advertisement

Football: Scouting Week 2, Lake County

By Joe Aguilar and Patricia Babcock McGraw

jaguilar@dailyherald.com and pbabcock@dailyherald.com

Antioch (0-1) at Glenbard South (0-1)

When: 7:15 p.m., tonight

Last week: Antioch lost to Kenosha Tremper, 12-7; Glenbard South lost to Addison Trail, 22-7.

Skinny: Antioch's loss to Tremper last week was similar to its loss to Tremper last year. Both were close shaves. Last year, the Sequoits lost to Tremper by just 3 points, 29-26. "We had our chances again," Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. "We had plenty of opportunities to win. We just couldn't get it going. We had passes go through hands, we fumbled twice, we had some penalties call back plays. We know that 12 points is not enough in any game. That was disappointing." But on the bright side, the Antioch defense limited a talented Tremper offense. "We played really good team defense," Glashagel said. "We had a lot of guys making plays all over the place."…Running back Griffin Hill also made plays for Antioch. He averaged about 7 yards a carry and finished with 80 yards but would have had well over 100 yards had a 60-yard gain not gotten called back due to a penalty. "It was a tough game for us, but we were also playing a good team," Glashagel said. "We don't schedule any cupcakes in Week 1 or 2. I think we might have an even better opponent in Week 2. (Glenbard South has) great athletes and they're well-coached. They throw the ball a lot. In fact, they throw the ball probably more than any opponent we'll see for the rest of the season." Glenbard South was 10-1 last year, starting the season 10-0.

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Carmel (0-1) at Chicago Phillips (1-0)

When: 1 p.m., Saturday

Last week: Carmel lost to Fenwick, 31-20; Chicago Phillips def. Stillman Valley, 51-0.

Skinny: Carmel coach Andy Bitto says that it's still tough for him to find opponents who will agree to play his team in nonconference games. "Not many people want to play us, even though we've had a few tough years," Bitto said. So when Chicago Phillips, which was 8-4 and advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals last season, called Bitto looking for a game, Bitto pounced. "After having a good year last season, their coach was looking to upgrade their schedule, so he called," Bitto said. "They have only about 28 kids, but their quarterback is a scholarship-type kid and they've got some size. I think they're going to be a pretty good team. This will be a tough game for us."…The Corsairs certainly lost a tough game last week to Fenwick, spoiling a 112-yard rushing effort out of sophomore running back Rondel Jamison. "We did a lot of good things, we just need to be more consistent," Bitto said. "When you're playing a team like Fenwick, there are about 4 to 5 plays that will really make the difference in the game and they made those plays."

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Cary-Grove (1-0) at Lake Zurich (1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Cary-Grove def. Wheaton North, 38-28; Lake Zurich def. Fremd, 10-7.

Last year's result: Lake Zurich won, 25-0.

Skinny: In its season-opening win, Lake Zurich flashed a lot of what's made the Bears a perennial state power - a strong defense that makes key stops and creates turnovers, a reliable running back and occasional big pass play. The Bears won it on junior Jake Kubin's 20-yard field goal as time expired. "It was just one of those games where whoever had the ball last was going to win it," coach David Proffitt said after his team endured a nearly one-hour delay due to lightning. "They're all big wins - first one, second won, third one. We're trying to get five, and then six." Lake Zurich limited Fremd to 6 first downs, including just one in the second half. Defensive back Jeremy Brown deflected a third-quarter pass in the end zone, and sophomore Matt Lawson came up with the interception. On Fremd's next possession, on first-and-goal from the Lake Zurich 4, junior linebacker Turner Beaupre forced a fumble with a ferocious hit and sophomore Ryan McGeever recovered for the Bears. Trevor Staley's recovery of a muffed punt led to Kubin's game-winning field goal. Fremd limited star running back Ben Klett to 40 rushing yards on 15 carries, but fullback Zane Lodico carried 27 times for 94 yards and caught a 20-yard TD pass from Joey Lindstrom (7 of 13, 97 yards), who was making his first varsity start at QB. "It's almost like looking at yourself in the mirror because, typically, they are very fast on defense, they have very disciplined players, they execute very well on offense and they have guys that can really break the game open, particularly their running back," Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said. Cary-Grove enters its first road game of the year ranked No. 1 in Class 7A. The Trojans began the season ranked No. 3, but losses last week by No. 1 Mt. Carmel and No. 2 Lincoln-Way East vaulted Cary-Grove to the top spot in the poll in the wake of its win over No. 10 Wheaton North. The Trojans rushed for 298 yards in the season opener, led by sophomore fullback Tyler Pennington (22 carries, 103 yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 receiving TD). Four players contributed at slot back, paced by senior Matt Sutherland, who rushed for 69 yards and touchdowns of 56 and 4 yards in 4 attempts.

