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Saints take on five-time defending champs
By Douglas Hamm
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BLOOMINGTON -- Bill Hundman Memorial Field will be the site of a Class 4A second-round football game today.
The atmosphere will more resemble a heavyweight title bout when five-time defending state champion Addison Driscoll Catholic High School and three-time state champion Central Catholic meet at 1 p.m. in a matchup of powerhouse programs with steep traditions.
?It?s going to be a battle. There?s no doubt,? said 15th-year Central Catholic coach Bobby Moews. ?I think both teams are very good and it looks on film like we?re both playing very good football at this time of the year. They?re the champion until somebody beats them.?
Second-year Driscoll coach Mike Burzawa was equally diplomatic in his assessment of the Saints.
?We know Bloomington Central Catholic has a great tradition and program over there and we?re going to definitely have our hands full,? Burzawa said. ?It?s just going to be a hard-nosed football game for both teams.?
Fourth-seeded Central Catholic and No. 5-seeded Driscoll enter with identical 9-1 records after being battle tested during the regular season in the formidable Corn Belt and Suburban Catholic conferences, respectively. Both teams are also led by standout senior quarterbacks.
Three-year starter Phil Pedi, who had a 23-game winning streak as Driscoll?s starting quarterback snapped earlier this season by Woodstock Marian, has thrown for 1,559 yards and 17 touchdowns.
?He?s an outstanding athlete,? Moews said. ?He runs really well and keeping him in the pocket is probably our biggest concern. He?s going to throw and get his yards, but we don?t want him running it and making plays.?
Central Catholic?s Kyle Hundman has passed for 1,394 yards and 11 TDs while rushing for 238 yards.
?Their quarterback is a great athlete,? Burzawa said. ?I?ve seen him on both sides of the ball and he is a hard-nosed football player with a lot of talent.?
Pedi?s favorite targets are wide receivers Chris Nickola and David Schwabe, who have combined for 59 catches and over 1,000 yards. The Highlanders? top running threats are tailbacks Tim Franken (585 yards) and Mike Fabrizi (570 yards). Driscoll posted a 12-7 first-round win over Morton last week.
?They have a couple of good receivers that look like they can go up and get the ball,? Moews said. ?We?re thinking as a coaching staff they?re more pass first and run second although they have a couple of guys back there (Franken and Fabrizi) who are pretty quick. We can?t just forget about them.
?We?ve got to play good solid defense and keep their guys in front of us. They don?t pound you. You?ve just got to keep them away from the big play.?
Central Catholic has a more balanced attack featuring junior running back Ryan Waldron (1,189 yards, 18 TDs) and fullback Nick Arnold (355 yards, 4 TDs). Waldron and Arnold operate behind a veteran line led by 6-foot-3, 300-pound Josh Brent.
Bobby Selzer is the Saints? top receiver with 23 catches for 475 yards and seven TDs. Selzer scored on a 30-yard reception, a 40-yard interception return and a 65-yard fumble recovery in the Saints? 44-13 first-round victory over Stillman Valley.
?They have a lot of very good athletes,? Burzawa said. ?When (Brent) turns it on he?s pretty much unstoppable. We hope to contain him if we can. Waldron is very athletic and all their linemen are very physical. They?re a team that matches up with us very well.
?It?s going to come down to field position and turnovers. Whoever is working with the short field is definitely going to have the advantage. The key for us will be the play of our offensive and defensive lines.?
Burzawa, who was an assistant at Driscoll for nine seasons before becoming head coach last year, said the Highlanders benefit from their winning tradition.
?That always gives us a sense of confidence that we?ve been down this road,? Burzawa said. ?But it?s a new year and a new team with new challenges. We know any game can be our last and we just want to go out and give it our best effort.?
Moews isn?t concerned about his team being intimidated by Driscoll?s five-year championship run.
?We just have to go out and play,? Moews said. ?We?re playing against another team, not last year?s team or the team before.?
The Central Catholic-Driscoll winner will face No. 8-seeded Harvard (9-1) or No. 16-seeded Mendota (7-3) in the quarterfinals.
