Elk Grove waiting for Schaumburg rematch

Certain games on the football schedule are calendar-circlers.

Elk Grove has one of those at 7:30 p.m. today when it hosts Schaumburg in the final round of Mid-Suburban League crossovers.

Especially since it’s the same place where Schaumburg knocked out Elk Grove in the first round of last season’s Class 7A state playoffs.

A lot of the prominent figures involved in the Saxons’ 38-21 playoff win and the Grenadiers’ 36-34 crossover win last year have departed. But the Grenadiers who have returned haven’t forgotten.

“Dejan (Basara) spoke from the heart about how much this game means to him,” said Elk Grove coach Brian Doll of his versatile senior who started at linebacker last year. “That was a pretty special team and to get knocked out in the first round was tough.”

It’s also a key game for a pair of 2-1 teams with playoff aspirations before they head into division play next week.

“It will be a playoff-atmosphere game,” Basara said. “The house will be packed and we have to keep our composure and stick with the fundamentals. It’s going to be a good game.”

Elk Grove has been getting strong defensive play led by Greg Johnsen up front and Luc Dimaso and Dylan Edwards in the secondary. They’ll be tested by Schaumburg’s deep crew of threats in Sadaris Patterson, Brandon Kibby, Stacey Smith, Mike Mallet and Juwaan Richard.

“I like their sophomore running back (Patterson) and their skill guys are very good players,” Doll said. “They’ve got weapons.”

Taking steps forward: Nothing has been easy for Barrington as every game in its 2-1 start has come down to the final minutes of play.

While close games are a good test for down the road, Barrington coach Joe Sanchez wouldn’t mind seeing his team do some more things sooner to provide some breathing room later.

“I definitely felt as a team we played better,” Sanchez said after last Friday’s 28-19 win at Hersey. “Defensively we played well and offensively we got things going, but we have to learn how to finish.”

Barrington had two chances to extend a 9-point lead in the fourth quarter but couldn’t take advantage of turnovers that set up possessions in Hersey territory.

The good news for the Broncos were big plays such as Hank Mitchell’s interception and Javier Diaz’s fumble recovery kept Hersey from cutting into a 21-12 lead earlier.

“We did a lot of good things and I was proud of us defensively,” Sanchez said. “I thought for the most part we were assignment sound.”

But Sanchez also focused on one other area that has literally set back Barrington through the first third of the season.

“It’s something we’re addressing and continuing to address,” Sanchez said of problems with penalties. “That’s not how these boys are coached or how they were raised. We have to do a better job of controlling our emotions.”

Sealed by a Kiss: It was hardly a love tap when Hersey senior Brian Kiss took a clean and powerful shot in the end zone after making a leaping grab late in the game against Barrington.

The 5-foot-6, 140-pound senior popped right up and took it all in stride.

“I was just happy I held on,” Kiss said with a smile after catching 8 passes for 60 yards.

Homecoming week: Three MSL coaches will be returning to their alma maters for tonight’s crossovers.

Two of them will be going back to their old schools for the first time as head coaches. Rolling Meadows and first-year coach Matt Mishler head to Hoffman Estates and Buffalo Grove and Jim Farrell are at Fremd.

“It’s always a little surreal but it’s not the first time,” Mishler said of returning as a Wheeling assistant to the school where he was a quarterback.

Barrington coach Joe Sanchez also returns to Wheeling. Last week, Hoffman coach Bill Helzer was back at his alma mater at Prospect.

Local pipeline to South Dakota: There is a big local flavor to the roster at the University of South Dakota, which broke into the Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 at No. 23 after its 30-17 upset of top-ranked Eastern Washington.

Senior quarterback Dante Warren (St. Viator), who engineered last year’s 41-38 upset of Minnesota, has thrown for 310 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for 120 yards and a TD in two games. Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Kenny Greer (Barrington) has played in both games and started one.

Wide receiver Terrance Terry (Barrington) is also a redshirt freshman. Linebacker Colin Buscarini (Rolling Meadows) has joined quarterbacks Nick Meyer (Elk Grove) and Kevin Earl (Stevenson) as true freshmen on the Coyotes’ roster.

Former Maine South star quarterback Charlie Goro transferred to South Dakota from Vanderbilt and is now playing defensive back.

South Dakota lost its opener 37-20 at Air Force. It gets another shot at the Big Ten when it visits Wisconsin on Sept. 24.

Helping No. 1: Jason Ford and Jimmy Norris were accustomed to sustained success at Fremd. Now they are a big part of it with Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Ford is a senior tight end and Norris is a junior offensive guard who are starting for the nation’s top-ranked D-III team. Whitewater has won the last two and three of the last four national titles, appeared in six straight title games and is on a 32-game winning streak.

Ford has caught 5 passes for 62 yards in two games and Norris helps lead the way for standout running back Levell Coppage (Oak Park-River Forest) and quarterback Matt Blanchard (Lake Zurich).

Sophomore linebacker Ryan Cortez (Palatine) has also played in both games with an interception and 6 tackles. Sophomore running back Evan Wright (Fremd) had 5 carries for 26 yards in last week’s 45-0 win at 21st-ranked Franklin (Ind.).

Historical correction: Rolling Meadows has actually scored 50 points four times in varsity program history. The record was set when its 1973 team led by all-MSL picks Mike Anderson, Steve Breitbeil, Pat Geegan, Dan Jordan, Bill Stutzman and Brian Wiebe topped Arlington 54-22.

The 50s might be in the Mustangs’ future as their sophomore team knocked off Schaumburg 57-50 last Friday.

Conference calling: Going into the final round of MSL crossovers the West has an 8-4 lead on the East … The Central Suburban League is definitely a tale of two divisions as the South is 13-5 and all six teams have winning records and the North is 2-16 with all six holding losing records.