Early on, Rockets will be road warriors

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Last season, Richmond-Burton and Crystal Lake South each made it to the state football semifinals.

Every team goes back to 0-0 when the 2009 prep football season begins Aug. 28. The IHSA is slated to announce the schedules today, but the Northwest Herald has compiled them from school-sanctioned Web sites.

The Rockets, who fell to Aurora Christian in the Class 4A state semifinal game last year, begin their season on the road at Oregon before traveling in Week 2 to Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium to face Bethalto Civic Memorial. R-B coach Pat Elder said he was glad to give his team an opportunity to play in a college stadium.

“It will be pretty neat,” Elder said. “I was a coach at Normal U-High when I was in college and that was their home stadium. It’s a neat experience for the kids, they like it. It’s a nice field, it’s a nice environment. We hope it will be a good test.”

Although R-B fans might have high expectations for their team this year, they won’t have many opportunities to see them early without traveling. The Rockets open their season with five of six games away from their home field – including a game in Normal – then close it with three consecutive home games.

“In the short time I’ve been at Richmond, it has always worked out that way, with either the last three at home or the road, but we have to get through the first six weeks on the road,” Elder said.

This season also marks the first varsity season for Woodstock North. The Thunder begin with three consecutive road games before their first home game Sept. 18 against powerhouse Cary-Grove. The biggest night for North could be in Week 7, when they will face Woodstock at Larry Dale Field. North coach Jeff Schroeder said that it would be an exciting night.

“I think it’s going to be awesome,” Schroeder said. “We won’t have any seniors this season, so we have to be guarded with the kids’ emotions, but it’s historically a first. I’m excited about it, and I’m sure there will be a lot of grudge matches to come.”

The Fox Valley Conference will start Friday games at 7:15 p.m. and will realign divisions this season with Woodstock North’s arrival. Huntley moves from the smaller-school Fox Division to the Valley Division, with Fox Division teams now playing their six divisional opponents along with two crossover games and a non-conference game.

The game that has become a de facto FVC Valley title game between CL South and Cary-Grove will be played in Week 8 at Al Bohrer Field in Cary. C-G has finished first every year since divisions were created in the FVC in 2006; Crystal Lake South has finished second or tied for second every year.

Alden-Hebron also will join the Northeastern Athletic Conference. The Giants start the season at home against Christian Liberty and finish with games against Rockford Christian and Rockford Christian Life. A-H coach John Lalor said that he was pleased to have tougher schools to play at the end of the season.

“It will be a good test,” Lalor said. “I would rather finish with a stronger team than a weaker team instead of bam right into the playoffs.”

Marian Central begins play in the renamed Suburban Christian Conference. With the closing of Driscoll, their scheduled opponent for Week 9, the Hurricanes start the season with a 1-0 record and would get an extra week off if they make the playoffs.

Games to watch in 2009

Week 1

• Crystal Lake Central at Cary-Grove: Two District 155 rivals get together to start the season. Expect a lot of running in this game with two of the top rushing attacks in the area.

Week 2

• Cary-Grove at Marian Central: The Trojans and Hurricanes meet for the second consecutive season. C-G won last year’s meeting, 35-14.

• Crystal Lake Central at Prairie Ridge: It’s the battle for Walkup Avenue as the two schools separated by two miles face off in Fox Valley Conference Fox Division play.

• Richmond-Burton vs. Civic Memorial at Illinois State University: The Rockets go south to Hancock Stadium to face an Eagles team that went 0-9 last season.

Week 3

• Prairie Ridge at Jacobs: The Golden Eagles had their struggles in 2008, scoring 98 points and being shut out three times. This will be a chance for them to get a win with the Wolves possibly looking ahead to Crystal Lake South the next week.

Week 4

• Cary-Grove at Woodstock North: The Thunder’s first home game in school history, but a tough assignment against the conference powerhouse.

• Crystal Lake South at Prairie Ridge: South defeated the Wolves, 31-14, last season in Week 4 and will look to do the same before divisional play begins the next week.

Week 5

• Richmond-Burton at Hampshire: The Whip-Purs won the Big Northern Conference East Division last season and host the Rockets, whose only divisional loss was to Hampshire.

• Harvard at Marengo: The Hornets and Indians have been rivals for a very long time, and there is even a sweet corn throwdown between the two towns. The next meeting comes at Marengo’s Rod Poppe Field after last year’s 40-7 Harvard win.

• Prairie Ridge at Morris: The Wolves’ lone non-conference game takes them south to the home of the Redskins, who suffered a down year in 2008 but traditionally have been a powerhouse.

Week 6

• Cary-Grove at Huntley: The Red Raiders continue a tough stretch of games in the Valley facing the Trojans in a battle of the two divisional champions in the FVC from last season.

• Hampshire at Harvard: The Hornets always are a tough team and will look to rebound from last year’s 27-20 loss to the Whip-Purs.

• Marian Central at Montini: Driscoll’s closing leaves Montini as the biggest rival for the Hurricanes. The Broncos won the Suburban Catholic Conference last season and started Marian’s three-game losing streak last season to deny Marian the playoffs.

Week 7

• Woodstock North at Woodstock: The first battle for bragging rights hits at Larry Dale Field. The intensity level should be sky-high with old friends facing off with one another.

• McHenry at Cary-Grove: One of C-G’s toughest games last season was against McHenry, with C-G winning, 14-6. The Warriors will try to spring an upset on the road, looking to rebound from last year’s 3-6 record.

• Harvard at Richmond-Burton: Richmond won last year’s game 8-0, so expect another low-scoring, defensive battle in this one.

Week 8

• Crystal Lake South at Cary-Grove: C-G looks to avenge its overtime playoff loss to South in a game that should see 5,000 in attendance.

• Johnsburg at Prairie Ridge: The two FVC Fox rivals have scored 173 points between them in their last two meetings, both Prairie Ridge wins.

Week 9

• Crystal Lake South at McHenry: The Gators laid a 31-0 shutout on the Warriors last year. You can expect McHenry not to let that happen again.