CASEY - You might think a team expected to roll like Casey-Westfield was expected to, and then rolling even easier than most thought, would be dancing on to the field on Fridays. That they would be spinning balls on their fingers during practice while daydreaming of stepping on the podium at Memorial Stadium in Champaign as the IHSA hands them the championship trophy.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

"You can't take a chance to look at what you've done," lineman Nate Standifer said. "You can't get cocky. Teams get real dangerous when you look over them."

Teams have been nearly toothless so far as the Warriors have rung up a 4-0 start to the season - but that was expected. It's the relative ease in which they've done it that has been surprising.

The state's top-ranked team in Class 2A has outscored opponents 185-19, and the starters have rarely made fourth-quarter appearances. Losing just a handful of starters from last year's 12-1 semifinal team would lead you to believe in nothing less.

That's even fallacy.

"We lost some of the line and Sean Craig, our running back," said coach Keith Sinclair, who is 162-45 with Casey and Casey-Westfield, according to the IHSA. "We had far more to replace than people think, but the kids that have stepped in have done a good job."

And that's allowed quarterback Mitch Snyder (670 yards passing and 14 touchdowns) to flourish along with receivers Aaron Rhoads (257 yards and five TDs) and Taylor Biggs (299 and 6). Starting as a part-time starter as a sophomore, Snyder has grown into the man at Casey, maybe even in the area.

"He does a great job of making decisions and distributing the ball," Sinclair said of Snyder. "Game in and game out, we've had five or six that catch the ball regularly and we've had eight make catches."

But it's more than just first-time varsity members progressing and a quarterback maturing. It's like the Warriors are on auto-pilot in the sense that everything just seems to flow when they take the field. Need 8 yards? Here's 10. Need a touchdown to put the clamps down? Next play. Need the defense to leave a mark? They'll leave a couple of bruises.

"Their play is just so crisp, especially their offense," said Flora coach Skip Dillon, whose Wolves, now 3-1, were beaten by Casey 48-7 in Week 3. "We had a few brain farts in the game, but one is too many against a team like that."

And it all started - and continues - with the humbleness that comes with achievement gained by sweat and hard work.

"I kind of figured people would be cocky coming into the year, but we really are staying humble," Rhoads said. "The coaches are doing a great job of keeping us in shape and not letting us get too far ahead of ourselves. Practices are a little tougher than last year, that helps keep you focused. The flow is a little bit faster and the conditioning a little longer."

Maybe the only thing they allow themselves in the few free seconds in between the repetitions, the running and the scrimmaging is to daydream, if only for a moment.

"We have a big tradition to live up to and it's been a lot of hard work. We don't want to be that class that doesn't excel," Snyder said. "And we want to break that ceiling. It would be great to get past that semifinal level that we have been stuck on - get on the turf at Illinois. Now that would be amazing."

So far, the Warriors have been just that.

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