When No. 1-ranked Naperville Central visits No. 2 Naperville North Friday night, the stage will be set for a classic football confrontation.
It is rare enough for the top two teams in the area to collide, but to have those teams from the same town, it’s no wonder Naperville has been called the capital of high school football this season.
These two met last in the Class 6A semifinals last fall when an Illinois season-high 12,000 fans jammed into Central’s stadium to watch North prevail. Folks in town have circled Friday night on their calendars ever since.
Naperville Central is led by its triple-threat offense of quarterback Tim Lavery, running back Jim Tumilty and wide receiver Jason Scherer. Naperville North features quarterback Scott Kavanagh and running backs Jeremy Walsh, Tom Jurjovec and Astor Scott.
Kavanagh at 6 feet 4 inches, 190 pounds, and Lavery, 6-3, 190, are rated the best quarterbacks in Illinois and among the top college QB prospects in the nation by recruiting services. Tribune staff writer Bob Sakamoto compiled the daily diaries of Kavanagh and Lavery as they and their teams prepared for the Battle of Naperville.
Monday
North’s Scott Kavanagh: “I was tired, waking up at 7 for our 7:30 practice. Wonder what time Central practiced today? I want this week to move along, and I wish there wasn’t all this stuff that goes into preparing for Friday night. I wish we could just play. Then again, it’s going to be a good experience for all the guys to go through this buildup. None of us might ever go through this again.
“Coach McKeon is telling us to just have a lot of fun. What have we got to lose? They are the No. 1-ranked team, the one everyone has been talking about. As I go through warmups and drills, my mind wanders. I think about all the plays that worked for us in last year’s playoff win over them. What are they going to do on defense? We are adding a few new plays just for this game. The thing about Naperville Central is, they always seem to add a new wrinkle to their defensive scheme whenever we meet. Unfortunately, it usually works.
“Our first-team offense ran Central’s plays against our first-team defense. Hah, I got to be Tim Lavery. We went to photo sessions together on Sunday and Monday. Found out we both got invited to the Notre Dame-Northwestern game, but I went to the Colorado-Wisconsin game and he went to Michigan-Illinois. He seems like a good guy, but I really don’t know him that well.
“Last year, we came into the regular-season game against Central on top of the world after beating Wheaton South the week before since they were ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 11 in the country. We thought we were all that. We got a rude awakening when Central came flying at us and beat us.
“I can guarantee you we will come ready this time. The difference is the speed we have.
“I get home at 5:30 p.m. and my dad is making videotapes of our first two games to send to my older brother Brian, a quarterback at Kansas State. At 8 p.m. it’s dinner time. Mom makes me steak, potatoes and vegetables. Says I’ll need lots of energy for Friday. Then comes homework. Trigonometry and a short essay on the first 100 pages of a book about John Wayne Gacy. It’s 10:30, time to say goodnight. Can’t wait till Tuesday’s practice, the one time we go all-out. There might even be a few fights.”
Central’s Tim Lavery: “Practice starts at 8, and we go over Naperville North’s offensive and defensive tendencies. They look tough. Coach Bunge stressed that we get a lot done today, and why not. It is Labor Day. North looks like they really come after you, and they do take some chances on defense. We are hoping to take advantage of that. We put in some new running and passing plays, and I imagine they’re putting in new plays for us.
“For some reason, everyone is going a little bit harder in practice today. I don’t even think the guys are aware of it.
“I wish it was Friday. I just know Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are going to be the longest days. At practice, I thought about last year, and some things they did with their secondary.
“I saw Kavanagh two days in a row now at photo sessions. I thought he was a pretty good guy. We’re really not friends, but we’ll say hi to each other.
“I came home around 5 o’clock and had to eat dinner by myself since my mom and sister were out shopping at Jewel. I had a taco, and me and my dad watched a tape-delay telecast of the Wheaton-Warrenville South vs. Waubonsie Valley game.