- Joe Aguilar

Chicago De La Salle (0-1) at Round Lake (1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m., tonight

Last week: Chicago De La Salle lost to Bradley Bourbonnais, 24-14; Round Lake def. Chicago DePaul College Prep, 21-14 (OT).

Skinny: Round Lake hasn't started 1-0 since 2006. That year, the Panthers opened with a 28-20 win over Westosha Central. They followed that up with a 42-18 win over Maine East. "I know it's been awhile since we've won our first game," Round Lake coach Jordan Eder said after his team put the finishing touches on its overtime win on Saturday. "That means a lot here and I think it will give these kids a lot of confidence for the rest of the season." Quarterback Cole Steger came up big last week for Round Lake. He scored 3 touchdowns, including the game-winner (a 2-yard run) in overtime.

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Chicago Roosevelt (0-1) at Wauconda (1-0)

When: 7 p.m., tonight

Last week: Chicago Roosevelt lost to Richmond-Burton, 42-6; Wauconda def. Woodstock North, 28-21.

Skinny: It's "go-time" for Wauconda's new artificial turf field. Just recently completed, the field will host its first varsity football game when Wauconda hosts Roosevelt. "The kids are so excited," Wauconda coach Dave Mills said. "It's a really nice facility." The Bulldogs would love to win its first game on the new field, and to keep its momentum going from a big team win last week. Both the offense and defense put points on the board against Woodstock North. "We feel really good about that," Mills said. "The (50-yard) pick-6 that we got from Stevie Ciolek was a huge emotional push for us. And offensively, we just kept plugging away." Quarterback Kevin Malisheski had 2 touchdown passes for the Bulldogs. He also led the way to seven 3rd-down conversions…This is Wauconda's first exposure to Roosevelt, so preparation has been challenging at times. "We used to play (Chicago) Orr and with a lot of the city schools, you really aren't sure what you're going to see from week to week," Mills said. "We got punched in the mouth by Chicago Orr but we also had our way with them. You just never know and that's what makes a game like this interesting."

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Highland Park (1-0) at Mundelein (0-1)

When: 7:30 p.m., tonight

Last week: Highland Park def. Lake Forest Academy, 41-10; Mundelein lost to Wheeling, 34-20.

Skinny: Mundelein will build off its solid rushing attack in last week's loss to Wheeling. Senior running back Robert Hamilton rushed for 86 yards on 12 carries. He also ran in 2 touchdowns, one of which helped give Mundelein its first lead of the game. But a few key mistakes and turnovers did in the Mustangs, who tallied 2 interceptions. Mundelein, which also got a 73-yard kickoff return for a touchdown out of Hamilton, has been focusing on shoring up its defensive line after Wheeling rolled up 332 rushing yards. "Friday was very disappointing, but we've had a solid week of practice and we should be ready to go," senior Jake Buscher said. "We just have to keep improving and we can't turn the ball over or give up big plays."…Last year, Mundelein lost to Highland Park, 31-12.

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Hampshire (1-0) at Grayslake North (0-1)

When: 7:15 p.m., today

Last week: Hampshire def. Burlington Central, 28-18; Grayslake North lost to Lakes, 37-14.

Last year's result: Grayslake North won, 42-14.

Skinny: Since the two teams started playing each other four years ago, Grayslake North has dominated. The Knights won 42-14 last year, 54-22 in 2012 and 49-22 in the two teams' first meeting. Just like last year, Grayslake North is led offensively by quarterback Merrick Gentile and running back Titus Booker, but the high-powered Knights scored just 14 points in their season opener against reigning two-time North Suburban Prairie champ Lakes. Gentile threw a 49-yard TD pass to Andrew Martineau and ran for a 13-yard score. The Mike Brasile coaching era began for Hampshire with a win over Burlington Central, as the Whip-Purs showcased an impressive offense of their own. QB Nick Mohlman was 13-of-17 passing for 195 yards, completing 13 passes in a row during one stretch. Jake Manning busted off TD runs of 30 and 24 yards, and Mason Fleury carried 20 times for 106 yards The Whip-Purs looked comfortable in Brasile's new spread offense once they got past the penalties that cost them 2 touchdowns early. Hampshire was flagged nine times for 93 yards but rushed for 203 yards and threw for 195. "Grayslake North has been up near the top of the conference and that's something our kids want," Brasile said. "They are a big, strong, physical team with great speed at quarterback and tailback. Our personnel has gotten a lot better since the summer. We're not where we want to be as far as execution since last week was the first time the offense saw the light of day, but we're getting better."

