Team at a glance
NICKNAME Storm
COLORS Red, navy and silver
STADIUM Millennium Field, Streamwood High School, 701 West Schaumburg Road, Streamwood
ENROLLMENT 2,177
CLASS 7A
COACH Dale Schabert
2007 RECORD 3-6
CONFERENCE 3-3, 7th place

TOP RETURNERS
Sean Kolber    jr.    LB/TE
Josh Smith    sr.    WR/FS
Dan Perez    sr.    RB/DB
Nat VanMetre    sr.    OL/DL
Phil Kawabata    sr.    WR/LB
Shawn Ryan    sr.    WR/LB
John Hull    sr.    C/DL
Pat Rae    sr.    QB/DB
Chris Ciccone    sr.    RB/LB
Kelvin Ware    sr.    RB/DB
Desmond Perry    jr.    RB/DB

PROMISING NEWCOMERS
Brad Birchfield    so.    RB/DB
Tyler Shields    sr.    OL/DL
Ben Irving    sr.    OL/DL
Andrew Griggs    sr.    DL
Dan Cluchey    sr.    DB

2008 schedule
Aug. 29    at Marmion Academy, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 5    Vernon Hills, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 12    at Aurora East, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19    at Elgin, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 26    at T.F. South, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4    St. Charles North, 12 p.m.
Oct. 10    at St. Charles East, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 17    Waubonsie Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 24    Streamwood, 7:30 p.m.
South elgin    upstate eight

GAMES TO WATCH
Sept. 19 at Elgin Emotions could be a factor for both teams in this crosstown rivalry. South Elgin trounced Elgin 49-7 in 2007
Oct. 10 at St. Charles East Quality gauge for Storm against 2007 conference champs
Oct. 24 vs. Streamwood Unique experience for fans of both teams as Storm plays host to Sabres on Sabres’ home field. South Elgin held on for a 21-20 win last season

five-year record
overall    conference    playoffs
‘07    3-6    3-3
‘06    0-9    0-7
‘05    no program
‘04    no program
‘03    no program
 

Chapter 3
When South Elgin High School was built four years ago, the football program was involved in construction as well, beginning with a freshmen team and a sophomore team. Now the school has four full classes and the first ever group of freshmen football players are now seniors on the varsity.
The Storm enters the 2008 campaign with its third varsity squad and hopes to sustain its upward winning trend. South Elgin went 0-9 in 2006 and improved to 3-6 last year after collecting wins against Aurora East, Elgin and Streamwood. The high school graduated its first senior class last spring. As enrollment continues to progress, the football program is likely to follow.

New look ‘D’
After graduating 10 starters on the defensive side of the ball, South Elgin will return just one full-time contributor in 6-foot-3, 215 pound middle linebacker Kolber. As a sophomore in 2007, Kolber was surrounded by veterans. Now, as his responsibilities increase, expect his role as a leader to do just the same. Complementing Kolber will be senior free safety Smith, who tore his ACL in Week 2’s 29-12 to Geneva. Look for Smith to stand out on the offensive side of the ball as well, likely as the Storms’ No. 1 receiver. Supporting Kolber and Smith will be corner back Perez and defensive lineman Nate VanMetre (starting offensive lineman as well). All four players boast all-conference potential. 

Veteran travels
It might be impossible to question the commitment of this year’s group. When the football program first began four years ago, the early building stages truly fit the team effort cliché. The original freshmen class, now seniors, had to help put together sleds, participate in summer camp in the parking lot of the school and had no weight room until December of 2005. Plus, there was always the hassle of driving to practice at a local park during the season. 
“It’s been a great challenge,” Coach Schabert said. “We’re ready to take off and take the next steps. The kids are really grasping what we’re trying to accomplish. We had some rough games that first year, but we’ve seen improvement. It’s been both tough and rewarding.”

Four to score
Although the Storm always try to feature a balanced offensive attack that executes their scheme based off of an opponents’ defensive look, they will feature four different running backs throughout the year. Expect Ciccone and Ware as well as Perry and Birchfield to share the rushing load. Each back offers a different running style and this suggests that the rotation will be orchestrated with a by-situation mentality.
One back could be used for short-yardage situations while another could be utilized to catch the ball out of the backfield. Regardless of who gets the most playing time, this should be the deepest position on the team.

BY THE NUMBERS

70 Number of freshmen out for the football team, the program’s largest roster ever

28 Points per game surrendered by South Elgin in 2007

4 Number of coaches on the Storm’s football varsity coaching staff. Dale Schabert and assistants Jason Schaal, Mike Mackender and Chris Neibch make up one of the smaller public high school varsity staffs in Illinois