District Split Puts Old Friends on Opposite Sides of Line

Once, they were teammates. Now they are poised to butt heads.

A split in the Plainfield school district separated football friends. Some have stayed in contact. All will be reunited when Plainfield East plays at Plainfield North on Friday night in a battle that will help shape the race toward the Southwest Prairie Conference championship.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Both teams are 1-1.

North is coming off a 49-24 victory over Grant. Kapri Bibbs ran for six touchdowns. East dropped a 34-8 decision to Glenbard North.

"Yeah, I think there are a lot of kids that know each other and have kept in touch, obviously, since the schools split," North coach Tim Kane said. "They're pretty excited about playing each other.

"And it certainly will be a nice atmosphere and rivalry type of deal with the kids who know each other and grew up and live less than a mile from each other and here they are playing each other instead of playing with each other."

North's Kyle Ryan, a 6-foot, 275-pound senior, will be lining up against some old friends and looking to build on his 20-tackle performance against Grant. The Tigers' senior captain also will be looking to throw his weight around on offense as he takes on an expanded role as North's power back and lead blocker.

"Yeah, during our freshman year, they played here and they are a good group of guys," Ryan said. "They can be our friends off the field, but on the field there are no ties right now. They want to beat us and we want to beat them. It will be fun afterward. But, right now, it's all business."

Three other games highlight the opening-night schedule in the SPC. Ron Kremer breaks down the action and makes his winning picks next:

1.     Plainfield North (1-1) vs. Plainfield East (1-1): Can Bibbs score six TDs every week? No. Can the Bengals stop him? No. North 27, East 7.

2.     Plainfield Central (0-2) vs. Minooka (0-2): The Indians have the firepower to mount a repeat conference title run. Minooka 31, Plainfield Central 13.

3.     Oswego East (2-0) vs. Plainfield South (2-0): So, just how good is South? The Cougars haven't been tested yet. Nor has Sheldon Magee been made to look uncomfortable directing South's spread offense. One minute, he is the quarterback. The next, he is a wideout. With his speed, he must be accounted for at all times. Plainfield South 24, Oswego East 10.

4.     Romeoville (1-1) vs. Oswego (0-2): The Panthers have dropped the football equivalent of two one-run games. The Spartans will be looking to go deep into their bullpen again. Romeoville 24, Oswego 21.