They may be the most unheralded football team in Northeastern Illinois, lost in an area of strong teams such as Stevenson, Lakes and Antioch.
And that’s fine for Vernon Hills coach Bill Bellecomo, who hopes his team will have the last laugh.
“I like being the guy who doesn’t get much attention,” Bellecomo said. “Then you’re able to sneak up on people. That Antioch game (a 42-40 loss Sept. 19), we played them tough and let it get away from us. We knew after that game we could play with anybody.
“I like being the team that sneaks up on people, though I’m sure heading into next year we’re not going to be sneaking up on too many teams.”
Thanks to Saturday’s 20-6 victory at Grant, their third win in four weeks, the Cougars became playoff eligible but need a win Friday at home against Lake Zurich to guarantee their first postseason appearance since 2010.
The Cougars lost 73-13 at Lakes on Oct. 2, but responded to beat Wauconda 30-28 on the road the following week.
Vernon Hills’ three losses have come against opponents that are a combined 21-3.
“The kids could have gone either way after that game,” Bellecomo said. “Our defense took that personally. We’ve got some young kids on defense, and they’re getting better every week. We didn’t say anything about that game afterward. These guys just decided that they wanted to get better.”
The defense, led by three-year starting defensive tackle Steve Didier and two-year starting senior linebacker Kyle Thomas, has showed flashes of brilliance. The offense has flourished under quarterback Connor McNamara. McNamara has thrown for 1,917 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for another 12 scores. He has talented receivers Rob Nardini, Andres Salazar and Kiwanne Durant as well as sophomore running back Kyle Hull.
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“We’d like to finish out the season with a win, but that’s a tough team and a great program,” Bellecomo said of Lake Zurich. “I have a lot of respect for them and even visited some of their practices during their playoff run last year. That’s what we aspire to be, a program that year in and year out makes a long playoff run. And with the young kids we have, that’s the foundation we’re trying to build upon.”