WN 10 Willowbrook 3 halftime n/m
- Thread starter MS4EVER
- Start date
One of the better NFHS broadcasts I’ve seen. I’m enjoying the announcer.
Willowbrook played tough, and definitely showed they deserved to be in the QF. WN is big. Good luck to them going forward.
Much closer than I anticipated. Congrats to Willowbrook on another great season and being the last of WSC teams standing.
Not our best game. But credit Willowbrook. Awesome to advance!
This was a tough one to swallow. It was a great game and WN dominated the time of possession. We are SO PROUD of these boys and what this team has accomplished. The program is strong and the future is bright. A lot of young guys Player key spots this year and the lower levels were strong. WB will be back!
People (myself included) need to begin to realize just how strong of a HC Nick Hildreth and that staff is at Willowbrook. Very impressive team and a hard fought game for sure...
Agree.
A young guy who is a member at the health club at which I belong is a Wheaton North graduate. He recently moved to Deerfield and we chat a bit. Beginning Monday, I told him all week WNHS was going to "running-clock" Willowbrook.
This afternoon, I saw him and repeated the same. The next time I see him, he'll probably dismiss me as some senile, old kook.
Win and advance! That’s all that matters. Both teams played hard nosed football in crappy weather!
100%. From the view on TV it looked like WN was way bigger and more athletic than WB. Im not sure if your field level view was the same but by all rights they shouldn’t have been as close as they were. A testament to their coaching and the will of the kids on the field. Impressive effort.
It definitely makes it harder to get the kids who are on the fence with a decision from VP as Hildreth is building himself a very formidable program. The wider draw at MCHS makes Willowbrook’s success a factor, though not a dagger that shows where the problem lies. It certainly doesn’t help when trying to grab those students!
MCHS was in the title game in 2018, so rumors of the demise of the program are a bit premature. Problems? Definitely, but course correcting will happen.
Congrats to the Willowbrook men on another great season! Hard fought game and they are incredibly disciplined. @EdgyTim should consider Hildreth for COY in my opinion. He just gets it done.
Don't feel too bad. I've been following football fanatically for 50 years. It seems the more I'm around it ,the less I know about it
Oh I wasn’t saying demise. I’m sure Montini will be back. It just seems logical that Willowbrook has been so good recently and now you see Montini have a down year.
Demise was probably too strong there. I’d say the rise of Willowbrook can be directly attributed to Hildreth and while it takes a few players away likely doesn’t have a huge effect on Montini other than neighborhood chatter.
WB has been trending north academically and culturally over the last 10 years which has seen a steady increase in Catholic grade school kids leaning public for high school in VP. Hiring Nick was the icing on the cake.
Are Anthony and Nick Gebhart still Assistant Coaches at Willowbrook?
I remember them at Driscoll during their 7x state championship run.
I remember them at Driscoll during their 7x state championship run.
I just saw on the Willowbrook 8 to 18 website that both Gebhart's are still Assistant Coaches on the football team.
Montinis drop is only temporary. MCHS had something like 12 sophomores playing varsity this year. I think the next two years will have Montini fielding real strong teams. Even better for Montini is the fact that freshman football numbers were around 35. That is the best number in like three years.
I also think that Montini made some administrative moves that will help. Mike Bukovsky is back as the admissions director and number of kids picking the school went way up. Pretty sure Montini is back up over 500 students now.
I’m not sure there are many players in the program right now that would have been making the WB or Montini choice. Maybe on some past rosters but even then only one or two.
WB, like many publics, is providing a great education for all levels of students. My kids received great teaching and left there fully prepared for college and beyond. But they are not only serving the higher level students, but all from gifted to learning disabled. Our neighbors special needs student went through a program there that prepared her for her job and taking classes at Elmhurst College in their special needs program.
WB, I believe, is also serving the broadest spectrum of kids on the socio-economic scale in DuPage as well. The diversity of the school is incredible. It’s reflected on the football roster too.
So Hildreth has embraced taking anyone who shows up and building a team and a program out of it. The staff is mostly alumni and local guys that have dedicated themselves to the kids and the program. The Gebhart’s are part of it. The core staff has been basically the same for Hildreth’s tenure and the feeder program has been huge in preparing kids too. It’s been a great mix of factors in the success and has been tremendously fun to watch grow.
I’ll say it again, I’m obviously a major homer and love seeing the teams come out each year and compete. WB football, and the school, are getting it done!
WB, like many publics, is providing a great education for all levels of students. My kids received great teaching and left there fully prepared for college and beyond. But they are not only serving the higher level students, but all from gifted to learning disabled. Our neighbors special needs student went through a program there that prepared her for her job and taking classes at Elmhurst College in their special needs program.
WB, I believe, is also serving the broadest spectrum of kids on the socio-economic scale in DuPage as well. The diversity of the school is incredible. It’s reflected on the football roster too.
So Hildreth has embraced taking anyone who shows up and building a team and a program out of it. The staff is mostly alumni and local guys that have dedicated themselves to the kids and the program. The Gebhart’s are part of it. The core staff has been basically the same for Hildreth’s tenure and the feeder program has been huge in preparing kids too. It’s been a great mix of factors in the success and has been tremendously fun to watch grow.
I’ll say it again, I’m obviously a major homer and love seeing the teams come out each year and compete. WB football, and the school, are getting it done!
Freshmen team is going to continue the trend, absolutely. Next year might be another bumpy ride, but the 3 following seasons should be title contenders.
I’m also firmly in the category of rising tides lifting all boats. Good football through the I88 corridor brings more kids to youth football which creates even stronger high school programs. Montini’s success pushed Willowbrook. Willowbrook’s success will push Montini. All positive in my book.
From what I hear from my freinds at Montini is the best thing that happened is that Bukovsky was put back into the admissions office. When Mike got replaced I couldn't believe it. I heard he was replaced for I think four years. While he was gone the enrollment dropped to 460 last year. When Mike got the job back Montini is now at 520. That says alot. Glad Mike is back and glad to see Montinis enrollment went up. I think that if Mike stays in admissions they can continue to get kids.
Bu is an unbelievable guy. He also has 17 state titles in 3 different sports.