PREP ZONE: Conference crown within Saints’ reach

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This is what Mike Fields is used to.

In recent years, the former Geneva football assistant had become accustomed to weekly triumphs, with precious few exceptions. Then came his first two games as a varsity coach at St. Charles East, a pair of losses to those Vikings, then Naperville North.

Just like Toto wasn’t in Kansas anymore, Fields was no longer in Geneva, even if he maintained his residence there. Even so, Fields insists he and his Saints kept the wound-licking to a minimum.

“They’ve never been down,” Fields said. “We ask them to go through a brick wall and they will ... the main emphasis is this is their team, and it starts with those seniors.”

Amazing what maintaining confidence, a few more weeks to grasp the new coach’s demands and escaping the murderer’s row portion of the schedule has done. One month later, the Saints sit at 4-2, 4-0 in the Upstate Eight. East and Lake Park are the last two teams unbeaten in UEC play entering the final third of the season.

On the surface, East – riding high after a thrilling, OT win at Waubonsie Valley last week – is in great shape to win a conference championship. Two of East’s final three opponents are below .500, and the other, St. Charles North, will have to visit Norris Stadium in the regular season finale.

Those two 2-4 opponents, though, are nowhere near gimmies. This week’s foe, Bartlett, is searching for solutions so far after going 12-1 last year, while Week 8 opponent Neuqua Valley has suffered several crushing, close losses against one of the state’s nastiest schedules.

“It’s not deceiving to us,” Fields said of East’s upcoming opponents’ records. “We’re realistic. These are three tough games that could go either way. We have not gotten complacent. The boys have not gotten complacent, and the coaches certainly haven’t gotten complacent.”

The Saints’ rigorous workout sessions this week have driven home that point. Fields brought with him from Geneva a zealous approach to conditioning and the weight room, and that fixation on being in top shape becomes especially important considering the Saints’ modest depth calls for numerous two-way players.

Fields said he’ll continue to ask his players to be “workhorses” even as the postseason draws near.

“We certainly have not let up on them by any means, and they don’t want us to,” Fields said. “They wouldn’t respect us if we did. They set the bar for themselves.”

Given those two losses to start the season, East is not a lock for the postseason even though the Saints are in a first-place tie in the UEC. While unlikely, East’s remaining schedule is challenging enough that a three-game skid is not out of the question.

Fields said winning the conference, not cementing a playoff berth, is his team’s focus. UEC co-leader Lake Park also faces a formidable late-season schedule, with South Elgin, Waubonsie Valley and Bartlett coming up.

“It’s not a do-or-die situation for us in the sense of getting that fifth win and getting in the playoffs,” Fields said of this week’s Bartlett matchup. “It’s really working toward the goal of winning the conference.”

That’s a goal Fields has plenty of experience achieving.

And one that is well within the Saints’ reach.

• Jay Schwab is sports editor of The Chronicle. He can be reached at jschwab@kcchronicle.com or jschwab@kcchronicle.com.