Jack Krejci, Naperville North
File photo by Dennis Wierzbicki
Naperville North High School’s football team had been in summer workouts for less than a week, and already the Huskies’ defensive domination was showing up big time.
This time, without pads. Lined up against Ridgewood High School last Saturday in the annual 7-on-7 passing jamboree, held each June at St. Francis University, the Huskies had pass interceptions in the first two plays against Ridgewood’s No. 1 offensive unit.
“Yeah!” yelled Huskie players from the sidelines.
Defensive coordinator Sean Drendel showed his approval by slapping his hands together. In 11 pass plays, the Huskies had three interceptions. Ridgewood’s only completions came on safe screen passes to running backs coming out of the backfield.
Not a bad first look for a Naperville North team which finished 10-1 last year, and has all three of its linebackers returning: outside linebackers Arnez Gintaulis and Jack Krejci, and middle backer Nick Lifka. Also among the returning defensive starters is senior nose tackle Blex Vixama.
“They are a hard-working group and we are expecting big things from them,“ Drendel said.
Saturday, the Huskies played 7-on-7 scrimmages against four schools (Ridgewood, Morris, Oak Forest, Warren), all on the same afternoon. The St. Francis jamboree, which covers three consecutive Saturdays in June and ends this coming Saturday, kicks off Chicago’s summer preseason workouts.
Bolingbrook High School hosts passing scrimmages every Tuesday, and will be host to a day-long jamboree July 18 with 48 schools signed up to participate.
At St. Francis, each 7-on-7 scrimmage consists of about 50 plays. In alternating sets of 10 plays, each teams runs approximately 20 plays from 30 yards out. Then, each team has five plays in a red zone situation from the 5-yard line. Coaches are on field during the scrimmages, calling plays and often expressing displeasure with plays not run the right way, whether offensively or defensively.
“You must be trying to make me yell!” screamed one Morris coach, shaking his head.
Players do not wear pads, and neither tackling nor blocking is allowed. Four scrimmages are held at the same time on mini-fields for six hours, three hours in the morning and another three in the afternoon. For coaches, the jamboree provides an opportunity to evaluate their players in a competitive arena.
“It is enjoyable because we get out and play competition we don’t see all year long,“ Naperville North head coach Larry McKeon said. “Our kids, out of 25 plays, maybe get in 10 plays or 12. We’re trying right now just to find kids to play certain positions, see what kind of talent we have. We’re not here to win, we’re here to look at our kids, instill our offense and defense.”
For McKeon, who called North’s offensive plays, that means evaluating his offense closely, including the key positions of tailback and quarterback.
Nick Mlady, who rushed for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, begins his freshman year at Cornell in the fall. Also lost to graduation was quarterback Matt Manade, who completed 44-of-82 passes for 717 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. Matt Lacosse, a junior who is Manade’s likely successor, threw for 207 yards and 1 touchdown last year and ran the No. 1 offense in the jamboree.
“We’re still deciding” on the No. 1 quarterback, McKeon said. “He (Lacosse) has a little more experience than anybody else, and he has some height. He‘s a three-sport kid and he really hasn‘t had a chance to work on his arm yet. He‘s coming off a baseball season. As a pitcher in baseball, you throw a lot different than as a quarterback, so he‘s trying to get out of his pitching mode a little bit right now. He‘ll improve.”
In Lacosse’s first series against Ridgewood, he hit receivers across the middle of the field in crossing patterns and also completed passes to the outside. Against Morris, he completed 7-of-10 passes, but was also intercepted once.
“We’re a little rough right now,” Lacosse said. “We need to get some reps down, I need to hit receivers better.”
And that’s exactly what these summer passing-and-catching jamborees are for. To work some of those kinks out in advance of a football season that is just two months away -- Naperville North opens its season Aug. 28 at Naperville Neuqua Valley.
“Right now, it’s all technique,” Lacosse said. “Running routes crisp. Everything else will come. The throws will be there, the routes will be there. We just need to really plan and do the little things.”
Recruiting: Wheaton North’s Graham will be a Buckeye
Taylor Graham, a quarterback at Wheaton North, will follow in his dad’s Buckeye footsteps after all. Entertaining scholarship offers from eight schools in five BCS conferences, Graham verbally committed to Ohio State on Tuesday.
His father, Kent, a former NFL star, played at Ohio State and Notre Dame, and led Wheaton North to a state championship. Among the other schools chasing Graham were Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin of the Big Ten, UCLA of the Pac-10, Arkansas of the SEC, Colorado of the Big 12 and Duke of the ACC.
“It wasn’t just because my dad went there. I felt God led me there,” Graham told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Graham is ranked as one of the top 30 recruits in Illinois among the Class of 2010.
* Alex Rossi, a 6-foot-5 forward from New Trier in Winnetka, gave a verbal commitment to the California basketball team, according to rivals.com. Rossi had also been offered by Iowa and Northwestern, Big Ten schools closer to home, but opted for the west coast because his playing opportunities at Cal may be immediate once he arrives for the 2010-11 season.
“Cal had an opportunity for me to play right away when I come in. They’re losing all their wings,” Rossi told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Rossi plays for the Rising Stars club team during the spring and summer. One of Rossi’s teammates at New Trier, 6-10 center Fred Heldring, committed to William & Mary last week.
Basketball: Jeff Jordan gives up hoops for books
Former Loyola Academy star Jeff Jordan, one of Bulls great Michael Jordan’s sons, announced this week he would not play next season at the University of Illinois.
Jordan, a junior, made the team as a walk-on in his freshman year and averaged more than eight minutes a game last season as a sophomore guard. He played in 33 of the Illini’s 34 games, scoring a career-high five points against Detroit.
“I loved playing for Fighting Illini and appreciate the support I was given by my teammates, coaches and the great fans here. But I have come to the point where I’m ready to focus on life after basketball,” Jordan said in a statement.
Jordan is a psychology major, and earned an academic scholarship.
“He brought great work ethic to the gym and pushed himself, as well as his teammates. I know Jeff has given this much thought,“ Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said.
Jeff Jordan’s retirement from college hoops comes at a time when his younger brother, Marcus, is entering the University of Central Florida (UCF) as a freshman on a basketball scholarship. Marcus Jordan helped lead Whitney Young to the Illinois Class 4A championship last season and had sparked interest from Big Ten schools.
Soccer: Fortune named to PARADE team
Wheaton Academy’s Leah Fortune, who scored 29 goals in the Warriors’ Class 2A state-championship season (22-3-2), was named to the PARADE Magazine high school girls soccer team and was selected as one of the top 15 players in the nation by ESPN.
Fortune, a University of Texas recruit, is also a member of the Brazil U-20 national team.
Leagues: Northern Illinois Big 12 begins in 2010
Twelve schools from north central Illinois have banded together to form the Northern Illinois Big 12, and will begin play in fall 2010, confirmed Yorkville High School athletic director Seth Schoonover.
The league will offer play in 22 sports, including football, baseball, softball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls outdoor and indoor track.
East division schools will consist of Dixon, Geneseo, LaSalle-Peru, Ottawa, Sterling and Streator. West division schools: DeKalb, Kaneland, Morris, Rochelle, Sycamore and Yorkville.
Paul Bowker covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.
