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Northwest notes / Plenty of opening changes

There will be some unfamiliarity as 10 area football teams face new opponents in nonconference season openers Aug. 26.

One of the bigger ones is Palatine traveling to face alum Chris Andriano, who was on the Daily Herald’s first All-Area team in 1969, and two-time defending Class 5A champion Montini.

Prospect is at Glenbrook South in a reprise of an opener from 1979-92. The other new matchups of the Mid-Suburban and Central Suburban leagues have Elk Grove at Highland Park, Schaumburg at New Trier and Hersey at Glenbrook North.

Hoffman Estates will return to Streamwood’s Millennium Field for the second straight year but this time will play the Sabres instead of Bartlett. Rolling Meadows hosts York, Buffalo Grove hosts Lake Forest, Maine West hosts Urban Prep from Chicago and Wheeling travels to Mundelein.

Continuing with season-opening matchups are Fremd hosting Lake Zurich, Conant hosting Lake Park, Leyden hosting Fenton and Barrington visiting Libertyville.

St. Viator will play the first of eight East Suburban Catholic Conference play at Marian Catholic. With nine teams, each school has a different open week and the Lions’ is Week 6 (Sept. 30) when it plays St. Ignatius at the University of Chicago.

Christian Liberty begins its nine-game Northeastern Athletic Conference schedule Aug. 27 at Luther North. It is a rematch of the Chargers’ first win in program history in last year’s season finale.

Fremd anniversary team: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fremd, the football program will honor 26 players who earned significant achievements at its Sept. 2 home game with Prospect.

The 26 players received All-American, first team all-state, MSL offensive or defensive MVP or Daily Herald All-Area captain honors.

Nearly 20 players are expected to attend — including Jerry Finis (Fremd’s first all-state player), George Poorman (All-American), former Bear and current Palatine mayor Jim Schwantz and Patrick Brown (Fremd’s first Daily Herald all-area captain). Former head coach Joe Samojedny and current head coach Mike Donatucci, who is retiring after this season, will also be recognized.

Retired Daily Herald high school sports guru Bob Frisk will handle the player introductions with on-field ceremonies scheduled to start at approximately 6:45 p.m. There will also be a postgame reception at Oak Alley Saloon in Palatine.

Barrington events: The Barrington Stampede is once again being held to help those in need. Anyone donating five canned food items or $5 will get a red Stampede T-shirt.

Donations can be made at Barrington’s Red and White scrimmages on Aug. 19 (freshmen at 5 p.m., sophomores at 6 p.m., varsity at 7 p.m.). They can also be made during school lunch hours Aug. 25-26 (fourth to seventh period) and at the Aug. 25 pep rally at 6 p.m.

The Barrington Stampede is an initiative which promotes Broncos Care, a service organization of the Barrington football team.

Barrington will also host a Military Appreciation Night at its Sept. 2 home opener at 7:30 p.m. with Elk Grove. Admission is free to active duty military personnel, veterans and immediate family members. They will also receive a complimentary food ticket.

Advance registration is required at we-do-care.org. Active duty members are asked to attend in uniform to be recognized and proof of military service (military ID, American Legion membership card) is required for free admission.

There will also be a sale of T-shirts commemorating the event Sept. 1-2 in the school cafe and at the game for $5.

Other special events are planned and Barrington will wear special jerseys for the game. The Barrington team and coaches took a tour of the Navy’s only boot camp, Recruit Training Command, at Great Lakes on July 20.