Hinsdale athletes gear up for Doings Cup

Andrew Eck and DJ Deolitsis don’t recall facing each other during the baseball season.

Eck was one of Hinsdale Central’s top relief pitchers and Deolitsis was the starting left fielder for the Hinsdale South.

The District 86 schools met three times on the baseball diamond in the spring with South winning all three games. There was a good chance that Deolitsis had at least one at-bat against Eck.

Saturday will feature Phase II of their rivalry, this time during the 31st annual Doings Cup game in Hinsdale.

Central has won the last 10 games in the football series.

Months down the road, the two will meet again, but at Dickerson Field. Eck is a starting safety for the Red Devils (4-1) and Deolitsis is the starting quarterback for the Hornets (4-1), who suffered their first loss Friday night against visiting Leyden 17-14.

“I don’t know (Deolitsis) personally,” said Eck, a Hinsdale resident. “He’s a good player and he’s a good athlete.”

Eck has one interception for 10 yards this season and returned one kickoff for the Devils.

Deolitsis is Hinsdale South’s leading rusher and has made a bigger impact on the ground than through the air. He rushed for 99 yards on 12 carries and scored his team-leading 10th TD of the season against Leyden.

“We played good, but it was a tough game,” Deolitsis said. “If we want to win (in Hinsdale), we have to play our best game.”

Deolitsis recalled that in last year’s game, the Hornets scored first on a 74-yard run, but the Devils went on to win 28-7 in Darien. One of Central’s touchdowns was a 55-yard run by current quarterback Brian Owens.

The Hornets hope to win their first game in the series since prevailing 35-27 in 2001.

“We’re fine right now. We have couple little things (to fix),” Deolitsis said. “We have to practice a bunch. There is nothing we can do about (the Leyden loss) now. We’re still good for now. The playoffs are still within reach. We’ve got to focus on that.”

An upset win by South would equal last year’s win total when the Hornets failed to reach the playoffs due to low tiebreaking points based on opponents’ victories.

Leyden’s defense held Hinsdale South to its lowest total of the season. The Devils’ defense, which has allowed at least 20 points in each of its last three games, will be aiming to lower that figure.

“It’s a great feeling, but we have to keep it going,” Eck said. “We take it one week at a time.”