“I better study my advanced algebra pretty good. Our defensive coordinator, Mr. Nussbaum, is my teacher. I have to get a good grade or else I’ll look bad.
“It’s 9:45 p.m. Goodnight.”
Tuesday
North’s Kavanagh: “Got to school two minutes before the bell rang. A lot of teachers came up to me saying I had a good game last week. The principal came up and congratulated me. It’s nice when they say stuff to us, just because they don’t have to.
“We walk through our game plan at practice. Then scrimmages for an hour. Then come the fireworks, our two-minute drill. No holding back. First defense vs. first offense. We get after each other. Coach McKeon reminded us of the fighting rule. You are ejected for that game and the next one.
“We weren’t in the mood to talk much after practice. Got undressed, showered and left. We were just drained. Got home, fell asleep for about 45 minutes and Gary Barnett called. Coach Barnett asked how things were going in preparation for Central. I told him this has been the most hectic week of my career and how it’s real crazy for me with the media. He said: `I’m starting to get a taste of that with all the Notre Dame stuff.’
“For a lot of players, the win over Notre Dame makes a lot of difference. Not to me. To get a degree from Northwestern would mean I’m all set. I’m not going to play in the NFL. I think I’m a good high school quarterback and will be pretty good in college, but I’m not good enough for the NFL.
Did homework–trigonometry and English–till 9 p.m. My friend Liz called, and we talked till about 10. Bed time was 11:30. Only 72 hours until the game.”
Central’s Lavery: “This morning we watched offense films at 7:15 in the fieldhouse before classes. Walking into the films, someone from Naperville North had spray-painted “Go North” on the sidewalk in the commons area in blue paint. Well, the pregame hype is starting up already and the game’s still four days away.
“Kids in school were all talking about the Northwestern-Notre Dame game, saying that was a big one, but this one could be even bigger.
“Practice flew by. Everything was going real well today. It was surprising. Usually Tuesdays are slow days for us. I think it was everyone’s attitude.
“We go live on Tuesdays, but we don’t want to get anyone hurt. It’s really not worth it. We are all thinking about doing the little things right, polishing things up with pads on. Coach Bunge said: `You don’t need any pep talks this week. Everyone knows it’s an emotional game and you should get yourselves psyched up for this one.’ His quote of the week for us: `Play like your hair’s on fire.’ At first, everyone started laughing. But once you start thinking about it, he has a point.
“At 7:05 p.m. started my homework, something from every class . I got done at 8:45 p.m. Sociology test tomorrow, Mr. Dave Dillon, our defensive line coach, is the teacher, and you always want to do good in a coach’s class. I was reviewing sociology notes for five minutes, and then it popped into my mind how many people are going to be there Friday. I began daydreaming, remembering last year, getting excited and nervous at the same time. Then I snapped out of it. It’s going to be a long test to study for if I do this every five minutes.
“At 8:45, went downstairs and called my girlfriend Stacie. We talked about the sociology test, and she said she needed my home red jersey to wear at the game Friday night. I can’t forget to bring that for her. Got off the phone around 9:10. We’ve been going out almost three years. Call each other every night. Reviewed sociology notes one more time. Went to bed at 10:15.”
Wednesday
North’s Kavanagh: “We came into practice a lot looser than yesterday when we were at each other’s throats. Today, we were out there to have fun. That was really encouraging. Our coaches are downplaying the significance of this game, and that’s good. It isn’t a make-or-break game.
“SportsChannel came out and interviewed Chris Williams, a defensive end; and wide receiver Mike Renk. Chris does some incredible things on defense and Mike catches so many passes.
“My best guess is that the crowd Friday will be bigger than the 12,000 at last year’s playoff game. There are extra bleachers going up around the field.
“It was pasta for dinner tonight made by my next-door neighbor because my mom was out. It was good stuff. They’re taking good care of me this week.
