Team at a glance
Nickname Knights
Colors Navy Blue and white
Stadium name and location Jack Lewis Stadium at Plunkett Park, West Ave. in Elmhurst
Enrollment 243
Class 2A
Coach Bill Schmidt (4th year)
2007 record 3-6
Conference 2-5, fifth
Top returners
Will Cronin    jr.    QB
Paul Hornstra    sr.    RB/DB
Antonio Taylor    sr.    TE/LB
Erik Hansen    sr.    TE/LB
Matt Purdom    sr.    OL
Josh Fenton    sr.    DL/OL
Marco Medina    sr.    DL/OL
Nick Stam    jr.    OL
Promising newcomers
Robert Peachey    sr.    LB
Carlos Rodriguez    jr.    LB
Jose Godinez    so.    LB
Dan Delany    sr.    OL/DL

2008 schedule
Aug.29     at Aurora Christian 7 p.m.
Sept. 6    Walther Lutheran 1 p.m.
Sept. 13    St. Edward 1 p.m.
Sept. 19    at Marian Catholic 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 26    at Driscoll 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 3    Montini 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11    at Marmion 1 p.m.
Oct. 18    St. Francis 1 p.m.
Oct. 24    at Aurora Central Catholic 7:30 p.m.

Games to watch
Aug 29 at Aurora Christian The first game always carries a lot of weight for the Knights, who must go through a tough Suburban Catholic Conference schedule in hopes of reaching the postseason.
Oct. 11 at Marmion Another swing game in terms of the postseason, IC looks to rebound from a 33-7 loss to the Cadets in ‘07.
Oct. 18 vs. St. Francis The Knights have dropped their last two meetings with the Spartans, a streak they look to turn around.

five-year record
    overall    conference    playoffs
‘07    3-6    2-5
‘06    3-6    2-5
‘05    7-5    4-3    Quarters
‘04    4-5    3-4   
‘03    4-5    2-5

Changing of the guard
For the last several seasons, the strength of the offense has been at the skill positions. But that is different this fall with the offensive line taking center stage.
Gone is Jon Ellis, who rushed for 804 yards last fall, along with Nick DiBrito, who tallied 223 rushing yards. Leading receiver Jack Dempsey has also graduated. Trying to fill that void will be Hornstra, who carried the ball 34 times for 92 yards in ‘07 along with a handful of new faces.
With the lack of experience at those positions more weight will fall on an experienced offensive line. Medina is the center, Fenton and Stam are the guards while Purdom and Delaney are the tackles. 
“That will be a strong suit,” Schmidt said. “We will be better in there. Besides Josh (Fenton), across the board we are over 240 pounds.”
Staying healthy
As always, a big key to the season will rest with the health of the squad. With roster numbers in the upper-20s, depth is a major issue.
Last year, the Knights had little luck on the injury front, losing senior starting quarterback Kevin Koch in week two for the season. Injuries to other key players ensued which was a factor in the team’s 3-6 record. And for a team like the Knights where the players often contribute on both sides of the ball and on special teams, having a player go down is extremely costly.
“That is a key for us every year,” the coach said. “We can’t have what happened last year where we lost a key guy like (Kevin) Koch. The second game of the year, we lost seven starters, which for us is the equivalent of 12 starters. It will come down to a little bit of luck. We have to stay healthy and catch a couple of breaks.”
The man under center
With the season-ending injury to Koch, the only positive byproduct was the varsity experience Cronin received. The then-sophomore appeared in seven games, throwing for 326 yards.
Coming off a great offseason, Cronin appears poised to lead the offense. After scaling down the offense to suit Cronin last fall, the Knights will open up the playbook this time around.
Joining him in the backfield is a group of guys who will be trying to make up for the loss of Ellis. Hornstra, Peachey, Rodriguez and Godinez should all contribute as running backs.
“We have three or four guys pushing each other,” Schmidt said. “You can’t replace what Jon did for our program. But we have some guys who can step in and fill those shoes and not miss a beat.”
Playoff hunt
Over the last five years, the Knights have reached the playoffs only once, back in 2005 when they advanced to the quarterfinals. The squad has finished with a 3-6 mark the last two campaigns, a trend the team is looking to reverse.
“Playoffs is our goal,” the coach said. “We are not trying to hide anything. The goal is to get into the playoffs; that has always been one of our goals. Every game we are looking to win.”
With the SCC always rugged, the opening two non-conference games hold a great of weight with IC trying to reach the five-win plateau. That is no different in ‘08 as the Knights once again go up against Aurora Christian and Walther Lutheran.
“The first two games are key,” Schmidt said, “We feel if we play our style of ball and control the line of scrimmage, we can win those games. But both are quality programs who can beat you on any given day.”

Senior says
Antonio Taylor
What is the mindset of the squad coming off a 3-6 campaign? “We are out to prove ourselves. A lot of people don’t believe in IC. As a family, we are going to block that out. We been through so much adversity; we’ve learned to block it out and just to move forward.”

What is a strength of the offense after the unit was hit hard by graduation, especially at the skill positions?
“In the past, usually IC is known for having good skilled players. This year it is totally different. We will go as far as the line takes us. And at the skill positions, we have some sleepers.”

How has the team’s offseason work raised expectations?
The last two years we have been 3-6 and a lot of that was because the offseason was literally that, the off-season. We took it off. This is our senior year and we want to make the playoffs. We really took the offseason serious; Four out of the seven days we lifted and afterwards we ran. Everybody has just progressed a lot. People are really working.

What is a key to the season?
The key is being ready to play football. We have to be ready and if so, we will be fine. You have to come out every Friday night and Saturday and be ready. With our work ethic, we are confident we can do that.

How might the Suburban Catholic Conference shake out?
With this conference, there is a lot of good talent. Driscoll has seven straight titles, Montini and Marian are up there and Marmion and St. Francis are always tough. What is key is our first two non-conference games. If we go into conference 2-0, that gives us a confidence boost. That would get us on a roll going into the SCC.

By the numbers
6 The number of teams on Immaculate Conception’s schedule this fall that had winning records during the regular season in 2007.
326 That is the number of passing yards Will Cronin had last season after taking over the quarterback reigns from an injured Kevin Koch, a total that should increase dramatially in ‘08.
1,027 IC must find a way to replace over 1,000 yards of rushing that Jon Ellis and Nick DiBrito combined for last fall. The duo also had nine rushing touchdowns.