High school football: Road warriors: St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Batavia all hit the road in Round 2

There is no perfect formula for winning a playoff football game on the road.

St. Charles East coach Bryce Farquhar joked that in a perfect world “every team would love to get off to a fast start,” but that doesn’t always happen.

However, up until this point in the season, East, St. Charles North and Batavia have managed to find way to be successful away from home. All three will be tested once again heading on the road in the second round of the playoffs this weekend.

They have combined to go 13-1 on the road this season, with the only loss coming when the Saints hosted Batavia and not only ended the Bulldogs’ 34-game Upstate Eight River winning streak, but also propelled themselves to an unbeaten regular season.

After a decisive 45-0 victory over Lockport in a Class 8A first round matchup last week, East (10-0) will head to New Trier (8-2), where a confident Trevians bunch awaits after upsetting Marist on its final drive last week.

“We don’t worry too much about atmosphere, but instead just being ready to play,” said Farquhar, whose team will have the tough task of shutting down New Trier’s standout quarterback Clay Czyzynski. “Once you’re out on the field, [the fields] are all the same size, same lights above you, and we treat it the same as any other road game. I think you have to treat it like that.”

All Saints’ eyes defensively will be on Czyzynski, as the 6-foot, senior quarterback accounted for 328 total yards (145 rushing) and two touchdowns in the 31-24 upset of Marist.

This road test will more than likely be the biggest, and maybe the toughest opponent in general, for the Saints since heading to North in Week 4. The Saints came back to beat the North Stars, 28-21, after falling down by 14 points in the first quarter.

New Trier will have the tough task of slowing down Saints fullback Justin Jett (17 touchdowns), who is within reach of the 1,000-yard mark (947), and quarterback Zach Mitchell manning the triple option.

“The good thing with our offense is that much of the game comes down to making reads,” said Mitchell, who was recently named the UEC River Offensive Player of the Year. “It’s pretty much the same for us each week. We know if we execute what we do, we like our chances. It doesn’t matter where we play. We realize how big each game is moving forward and there’s excitement to get out there more than anything I think.”

There wasn’t too much more excitement than what came from the North Stars rushing the field after battling back to defeat Carmel, 31-24, in double overtime on Oct. 29.

Now, the North Stars (9-1) head to Rockford Auburn (9-1) to face a fast, strong team on Nov. 5 led by University Illinois recruit in 6-foot-5, 352-pound offensive lineman Vederian Lowe.

North went into Batavia and beat the Bulldogs, 42-35, in its regular season finale to build the ultimate level of belief about playing in and winning important games on the road.

“That win really gave us confidence that we can go into a hostile environment and come out with a win,” North quarterback Zach Mettetal said. “We know heading up to [Rockford Auburn] is foreign territory, but already being in a situation like [the Batavia game] really helps us and our focus doesn’t change.”

Mettetal (1,777 passing yards) and running back Eric Lins (860 rushing yards) will look to get off to a fast start and keep the Auburn defense on the field for long periods of time. The Knights came back from a 21-point deficit to stun St. Rita, 22-21, on a two-point conversion with five seconds left last week.

Quarterback Nathan Jarrett and running back Quawn Bell (128 rushing yards last week) are two players to keep an eye on for Auburn.

Now, how can a five-time UER champion and an annual playoff contender fly under the radar? Well, having an 8-2 record after dismantling McHenry, 42-12, in the 7A first round, Batavia seemed to have gotten the best draw of the three teams.

The Bulldogs will head to Jacobs (6-4) on Nov. 5, where the Golden Eagles are led by their Bowling Green committed quarterback Chris Katrenick (1,983 passing yards, 17 touchdowns). Much like Farquhar’s defense will have to slow down Czyzynski, who he called “one of the best all-around players we will see this season”, Bulldogs and coach Dennis Piron knows his group will have to contain a dual-threat quarterback, as well.

However, games away from Batavia have never been an issue for Batavia in Piron's sixth season. In 30 games played by the Bulldogs away from Batavia, his teams have won 29, with the only loss at East on Sept. 23. Those wins include a 2013 Class 6A state championship at Northern Illinois University.

Piron isn’t sure if it’s the white road jerseys or the lack of distractions on the road, but his teams are usually ready to go.

“I’m not sure why we play well on the road, honestly,” Piron said. “There’s something about being relaxed and the focus is always razor sharp. We need to make sure to capitalize, get in the red zone and finish. We have looked good on the road this year and feel very confident heading into it.”

Riley Cooper (859 passing yards) and Ben Weerts (482 rushing yards) have shared the quarterback duties and have continued to get better to try to peak at the perfect time. A win at Jacobs would secure the first back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in 7A for the Bulldogs.

There’s no right way to prepare for road playoff games, as Mitchell said the Saints “treat it like any other game.” The records are essentially thrown out the window in postseason play and it’s about which team played and executed better on that given night or afternoon.

Kickoff times are as follows:

• St. Charles East at New Trier, 7 p.m. Fri., Nov. 4

• St. Charles North at Rockford Auburn, 1 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5

• Batavia at Jacobs, 2 p.m. Sat. Nov. 5