By Stephen Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
CHICAGO, Ill. – On Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., a showdown involving a highly regarded, undefeated team will take place. Said team will feature a quarterback heading to the SEC next season, and a junior running back who has already received Big 10 interest.
The program has been nationally ranked in the past, and will likely be ranked again soon, especially after playing another very tough opponent.
The game atmosphere will be electric. Although the school is situated in a very small community, fans are passionate and flock to games in the thousands each weekend.
On Monday, starting preparations for the big game, the team practiced in temperatures that nipped at 80 degrees.
Which state will this game be played?
Raise your hand if you guessed Illinois.
Lower your hand if you peaked at the top of the page.
Somewhat quietly, the high-powered Maine South Hawks, considered by many to be the state’s top team, will play another big game this weekend against a 5-2 New Trier squad, just one week after holding off a gutsy Glenbrook South team 30-27.
Led by Vanderbilt-bound quarterback and Illinois Player of the Year favorite Charlie Goro, Maine South features the type of athletes more typically associated with teams playing in the South.
“He’s a pure thrower, but has unbelievable speed and just knows how to run the football,” head coach David Inserra said.
Goro used his blazing speed on the state champion 4x200 track team, which he anchored. He also completed passes at a 75 percent clip last year. He’s a great backfield complement to another speedster, junior running back Matt Perez, who is making a name for himself in his first season at the varsity level.
“He’s our strongest guy, forget about pound-for-pound,” Inserra said. “He’s our best running back ever, and he’s only played seven games for us.”
Inserra likened the 6-0, 197 pound running back to former Wheaton Warrenville South star running back Dan Dierking, who was a two time All-State player for the Tigers before heading to Purdue. In fact, Inserra thinks Perez is ahead of his pace.
“I think he’s far ahead of Dierking,” Inserra said.
Perez has been somewhat limited statistically, given that most of Maine South’s victories have been blowouts. Inserra’s preference to use a pass-friendly, one-back system has also limited his touches.
It’s hard for the Hawks not to pass the ball, with talented all-purpose star Joey Orlando lining up on the outside.
Orlando is remarkably versatile. In addition to his wide receiving duties, he also plays cornerback and returns kicks and punts. The only time he gets to step off the field is when the Hawks come out in punt formation.
“He’s athletic, mentally tough, in great shape and has high energy,” Inserra said. “He just loves being out there.”
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Orlando has such a passion for the sport. The community of Maine South, located in Park Ridge, just west of Chicago, has grown to be a bastion of pigskin pride.
“It’s a smaller community, only 38,000, but there’s a lot of pride,” Inserra said. “It’s alive and well. There’s a lot of community involvement.”
There has also been a marked increase in football at all levels, including flag football. In turn, more players come out for the high school team each year with valuable playing experience in the lower levels.
“It’s not necessary for a kid to have played when they come here, but you can definitely tell the ones who have,” Inserra said.
Illinois is not the first state that jumps to mind when one conjures up thoughts of small communities rallying around their local football team. At least with Maine South, however, that is certainly the case.
“We tell the kids that this program is part of the community, and the community is part of the program,” Inserra said.
Inserra, himself a graduate of Maine South, spent nine years as an assistant under Phil Hopkins before taking over the program in 2001, after the Hawks captured their second state title. The program reached the championship game in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Helping to foster the growth of football in the Maine South community no doubt have been two members of Inserra’s coaching staff: offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss and defensive coordinator Rick Magsamen, who have each been on staff for over 20 years.
“We’ve kind of grown together as assistants, and now we’re together as a head coaching staff,” Inserra said.
Inserra’s staff seems to be the final ingredient for Maine South’s recipe for success. With top-shelf talent, coaching, and community support all present, the Hawks are poised to last deep into the 8A state playoffs, and will be an enormous challenge to New Trier on Saturday afternoon.
With all those pieces in place, and a scintillating game atmosphere all but guaranteed, the only reminder that the game is not being played in a bigger state with a more acclaimed football reputation may just be the forecast for Saturday: mostly sunny, 57 degrees.