Boy, were they bright.

"We were all kind of wide-eyed and amazed at being there," said senior lineman Jack Wombacher. "This year, we've been there, done that. Hopefully, that will keep us calmer and help us do our jobs."

Top-ranked Central (13-0) heads to Champaign seeking a better result than last year's 48-24 loss to Addison Driscoll. The Saints face first-time finalist Aurora Christian (13-0), which is coached by former National Football League receiver Don Beebe.

Beebe played in six Super Bowls during his nine-year NFL career. He knows how intimidating exposure to the spotlight can be.

"I don't usually talk about my (playing) days. But as I reflect back, in my first Super Bowl I was horrible," he said. "My mindset was on cloud nine. When it's your first time like that, it can creep into your head. They (his players) are going to have some hurdles to overcome."

Saints' coach Bobby Moews anticipates last year's experience will help in the pre-game routine of "what you have to do, when you can do it, when you can't ???"

"We know what to expect," said senior tight end Dylan Johnson. "I think that's going to be big."

Central will try to become the first school to earn titles in four classes, having won in 1A (1987), 2A (1982) and 3A (1994).

To reach that goal, it must contain Aurora Christian senior quarterback Jordan Roberts and junior receiver Matt Morse, both all-staters.

The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Roberts has thrown for 2,657 yards and 41 touchdowns with seven interceptions in 322 attempts. Fifty-five completions, 1,075 yards and 19 touchdowns have gone to Morse.

Senior David Zielke has 49 catches, 641 yards and 10 TDs, while senior halfback Lewis Gaddis has 1,306 yards rushing and eight scores.

"They'll show you enough run to keep you honest," Moews said. "Their quarterback is awfully good. They like to put him out in space and let him run around and throw deep."

Beebe considers Roberts to be similar to Saints' all-state quarterback Adam Rebholz, who has passed for 2,174 yards and 25 touchdowns and run for 520 yards and nine TDs.

"That kid's a stud, too," Beebe said. "Most teams you look at and say, 'we can attack here' or 'we can attack there.' You better play very sound Football against these guys because they have no weaknesses.

"It will be neat to see two great quarterbacks and two great defenses go at it. The two best teams are playing in the state finals, and that's the way it should be."

Central's offense will have to work around Aurora Christian's Peter Kariotis, a 6-0, 317-pound tackle with 76 tackles and 10 sacks. Linebacker Ryan Perik has 10.5 sacks.

"They blitz a lot. They bring everybody, so we just have to hit them," Wombacher said. "They're a smaller team, but they're really fast."

The Saints' defense is led by senior linebackers Sean Stokes (114 tackles) and David Murray (92) and all-state lineman Joe Ring (13 tackles for loss, eight sacks).

They hope to wreak havoc against a team which ousted seven-time defending state champion Driscoll in the quarterfinals (24-17).

"If you beat Driscoll, you're definitely a good team," Central receiver Dan Curran said. "You're not going to accidently beat Driscoll."

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CENTRAL CATHOLIC Saints

The basics

Enrollment: 408 (after IHSA multiplier)

Nickname: Saints

Conference: Corn Belt

Head coach: Bobby Moews (17 seasons, 127-58, won Class 3A title in 1994)

Captains: Dylan Johnson, Joe Ring, David Murray, Dan Curran, Sean Stokes

2007: Lost to Addison Driscoll, 48-24, in Class 4A championship game

The starters

OFFENSE

Pos. No. Player Vitals

QB 9 Adam Rebholz 6-2, 200, Sr.

RB 44 David Murray 5-10, 205, Sr.

RB 34 Brad Connor 5-10, 160, So.

WR 14 Ben Heaton 6-0, 165, Sr.

WR 8 Dan Curran 5-10, 150, Sr.

TE 84 Dylan Johnson 6-3, 200, Sr.

OL 70 Joe Ring 6-2, 245, Sr.

OL 52 Nathan Yelton 6-0, 250, Jr.

OL 78 Chris Highland 6-2, 210, Jr.

OL 74 Jay Dachauer 6-2, 200, Sr.

OL 68 Jack Wombacher 6-4, 262, Sr.

DEFENSE

DE 85 Adam McIntosh 6-4, 215, Jr.

DE 84 Dylan Johnson 6-3, 200, Sr.

DT 70 Joe Ring 6-2, 245, Sr.

DT 60 Austin Sherwood 5-11, 215, Jr.

LB 44 David Murray 5-10, 205, Sr.

LB 4 Sean Stokes 6-0, 205, Sr.

LB 3 James Hinderks 6-0, 175, Jr.

DB 2 Brendan McCracken 5-8, 180, Sr.

DB 11 Blake Rave 5-11, 165, Sr.

DB 14 Ben Heaton 6-0, 165, Sr.

DB 9 Adam Rebholz 6-2, 200, Sr.

Team statistics

CCHS OPPONENTS

Points 525 150

First downs 227 137

Rushing 479-2,459 409-1,325

Passing C-A 131-218 140-210

Passing yards 2,247 957

Total yards 4,706 3,239

Fumbles/lost 22/13 28/11

The leaders

Passing A-C Comp. INT Yds. TD

Adam Rebholz 207 125 11 2,174 25

Rushing Att. Yds. TD Avg.

