKeon; and running backs Eric Small of Naperville Central and Ray Woodford
of Fremd, a move-in from Georgia. 11. WHO IS A FRESHMAN
TO WATCH? Hubbard's Demetrice
"Scooter'' Williams is a 5-9, 170-pound bundle of dynamite. "From what I've seen
in practice, Scooter is going to be a special player,'' Hubbard coach Elton
Harris said. "A lot of the guys [former players] have stopped by and
they have all seen his potential.'' 12. WHAT IS THE BEST
QUOTE? Mount Carmel coach Frank
Lenti on last season's disappointing early exit from the state playoffs:
"We didn't have the usual Mount Carmel season. We had too many me guys
that needed to be we guys.'' 13. WHO ARE FIVE
ROOKIE COACHES TO WATCH? Replacing legends sums up
the job ahead for John Ivlow, who takes over for retired Phil Acton, and Ron
Muhitch, whose longtime friend John Thorne retired and passed the job on to
his longtime defensive coordinator. Others include John
Wander at Downers Grove North, Bruce Tuomi at Walther Lutheran and Mark
Vanderkooi at Chicago Christian. 14. WHAT IS THE BEST
LOCAL WEB SITE? Nothing is as complete or
as entertaining as www.edgytim.com, which has conference previews and
rankings as well as features and recruiting news. 15. WHAT IS THE BEST
PUBLISHED RESOURCE?
The fourth annual
Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Football Guide is more than
600 pages, with rosters, pictures, schedules and other facts on almost every
team in the state. And it's only $10. For information, go to www.hssp.cc.
16. WHATEVER HAPPENED
TO THE CATHOLIC LEAGUE? When the Catholic
Metropolitan Conference was formed, the Catholic League and East Suburban
Catholic were merged. Beginning in 2003, the Catholic League will be back.
With football starting after a layoff of more than 30 years at St. Ignatius,
the Wolfpack will have a varsity team in three years. Holy Cross, a founding
member of the ESC, is expected to join the Catholic League next month. The ESC will have 10
schools--Joliet Catholic, Marist, Benet, Marian Catholic, Bishop McNamara,
Notre Dame, St. Viator, St. Joseph, St. Patrick and Nazareth, now a football
independent. 17. WHO IS A PLAYER
YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF BUT WILL? Stevenson linebacker Tim
Kang. The 5-11, 235-pound defensive lineman-linebacker is a transfer who
moved from Ohio and figures to help make the North Suburban favorite Patriots
even tougher. 18. WHAT ARE 10 OF THE
BEST REGULAR-SEASON GAMES? Downers Grove South at
Lockport, Aug. 30; Stevenson at Naperville Central, Sept. 5; Naperville North
at Wheaton North, Sept. 13; Providence at Joliet Catholic, Sept. 20; Buffalo
Grove at Prospect and Kansas City Rockhurst at Joliet Catholic, Sept. 27;
Morris at Riverside-Brookfield, Oct. 4; Naperville Central vs. Naperville North
at North Central College, Oct. 11; Bolingbrook at Andrew, Oct. 18; T.F. South
at Richards, Oct. 25. 19: WHO ARE THE AREA'S
TOP FIVE KICKER-PUNTERS? Downers South coach John
Belskis knows that his team's punting and kicking will be in good hands with
senior Kris Coffee, who handled the duties last season. Others are Mike Berry,
Prairie Ridge; Matt Bolt, Lyons; Sean Collins, Notre Dame; and Paul
Standring, St. Rita. 20: WHICH 10 TEAMS
JUST MISSED THE SUPER 25? With Illinois-bound
running back Pierre Pierce, T.F. South could make the SICA Orange showdown
and regular-season finale at Richards a battle of 8-0 teams for the second
year in a row. Others are McHenry, Hillcrest, York, New Trier, Lake Park,
Morgan Park, St. Charles East, Bolingbrook and Loyola. |