- Joe Aguilar

Lake Forest (1-0) at Grant (0-1)

When: 7:30 p.m., tonight

Last week: Lake Forest def. Chicago Dunbar, 35-8; Grant lost to Crystal Lake Central, 42-6.

Skinny: New Grant coach Vito Andriola might have underestimated the task at hand. Putting in his system hasn't gone exactly as planned. "It's been harder than I thought it would be. It's taking some time for everyone to adjust," Andriola said. "I really put an emphasis on all the little things, things that a lot of people don't even think about. And sometimes, the kids have trouble getting used to that." There looked to be no trouble for Grant in its opening drive last week against Crystal Lake Central. The Bulldogs moved 80 yards in 20 plays and eight minutes and capped off their drive with a Jeremy Bredwood 5-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Spencer Lhotka. But from then on, life got tough for Grant, which couldn't replicate that kind of efficiency for the rest of the game. "We want to play for 48 minutes the way we played on that first drive," Andriola said. "We need to see consistency."…Lake Forest is a young and inexperienced team with 16 new starters. One of those newbies, junior quarterback Danny Carollo, had a solid debut. He completed 7-of-9 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Prairie Ridge (0-1) at Grayslake Central (0-1)

When: 7:15 p.m., today

Last week: Prairie Ridge lost to Notre Dame, 34-21; Grayslake Central lost to Fenton, 27-9.

Last year's result: Teams did not play each other.

Skinny: Prairie Ridge has switched from the Fox Valley Conference Valley to the Fox, so this is a division game for both teams. Prairie Ridge held a 21-14 lead in the third quarter of its season opener against Notre Dame, but the Wolves surrendered a late score that broke a 21-21 tie. Grayslake Central lost its debut under head coach Jason Schaal, as Fenton scored 27 straight points after a Kevin Dunk 23-yard field goal had put the Rams up 3-0 early in the second quarter. Grayslake Central didn't score again until the final minute of play, as QB Luke Shepherd threw a 17-yard TD pass to Noah Comerford.

- Joe Aguilar

Lake Forest Academy (0-1) at Libertyville (1-0)

When: 7 p.m., today

Last week: Lake Forest Academy lost to Highland Park, 41-10; Libertyville def. Palatine, 41-31.

Last year's result: Teams did not play each other.

Skinny: After being used primarily as a running threat in Libertyville's offense last year as a sophomore, Riley Lees showed off his playmaking abilities even more in his season-opening start at quarterback. He threw for 3 scores and ran for a pair at Palatine. He'll look to duplicate that success against LFA, which went 4-5 last season. Despite LFA's lopsided loss to Highland Park, the Caxys trailed only 13-7 in the third quarter when the game was stopped due to lightning. When the game resumed, the Giants took over. "LFA is a big physical team that has big-play ability on both sides of the ball," Wildcats coach Mike Jones said. "We will be challenged by their offensive and defensive lines. They have a physical running back (Malcolm Chaka) so we will have to tackle better than we did last week." Jones also calls Caxys QB Dom Haubner a big-play threat in the passing game. Wide receiver Dejon Brissett caught a 73-yard TD pass in the season opener.

- Joe Aguilar

Stevenson (1-0) at Homewood-Flossmoor (1-0)

When: 7 p.m., today

Last week: Stevenson def. Kenosha Indian Trail, 35-0; Homewood-Flossmoor def. Chicago Harlan 48-0.

Last year's result: Homewood-Flossmoor won, 28-21.

