After my quick halftime interview with Herscher football coach Mike Mosier last Friday night, coach began heading to the Tiger locker room, stopped and turned back to me.
After a brief pause to soak it in, an awestruck Mosier said, “How about it? This is what Friday nights are supposed to be.”
The Tigers had just tied their home game with Bishop McNamara at 7 before the half in the first regular season meeting between the two Kankakee County rivals in 43 years and both sides of the stands at Seebach Stadium couldn’t have been more filled.
I, and every other Kankakee County prep sports enthusiast born the past 40 years, have always heard but rarely saw how special the McNamara-Herscher rivalry was on the gridiron. Save for a Tigers victory in the IHSA Class 4A Playoffs in 2014, these two teams hadn’t done battle on the football field in my lifetime.
Sure, it’s a special rivalry in the myriad of other sports the two teams routinely meet in. But there’s just something extra that the magic of a September Friday night that takes the vibes to an even higher level. The birds-eye view from the press box allowed a glimpse of both crowds, both sidelines and the field.
There were fans in opposing colors exchanging sides to swap hugs just as often as an insult or bit of trash talk was hurled from one end to the other.
I could sit here and wax poetic for column inch after column inch about how fun it was to take in Friday’s game, which by the way, went down to the final moments before the Fightin’ Irish held on for a 14-7 win, but there’s no better way to sum it up besides saying it has to be seen to be believed, experienced to be enjoyed.
Fans will have that opportunity to do just that when the two teams meet again at McNamara next fall, and hopefully for several falls to come. With their private school status essentially precluding them from a home in a local conference (McNamara would be a perfect fit from both an enrollment and competitive standpoint in the Illinois Central Eight Conference, just saying), the Irish rarely have the opportunity to take part in local rivalries, and there are plenty of folks who will claim McNamara-Herscher is as good as there is around town.
Now, if only we can get some form of All-City back on the gridiron and hardwood. As Kankakee made the lengthy drive to Washington while Bradley-Bourbonnais took on one of the Kays’ Southland Athletic Conference rivals, Thornwood Friday night, I could only help but wonder how fun that matchup would have been, with the two programs looking to be at their collective best in decades.
<strong>Week 2 Recap</strong>
Here are the area’s scores from Week 2:
<ul><li>Bishop McNamara 14, Herscher 7</li><li>(6A-4)Kankakee 7, (6A-7)Washington 3</li><li>(7A-RV)Bradley-Bourbonnais 41, Thornwood 0</li><li>(3A-9)Wilmington 31, (1A-RV)Aurora Christian 7</li><li>Johnsburg 40, (3A-6)Reed-Custer 37</li><li>Sandwich 42, Peotone 19</li><li>Coal City 41, Canton 0</li><li>Plano 29, Manteno 0</li><li>Momence 50, Central 8</li><li>Iroquois West 42, Watseka 0</li><li>Milford-Cissna Park 42, Hiawatha 14</li><li>Blue Ridge 30, St. Anne 6</li></ul>
<strong>Bounceback ‘Cats</strong>
None of the players on Wilmington’s roster were alive the last time the Wildcats lost a regular season nonconference game before losing their season opener at Seneca, and a small-but-mighty Aurora Christian team brought its high-octane offense to town last Friday night to give the Wildcats another test.
In true Wilmington fashion, the Wildcats got their ground game going early and often and had a tremendous defensive performance in a 31-7 win to get back to 1-1 at the onset of conference play in the ICE.
An up-and-down nonconference season as a whole for the ICE makes it a wonder as to which teams will emerge to reach five wins and make the playoffs, but one thing is for sure — the Wildcats appear to have quickly locked back in and will be as big of a threat as anyone.
<strong>Momence turning heads with 2-0 start</strong>
Wayne Walker hadn’t defeated Central since his very first matchup with the Comets when he arrived to Momence in 2016, but that changed in a major way when Momence outscored the Comets 34-0 on the road in the second half over the weekend.
Marchello Draine has gone from wide receiver to running back and Erick Castillo is now the unquestioned full-time quarterback as a sophomore, with a handful of offensive weapons in addition to Draine and an offensive line that has gone through growing pains over the past couple years to grow into the formidable unit it has become.
The defense was obviously outstanding, allowing just one touchdown in the win, but there’s a very real chance this is the best offense Momence has had in quite some time. It’s the first time the program has started the season 2-0 in nine years, and a win at Westville this Friday would give the program its first 3-0 start in a dozen years.
Weekend’s Best Here are the top individual passing, rushing and receiving performances from the area in Week 2. {p dir=”ltr”}<strong>PASSING</strong> {p dir=”ltr”}Velasco, Peo15-27, 278 yards, 2 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}CastilloMom11-19, 229 yards, TD; 2 rushing TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Schunke, M-CP8-10, 208 yards, 5 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Kohl, BB10-12, 156 yards, 4 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Perzee, IW6-9, 155 yards, TD {p dir=”ltr”}<strong>RUSHING</strong> {p dir=”ltr”}Benson, CC255 yards, 4 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Gaytan, IW207 yards, TD {p dir=”ltr”}Pfeifer, RC181 yards, TD {p dir=”ltr”}Farrell, Wil148 yards, 2 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Draper, Her118 yards {p dir=”ltr”}<strong>RECEIVING</strong> {p dir=”ltr”}Rivera, Peo197 yards, 2 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Clendenen, IW118 yards, TD {p dir=”ltr”}Clutteur, M-CP116 yards, 4 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Bender, Kan72 yards, 2 TDs {p dir=”ltr”}Halpin, Mom71 yards, TD {related_content_uuid}5c4e5e0d-9862-4358-8556-e631a4d5647f{/related_content_uuid}
Here are the top individual passing, rushing and receiving performances from the area in Week 2.
<p dir="ltr"><strong>PASSING</strong>
<p dir="ltr">Velasco, Peo15-27, 278 yards, 2 TDs
<p dir="ltr">CastilloMom11-19, 229 yards, TD; 2 rushing TDs
<p dir="ltr">Schunke, M-CP8-10, 208 yards, 5 TDs
<p dir="ltr">Kohl, BB10-12, 156 yards, 4 TDs
<p dir="ltr">Perzee, IW6-9, 155 yards, TD
<p dir="ltr"><strong>RUSHING</strong>
<p dir="ltr">Benson, CC255 yards, 4 TDs
<p dir="ltr">Gaytan, IW207 yards, TD
<p dir="ltr">Pfeifer, RC181 yards, TD
<p dir="ltr">Farrell, Wil148 yards, 2 TDs
<p dir="ltr">Draper, Her118 yards
<p dir="ltr"><strong>RECEIVING</strong>
<p dir="ltr">Rivera, Peo197 yards, 2 TDs
<p dir="ltr">Clendenen, IW118 yards, TD
<p dir="ltr">Clutteur, M-CP116 yards, 4 TDs
<p dir="ltr">Bender, Kan72 yards, 2 TDs
<p dir="ltr">Halpin, Mom71 yards, TD