Brad Connor 160 753 14 4.7 48

David Murray 105 747 12 7.1 50

Adam Rebholz 104 520 9 5.0 52

Taylor Jewett 42 221 2 5.3 37

Receiving No. Yds. TD Avg.

Dylan Johnson 37 669 9 18.1 52

Dan Curran 24 525 7 21.9 43

David Murray 21 374 6 17.8 50

Ben Heaton 22 293 2 13.3 47

Punting No. Avg. Long

Drew Talkington 24 32.9 55

PAT FG

Placekicking Att. Made Att. Made Long

Kendall Cox 71 65 6 4 37

Defense Solo Assist Total Sacks

Sean Stokes 46 68 114 4

David Murray 44 48 92 2

Joe Ring 29 11 40 8

The season

Date Opponent Result

Regular season

Aug. 29 Prairie Central W, 33-0

Sept. 5 University High W, 40-20

Sept. 12 Pontiac W, 59-15

Sept. 20 Mt. Carmel W, 42-0

Sept. 26 Olympia W, 48-7

Oct. 3 Eureka W, 42-7

Oct. 10 Mahomet-Seymour W, 17-0

Oct. 17 Rochester W, 49-25

Oct. 24 Rantoul W, 55-16

Playoffs

Oct. 31 Champaign St. Thomas More W, 49-8

Nov. 8 Mt. Zion W, 19-7

Nov. 15 Quincy Notre Dame W, 21-17

Nov. 22 Breese Mater Dei W, 51-28

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AURORA CHRISTIAN Eagles

The basics

Enrollment: 373 (after multiplier)

Conference: Private School League

Head coach: Don Beebe (5 seasons, 49-10)

Captains: Jordan Roberts, Ryan Perik, Braxton Warner

2007: Lost to Plano, 14-8, in Class 3A semifinal

The starters

OFFENSE

WR 82 Matt Morse 5-11, 165, Jr.

WR 1 David Zielke 5-10, 166, Sr.

WR 5 Zac Copple 5-9, 162, Sr.

QB 10 Jordan Roberts 6-2, 204, Sr.

HB 31 Lewis Gaddis 5-10, 190, Sr.

LT 52 Braxton Warner 5-11, 213, Sr.

LG 57 Dean Griffing 6-0, 179, Jr.

C 78 Andru Ubert 5-11, 214, Sr.

RG 53 David Benson 5-9, 184, Jr.

RT 56 Dylan Smith 5-10, 180, Jr.

TE 33 Eric Anderson 6-1, 205, Sr.

DEFENSE

DE 52 Braxton Warner 5-11, 213, Sr.

DT 77 Peter Kariotis 6-0, 317, Sr.

DE 78 Andru Ubert 5-11, 214, Sr.

LB 85 Brandon Oest 6-3, 163, Sr.

LB 25 Ryan Perik 5-9, 163, Sr.

LB 56 Dylan Smith 5-10, 180, Jr.

LB 31 Lewis Gaddis 5-10, 190, Sr.

LB 30 Donald Patterson 5-6, 168, Jr.

CB 5 Zac Copple 5-9, 162, Sr.

CB 1 David Zielke 5-10, 166, Sr.

S 82 Matt Morse 5-11, 165, Jr.

The statistics

ACHS OPPONENTS

Points 423 169

First downs 195 101

Rushing 317-1,753 487-1,863

Passing C-A 190-322 98-195

Passing yards 2,657 1,741

Total yards 4,410 3,604

Fumbles/lost 11-6 18-10

The leaders

Rushing Att. Yds. TD Avg.

Lewis Gaddis 174 1,306 8 7.5 69

Passing Att. Comp. INT Yds. TD

Jordan Roberts 322 191 7 2,657 41

Receiving No. Yds. TD Avg.

Matt Morse 55 1,075 19 19.5 92

David Zielke 49 641 10 13.1 76

Luis Solorio 30 329 4 10.9 52

Punting No. Avg. Long

Jordan Roberts 26 39.6 61

Placekicking

PAT FG

Att. Made Att. Made Long

Jake VanGilse 40 36 7 6 43

Tackles

Solo Assist Total Sacks

Ryan Perik 30 74 104 10.5

Peter Kariotis 21 55 76 10

The season

Date Opponent Result

Aug. 29 Elmhurst Immaculate Conception W, 22-12

Sept. 5 Mendota W, 10-6

Sept. 12 Rockford Christian Life W, 62-0

Sept. 20 Lake Forest Academy W, 48-8

Sept. 26 Palos Heights Christian W, 42-28

Oct. 4 Chicago Luther South W, 46-6

Oct. 11 Walther Lutheran W, 39-33

Oct. 17 Chicago Luther North W, 1-0

Oct. 24 Wheaton Academy W, 31-19Playoffs

Nov. 1 Plano W, 41-0

Nov. 8 Coal City W, 28-20

Nov. 15 Addison Driscoll W, 24-17

Nov. 22 Richmond Burton W, 29-20

CUTLINE: Aurora Christian quarterback Jordan Roberts has thrown for 2,657 yards and 41 touchdowns this season. He leads the Eagles into today's Class 4A state championship game with Central Catholic.

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