CN100 Game of the Week preview: Football - Hersey High School vs. Schaumburg High School

SCHAUMBURG – With no playoff wins since 2002 and no playoff appearances since 2004, Hersey’s football team has not instilled fear into many in recent years.

But the Huskies are one of the early surprises in the Chicago area as they roll into Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. tilt at Schaumburg at 2-0 after wins over Glenbrook North and Palatine. The game will be shown on CN100, The Comcast Network, at Noon and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, and 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16. It will also be available throughout Chicagoland with Xfinity On Demand.

“We’ve played well so far this season,” said Hersey coach Dragan Teonic, who was only 11-16 in three seasons prior to this year. “Our team has shown more fight than we have seen in our four years at Hersey, and we’re proud of them for that.”

The keys so far for the Huskies have been the age-old standards for football success, defense and running the football. Hersey has outgained teams 781-385. Mario Thomas (243 rush yards) and Kyle Polinski (233) have led a balanced ground game. Quarterbacks Joe Caputo and Jack Warner are both steady passing and running the ball.

Whoever is under center has solid weapons on the outside when the Huskies do decide to pass. Eddie Miklasz is a returning all-area performer at receiver, and Teonic calls Tyndale Dahnweih “extremely gifted.”

Defensively, the Huskies are not the biggest group around, but they are an athletic bunch. They have been very tough in the pass game, already notching five interceptions as a team.

But they haven’t faced anybody like explosive Schaumburg quarterback Stacey Smith Jr. yet.

The dual threat is lightning quick when he decides to run with the ball, which make preparing for him a difficult chore, especially in a short week.

“Their quarterback is so fast that it’s scary,” Teonic said. “Schematically they are very simple and sound but their athleticism makes them a nightmare to defend. They have yet to be challenged this year, and that’s mostly because of their dominance on the field.”

The Saxons, who have reached the postseason in four of the past five seasons, including last year’s 8-3 campaign, are also off to a 2-0 start. They rolled to wins over New Trier and Wheeling.

“I have been really proud of our resolve,” Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling said. “I thought our kids were very heady and composed in both games. With a short week of preparation, communication is even more crucial.”

While Smith garners most of the headlines for the Saxons, deservedly so, Stilling is quick to point out the virtues of defensive star Sadarriss Patterson. Patterson stars at safety, but he also has experience at tailback and wide receiver in his past offensively. He is also a skilled wrestler.

“Sadarriss is a difference-maker on defense,” Stilling said. “We have not even scratched the surface on the number of ways we want to utilize him.”

After facing a couple of fairly conservative defenses the first two weeks, Teonic is concerned about the Saxons on that side of the ball.

“They gamble with blitzes and play a variety of coverages, so they can be confusing to read,” Teonic said. “We’ll be tested by Schaumburg early and often.”

- Paul Johnson, CN100 Correspondent

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