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Week 8, North Suburban: Urgency both ways as Wauconda visits Antioch

Wauconda Bulldogs (3-4, 3-1) at Antioch Sequoits (4-3, 2-2)When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Wauconda def. Grant, 41-7; Antioch lot to Zion-Benton, 21-20.

Skinny: Emotions will be running high in this game as both Wauconda and Antioch are in the same “win-or-go-home” boat. The playoffs are on the line for both teams. Wauconda needs to win out to get to five wins, which makes a playoff spot on points a possibility. Wauconda would be in good shape with points at 33, most in the North Suburban Prairie Division. Meanwhile, Antioch also needs to win out. Head coach Brian Glashagel believes his team needs to get to the 6-win mark to get an automatic berth because his team's playoffs points are too low (24) to slip in with just five wins. “We need five (wins), they need 6 (wins), this is a very big game,” Wauconda coach Dave Mills said. “We've had a lot of really good games against Antioch over the years and this is shaping up to be another one.” Wauconda has won two straight games, starting with a big upset over Vernon Hills in Week 6. Vernon Hills was a perfect 5-0 at the time. The defense, led by Connor Mitchell, was the star of the show in that game. Last week, the Bulldogs had their most complete offensive game of the season. Running back Tyler Stankiewicz rushed for 99 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries while quarterback Kevin Malisheski was a perfect 6-for-6 on his passes for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns. “They are very talented,” Glashagel said of Wauconda. “They can throw the ball but they can also use their big offensive line and pound you.”…Antioch has been pounded this season by injuries, particularly at quarterback and on the offensive line. The Sequoits are now on their fourth quarterback in sophomore Brandon Gallimore. The five starting offensive linemen haven't played all together since Week 1, thanks to injuries. “We've been hampered by injuries, that's for sure,” Glashagel said. “It's been frustrating. Offensively, we haven't been able to be as explosive as we've been in the past. But we think that if we can get healthy, we can be a playoff team.” Glashagel is hoping to ride running back Griffin Hill to that point. Hill is averaging about 100 rushing yards per game. “You just have to bottle him up and not let him chew up big chunks of yardage,” Mills said of Hill. “We're going to try to limit him to three to four yards per carry and get multiple hits on him. We need to make him earn everything.”…Glashagel and Mills have a long history, and friendship. The year before Glashagel got the head coaching job at Antioch, he was an assistant coach at Wauconda. Both Glashagel and Mills were on the defensive staff. “It's a rivalry, and we want to beat each other,” Mills said. “But when the game is over, we can meet up at a restaurant and laugh and have fun. (Glashagel) is a practical joker. He's a fun guy to be around.” Mills declined to give away some of Glashagel's best jokes, but Glashagel recounted one of his favorite funny memories of coaching with Mills. It involved him driving a golf cart that Mills accidentally fell out of. “We had a blast together,” Glashagel said. “We liked to have fun, and keep it light.”

NORTH SUBURBAN LAKELake Forest Scouts (4-3, 1-3) at Lake Zurich Bears (3-4, 2-2)When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Lake Forest lost to Stevenson, 35-10; Lake Zurich def. Mundelein, 42-9.

Skinny: Lake Zurich is trying to win out and have a chance at making the playoffs on points with five wins. An impressive streak of 13 straight playoff appearances is on the line. The last time the Bears missed the playoffs was 2001. Lake Zurich hopes to ride the backs of running backs Kyle Roth and Ben Klett, who both rolled up 100-yard rushing games last week. Roth had 135 yards and a touchdown while Klett had 108 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Bears picked up 344 of their 460 yards of offense on the ground…Lake Forest could also use a win for playoff purposes. The Scouts had a balanced attack against Stevenson last week but had 4 turnovers. Running back Quinn Julian rushed for 132 yards on 19 carries and quarterback Danny Carollo completed 12-of-27 passes for 131 yards. However, he threw 3 interceptions.

Libertyville Wildcats (7-0, 5-0) at Mundelein Mustangs (4-3, 1-3)When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Libertyville def. Warren, 48-21; Mundelein lost to Lake Zurich, 42-9.

