By Bobby Narang
The DuPage County high school football season turned out to be a short, but memorable one.
With the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) shortening the season to six games and electing not to have a playoff because of the coronavirus pandemic, the this year’s Spring season definitely had a different feel to it.
Naperville Central High School head football coach Mike Stine ended an illustrious tenure with a stunning comeback victory over perennial State powerhouse Maine South in week six.
The RedHawks outscored Maine South 17 7 in the second half to pull out a thrilling 31 30 victory in a battle of unbeatens and State champions from the last decade.
Stine, who has been a teacher at Naperville Central since 1984, announced his retirement before the game. He won a Class 8A State championship in 2013.
“That was special,” Stine said. “We started the journey for this 15 months ago and I’m extremely proud of our guys. That was a great football game between two elite teams and either one of us could have won.”
• St. Francis was another team that finished with a 6 0 record, led by the stellar play of Illinois State University bound quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse. The six foot Rittenhouse was named the Player of the Year by the Daily Herald newspaper for DuPage County, and the Suburban Life Newspaper gave him the same honor for its coverage area. Rittenhouse passed for 1,278 yards and 20 touchdowns and threw just two interceptions. He rushed for 282 yards and three touchdowns.
“Going into my sophomore year, I had the mindset I was going to compete for the job,” Rittenhouse said. “I was still pretty small, but I worked hard in practice and over the Summer. I had a great group of seniors ahead of me in my sophomore and junior years. They took me under their wing. As time went on, I got bigger, faster, and stronger. I never thought about myself or my legacy.
“I just did what’s best for the team. This senior class is really special. We have great chemistry and we really bought into the program of coach (Bob) McMillen and the other coaches. We loved getting an opportunity to leave a legacy like we did.”
• Wheaton Warrenville South quarterback Parker Brown produced a stellar season. He passed for 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns and tossed only two interceptions. Wide receiver Kaleb Clousing caught 25 passes for 266 yards and six touchdowns for the Tigers.
• Wheaton North senior defensive back Riley Dravet, a Northwestern University recruit, tallied 29 tackles, and scored a defensive touchdown.
• Willowbrook was led by junior running back Josh Brown, who rushed for 1,750 yards and 23 touchdowns. He averaged 12 yards per carry and collected 20 tackles on defense.
• Montini Catholic senior DiAndre Harris was a dominant force at both running back and defensive back. He finished with 26 tackles and rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns against some stiff competition.
• Neuqua Valley won all four of its games, paced by solid play from junior defensive back/kicker Palmer Domschke, senior linebacker Trey Borske, and senior running back Armani Moreno