Skinny: Stevenson exacted revenge on Kenosha Indian Trail in its season opener, avenging last season's opening-night upset. Tonight, the Patriots will try to exact revenge on another opponent that beat them last year. When Homewood-Flossmoor won in Lincolnshire last season, it dropped the Patriots to a stunning 0-2. They didn't lose again until the Class 8A state semifinals against Loyola. Homewood-Flossmoor won nine games last season, losing to eventual Class 8A state champ Naperville Central, 24-21, in the second round of the playoffs. The Vikings return a talented offense that boasts twins Devonte and Deante Harley-Hampton in the backfield along with tight end James Sheehan (37 receptions last season) and big junior lineman Desmond Bland (6-4, 285). The Harley-Hampton brothers each scored 7 TDs last season and caused problems for Stevenson's defense. Stevenson rolled up 35 points in less than one half of football against Indian Trail, as QB Willie Bourbon ran for a score and threw a 19-yard TD pass to Northwestern-bound Cameron Green. The game was stopped due to lightning, and instead of the game being resumed Saturday, it was called with nine minutes left in the half. Stevenson running back Jack Joseph rushed for a pair of scores.

- Joe Aguilar

Vernon Hills (0-1) at Larkin (0-1)

When: 7:30 p.m., tonight

Last week: Vernon Hills lost to DeKalb, 33-14; Larkin lost to McHenry, 61-12.

Skinny: Another game, another road trip for Vernon Hills. At least the travel time should be shorter than the trek to DeKalb last week. Now all the Cougars can hope for is that kick-off is earlier than 10 p.m., which is when their game in DeKalb finally got underway thanks to all the storms that rolled through the area and delayed the start. "Somewhere in the fourth quarter, they said "Good morning" (over the P.A.) because it was after midnight," Vernon Hills coach Bill Bellecomo laughed. "It was a tough night and sitting around (while the storm passed) didn't help us and the long ride didn't help us, but we have to overcome those things. I knew it would take us a quarter to get going, I just didn't think we would give up 27 points in that first quarter."…Take out that rough start and Vernon Hills kept DeKalb in check the rest of the way. "I was pretty happy with our defense," Bellecomo said. "We start five sophomores on defense and we made some rookie mistakes early. But we got a lot of 3-and-outs later in the game. I thought we did a pretty good job. The five sophomore starters for Vernon Hills are: Trey Hommer, who had 7 tackles, 4 for loss against DeKalb, Andrew Smith, Drew Winegardner, Jeff Rosenstock and Nick Marras...The Vernon Hills defense has a chance to make a difference again this week against a Larkin offense that struggled last week. The Royals had just 9 first downs. But they were playing without standout running back Cameron Tomlin. His status is unclear for this game.

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Warren (1-0) at New Trier (1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Warren d. Lyons Township, 17-14; New Trier def. Schaumburg, 34-14.

Last year's result: Warren won, 42-6.

Skinny: The Warren football debuts of Darrius Crump and Bryan McNulty were a smash, as the Blue Devils prevailed in their season opener. Carmel-transfer Crump rushed 27 times for 243 yards, including a 60-yard TD run in the first quarter. After coaching Warren to the Class 4A state softball championship in the spring, McNulty was victorious in his football head-coaching debut. Trailing 14-10 at halftime, Warren scored the game-winning TD in the third quarter on Jay Nickell's 7-yard TD pass to Illinois-bound Caleb Reams. The Blue Devils will look to spoil the home opener for New Trier, which also has a new head coach in Brian Doll, who's a New Trier graduate and the former head coach at Elk Grove. New Trier sophomore QB Clay Czyzynski threw a 24-yard TD pass to Scott Hammes in the third quarter against Schaumburg, and that turned out to be the winning score. New Trier running back Kevin Mulhern rushed 23 times for 171 yards and a TD.

- Joe Aguilar

Woodstock North (0-1) at Lakes (1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Woodstock North lost to Wauconda, 28-21; Lakes def. Grayslake North, 37-14.

Last year's result: Home def. Away, 0-0.

Skinny: It's the back end of Lakes' "North" double, and the Eagles will look to move in the right direction again after last weekend's impressive win over Grayslake North. After holding Indiana-bound Titus Booker to 19 rushing yards on 10 carries, the Eagles get a look at Woodstock North's option attack featuring fullback Jordan Plummer and quarterback Jimmy Krenger. Lakes piled up 398 yards of total offense against Grayslake North, with QB Jordan Mercure throwing for 195 yards and 3 TDs on 16-of-20 passing and rushing for another score. Lakes junior running back Devyn Cedzidlo rushed 21 times for 95 yards and 1 TD and also caught one of Mercure's TD passes. Jake Balliu of the Eagles caught 11 passes for 146 yards.

- Joe Aguilar

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.