End of a Dynasty

By: Ryan Plinske
Friday, November 14, 2008 at 10:59pm

This Saturday the game that most of the Chicagoland area had hoped for has finally arrived. The Eagles of Aurora Christian face the 8 time IHSA state champion of Driscoll Catholic. The Highlanders won the title in 1991 and 7 consecutive since - 2001-2003 in class 4A, again in 2004 but in 3A, and again in 2005-2007 in class 4A. This hard-nosed match-up is scheduled to take place Saturday night at God’s Field (Aurora Christian’s new field) at 6pm.

Aurora Christian will feature stud Quarterback Jordan Roberts who has broken nearly every IHSA record a quarterback can break. On the last game of the regular season Roberts passed Will Lunt (Rochester) on the career passing yards (8,383) and against Chicago Christian he took sole possession as the IHSA’s all-time career passing touchdown leader with 96. On the other hand, the Eagles will heavily rely on running back Lewis Gaddis, who has stabilized the Eagles run game this year. This is after AC had graduated the two starters at the position last year in John Smith and Sean O’Boyle. Gaddis’ hard-nose style of play has won the hearts of many Eagle fans. Gaddis has the ability to run right through you if necessary or slide right past the defense. He has racked up nearly 1000 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns this year. After missing the first 4 games due to mono, Aurora Christian’s Matt Morse has made maybe the biggest contribution this season. In his debut against Chicago Christian he had 11 catches for 245 yards, and 4 touchdowns. Morse hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since, averaging 142 yards a game which places him 2nd in IHSA single season history and 17 touchdowns which puts him tied for 24th all-time in a single season. It’s hard to believe the Eagles may have two of the most dominating players in IHSA football this year on the same team, yet alone the same side of the ball. Look out for a high flying air attack against the Highlanders secondary with the combo of Roberts and Morse.

Like many years past, Driscoll almost rolled through the regular season undefeated but with losses to Montini (14-13 at the end of the year) and St. Francis (27-7 in week 3) the Highlanders finished the regular season with a 7-2 record and went into the playoffs with a 37 game playoff winning streak to defend their title as 7 consecutive time state champs. When asked how this team can repeat Senior Quarterback Steve Schwabe said, “This may not be our best team overall, but we know what it takes to win the big games.” Driscoll has a “Calvin Johnson” sized receiver in Austin Baker who stands tall at 6’5’’ and 210 pounds. Aurora Christian however has had practice in the past with a receiver that big, (Michael Friend) a former wide out for the Eagles was similar in size. Driscoll came into this season with a new coach and a new quarterback. Now this is when most programs go into a rebuilding year but not the powerhouse Driscoll. Brandon New stepped into the position after being with the program for all 7 championships as an assistant coach and one as a standout player. Quarterback Steve Schwabe is stepping into the role left by his brother, David, who graduated last year and was awarded the title of all-state quarterback. However, Coach New and Schwabe may be new to the roles they’re in now but that in no way means that Driscoll will be giving up the reins of control in 4 A football anytime soon.

What do Aurora Christian players think of this upcoming matchup with Driscoll? Matt Morse said, “For them to be able to come in here is obviously going to be the biggest game of my career and I can’t wait, it’s going to be huge.” Aurora Christian’s Jordan Roberts had some very similar feelings to that of Morse, “We’ve been waiting for this and it’s going to be fun. We’re going to have to work hard this week, more than we ever have, and it’s going to be a big battle out here.”

The Eagles hope Driscoll’s trouble on the road continues this week. Driscoll is 5-0 at home and 4-2 on the road.

The program for Aurora Christian is growing into the one that (Don) Beebe had envisioned when he took the job 5 years ago. With a win this week over Driscoll, it may be just the respect AC needed to make a name for themselves with the coming of a new conference next year with Driscoll and the rest of the Suburban Catholic Conference.

Prediction: Aurora Christian 31, Driscoll 24