“After dinner, phone calls from recruiters from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Chuck Long, the Iowa assistant, said it’s funny how crazy the media gets about high school football games now. Back when he played at Wheaton North 14 or 15 years ago, the media coverage wasn’t anything like this.
“Not a whole lot of homework, just wrote up a lab report for physics. Talked to Liz again. Going to bed at 10:45. Have to be at school by 7:15 a.m. to make up a physics assignment.”
Central’s Lavery: “Some kids from our school went over to Npaerville North and wrote on their track. Our principal was pretty disappointed. He likes the rivalry, but wants the game decided on the field–not by the student body. The football players will decide bragging rights. This isn’t a contest of who can damage the most school property.
“Practice was pretty long. This is the last day of pads, when we polish up. Today, our maintenance people repainted the lines on the field. On the north end of one of the practice fields, he wrote, “Revenge, beat North.” I guess they’re getting into it, too. That’s great. SportsChannel was here today, and they interviewed Scott Bacom, an offensive lineman. It`s nice a lineman gets some credit. I was asked to describe this game in one word, and I said `Big’.
“The coaches are getting more intense. They’re more excited about the drills. There is so much energy.
“Dinner was two bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, cantelope and strawberries with two glasses of milk. I got to eat with the family tonight. Started my homework at 7:15. Consumer ed, just a little worksheet. That was good because I want to concentrate on the game. An assistant coach from Illinois called. He had just got off the phone with Scott Kavanagh. Talked to Stacie for 25 minutes. She bought tickets for her family, aunts and uncles. She’s getting excited right now, can’t wait to watch me play. Her dad asked if I was ready. An assistant baseball coach from Minnesota called. Wants to set up an official visit for baseball. I’m keeping my options open.”
Thursday
North’s Kavanagh: “It was hard waking up early for that makeup physics assignment, but I made it to school by 7:20. The pregame excitement is starting to build. It’s supposed to be awesome football weather, about 60-65 degrees. Just hope the wind dies down.
“Walk-through at practice. Last day of practice, it hits you how close the game actually is.
“After a team meeting with everyone, we had our players-only meeting. Anyone can say what they want. Lots of different personalities. Cool thing about it, you see how everyone approaches a big game like this in their own little way. Eight guys spoke out. It was real emotional with a lot of strong feelings. We are a really tight group. Everything each of the guys says is something I wouldn’t have thought about.
“Then spaghetti dinner at my house. There were 65 guys over and we had a lot of fun. We are going into the game real loose. In a game like this, you can’t be tense. You’ll see all those people and just fold up.
“It was off to bed early. It finally hit me that at this time tomorrow night, the most exciting week of my life will be over.”
Central’s Lavery: “Seemed like the dreary weather made the day go by slow. Passing by players in hall, nothing much was said. Seems like their minds are on the game. That’s good.
“Play like your hair’s on fire. That’s our motto. At practice while we were stretching, one of the coaches put a wig on one of the metal dummies that hold up the blocking tackles. Then he lit it on fire. Everybody was yelling and laughing. That put a real spark into practice.
“At the end of practice, the defensive coaches gave out brown paper bags with No. 12 on it to all the defensive players. They said to bring your lunch in that bag tomorrow. Sack Kavanagh. I was laughing, but what went through my mind is, what if they’re doing this a mile away at North? It was funny and we were all laughing–but the coaches weren’t. After a while, we stopped laughing. They were dead serious.
It’s normally low-key on a Thursday before a game, but today was unusually quiet. I could tell people are getting pumped up.
“At 6 p.m., all 63 guys meet at Old Country Buffet for our traditional Thursday team meal. We talked about the game mostly, going over game plans. If you wear your jersey, you get a discount, so it’s all you can eat for $7.12 per player. I think it’s losing money on us.
“Home by 7:30. Finished up homework by 9 p.m. Looked over the scouting report one last time before I went to bed.
“I just want to go out and play my best. If I give 100 percent and don’t make any mental errors, I’m sure our team will do real well.”
