Expect significant air time at Grayslake North
Grayslake North fans would be wise to bring comfy seat cushions with them to games this season.
Like last season, they could be in for some long games. Passing teams tend to play longer into the night, because there are typically more stoppages in play than in a game that features mostly rushing plays.
“If we have to throw it 30 or 40 times to win, we will,” Grayslake North coach Steve Wood said.
Those numbers could actually be on the low side, given the weapon the Knights have under center.
Back at quarterback is senior AJ Fish, who put up stunning numbers last season in what might be his secondary sport.
Fish, a standout lacrosse player who has verbally committed to play at Virginia next year, passed for 27 touchdowns and more than 2,100 yards last season. He is the highest-profile returning quarterback in Lake County.
“AJ hasn’t missed a step since last season,” Wood said. “He’s picked up right where he left off. If we have the kind of year we think we can have, that will mean that AJ will have had a huge year and he’ll be getting calls (from big-time colleges) for football, too.”
Grayslake North is looking for its first playoff berth in the seven-year history of the school. The Knights went 4-5 last season.
“We had leads in the fourth quarter in four of our five losses last season,” Wood said. “The offense gave us some great opportunities, but we just didn’t capitalize on defense. We didn’t close the games. It was time to finish, but it was like we went to sleep on defense.”
Junior linebacker Jesse Davis was one who managed to stay awake last season, and he has been named the defensive captain this season. Outside of Davis, much of the defense is new and used to success on the underlevels.
“A key this year will be our defense and how all those new guys come together,” Wood said. “We know what our offense is capable of.”
Last year, most of Fish’s passing yards ended up being receiving yards for mostly one person: wide receiver Josh Cokefair, who is now trying to walk on at Kansas. He wound up with more than 1,100 receiving yards.
If he could tweak one thing about the passing game, Wood would prefer that the receiving yards be distributed between more players. The good news there is that the Knights have the horses to do just that.
Receivers Jesse Davis and Vince Smith, a transfer from Grayslake Central, will both be big targets for Fish. And running backs David Collins and Charlie Pine will be options as well.
“If we could be more balanced with our receivers, that will really help us,” Wood said. “Last year, Cokefair had over 1,000 receiving yards and our next highest guy had less than 500 yards. We want to spread that out.”
Wood also wouldn’t mind just a wee bit more balance this season between the pass and the run. Just to keep defenses honest.
“We’re still going to pass a lot. We’re going to be a passing team,” Wood said. “But if we can be just a little more balanced between the pass and the run, that will also help. We have some pretty good runners this year.”
Besides Collins and Pine, Titus Booker and Brandon Jones will also get some carries this season.
“I think the kids know all about how we’ve never been to the playoffs and they think about that,” Wood said. “We just tell them that if we do the little things this season, the big things will take care of themselves.”
GRAYSLAKE NORTH
HEAD COACH: Steve Wood (seventh season, 13-41)
LAST SEASON: 4-5, 3-3 in Fox Valley Fox Division
HOMECOMING: Friday, Sept. 14 vs. Johnsburg, 7:15 p.m.