Skinny: Libertyville continues its quest for an undefeated season. It would be the Wildcats' first undefeated season since a perfect 14-0 in 2004. That year, Libertyville won the Class 7A state championship. The Wildcats are coming off one of their most complete wins of the season. The defense forced 3 Warren turnovers while the offense rolled up 387 yards that were fairly equally split between the run and the pass. Quarterback Riley Lees once again was a standout. He ran for 140 yards, completed 14-of-16 passes for 214 yards and scored 4 touchdowns…Mundelein had only 10 first downs and 3 turnovers last week against Lake Zurich. Quarterback Colten Fisher once again was a dual threat for the Mustangs. He rushed for 72 yards and passed for 102 yards.

Zion-Benton Zee-Bees (3-4, 0-4) at Stevenson Patriots (4-3, 2-2)When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Zion-Benton def. Antioch, 21-20; Stevenson def. Lake Forest, 35-10.

Skinny: After an undefeated state championship season in 2014, Stevenson needs to win out to reach the minimum six wins for an automatic playoff berth. After two straight losses to Libertyville and Warren, the Patriots got on track last week with an offensive explosion. Stevenson rolled up 398 total yards as Tyler Vincent ran all over the field for 174 yards on 20 carries. Quarterback Jack Sorenson completed 11-of-15 passes for 159 yards…Zion-Benton broke a four-game losing streak against Antioch last week. It was the Zee-Bees' first win since Sept. 4. Quarterback DeAndre Green is a dual threat for Zion-Benton.

NORTH SUBURBAN PRAIRIERound Lake Panthers (1-6, 1-3) at Grant Bulldogs (1-6, 1-3)When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Round Lake def. North Chicago, 7-6; Grant lost to Wauconda, 41-7.

Skinny: These two teams have a lot in common. Both need a win desperately, as both have won only one game…against the same team. Both Round Lake and Grant have gotten their one win against North Chicago…Round Lake got the only score it needed last week from quarterback Tabieas Young, who ran in a 5 yard touchdown. He finished with 45 rushing yards while completing 9-of-16 passes for 105 yards…Grant sophomore running back Kenyon Jones provided the bulk of the offense last week. He ran for 156 yards on 19 carries against Wauconda.

Lakes Eagles (5-2, 5-0) at North Chicago Warhawks (1-6, 0-4)When: 1:30 p.m., Saturday

Last week: Lakes def. Vernon Hills, 26-20; North Chicago lost to Round Lake, 7-6.

Skinny: Lakes is trying to stay undefeated in the North Suburban Prairie Division. The Eagles have won five games in a row after starting out 0-2 with losses to Grayslake North and Highland Park. Lakes got 2 interception returns for touchdowns against Vernon Hills last week, including a pick by Hunter Falls in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory. Meanwhile, Cameron Ruiz did the bulk of the work for the offense, rushing for 144 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries…North Chicago has scored just 12 points over the last three weeks in losses to Grant, Antioch and Round Lake.

NORTH SUBURBAN CROSSOVERVernon Hills Cougars (5-2, 3-2) at Warren Blue Devils (4-3, 4-1)When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Vernon Hills lost to Lakes, 26-20; Warren lost to Libertyville, 48-21.

Skinny: Vernon Hills has been waiting for the last two weeks to clinch an automatic IHSA playoff berth with the minimum 6 wins. The Cougars were undefeated after five weeks but have lost their last two games to Wauconda and Lakes. With only 19 playoff points (based on opponent wins), Vernon Hills probably wouldn't be able to qualify on points with five wins, so getting at least one win over the next two weeks is a must. The Cougars' offense was once again inconsistent last week. Quarterback Connor McNamara had 243 passing yards, but 3 interceptions. The Cougars also rushed for only 36 yards…Warren, which has a better chance of qualifying with five wins due to its NSC Lake-leading 41 playoff points, had its four-game winning streak stopped last week and scored its fewest points since a Week 2 loss (29-16) to New Trier. Warren quarterback Kyle Debevec completed 17-of-24 passes for 155 yards against Libertyville. He also scored 2 touchdowns.

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