advertisement

Week 8: Scouting the Upstate Eight River

St. Charles North (6-1, 3-1) at Geneva (3-4, 2-3)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Burgess Field

Last year: Geneva 42, St. Charles North 41

Last week: St. Charles North 56, Streamwood 0; Geneva 43, Elgin 12

Outlook: The North Stars have lost 3 straight to Geneva, including last year's game, which they led 41-35 with three minutes left until the Vikings roared back. Then-Geneva quarterback Sean Chambers marched his team 75 yards and threw the winning touchdown pass to a diving Ryan Skibinski with 29 seconds left. The North Stars have been itching for redemption since. "The kids are excited to play Geneva," St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said. "They've had it marked on their calendar since last year because they felt like they let one get away." Pomazak blamed himself last year for a defense that allowed 42 points. If so, he gets the credit now for a defense that has given up only 12 total points to teams not named St. Charles East. The North Stars have yielded only a total of 40 points in 7 games and have not allowed a touchdown since losing 28-21 to Upstate Eight River leader St. Charles East in Week 4. They've posted 4 shutouts, led by senior linebacker Jack Wolf (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) and senior end Trey Kellogg (6-2, 225). Wolf leads the team in tackles (52) while Kellogg is second with 48 tackles, 9 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. "Their defense has given up less than 6 points a game and their offense scores more than 50 points, so why even play?" said Geneva coach Rob Wicinski, doing his best Lou Holtz. "Just call it a day and tip our hat. Gee whiz, we'll have to take a picture under the scoreboard if we score. Well, they look pretty good on film, but they have some demons. I'm not sure if I can exploit their demons or not, but someone in the playoffs will because they are not hitting on all cylinders despite scoring 50 points a game. I'm excited to play this game, I really am. I'm not sure if we have the goods, but I think some good things can happen. We match up better in key spots against (St. Charles North) than we came close to matching up against Batavia." Geneva lost to Batavia 21-7 two weeks ago. The Vikings counter with an offense led by running back Lance Arni. The senior leads the 24 schools in the Fox Valley area with 1,040 rushing yards on 179 carries and his 13 rushing touchdowns are second only to St. Charles East fullback Justin Jett's 14.

Next week: St. Charles North at Batavia (6-1); Geneva at West Aurora (7-0)

St. Charles East (7-0, 4-0) at Elgin (0-7, 0-4)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Memorial Field

Quick hit: The Saints can clinch a share of the Upstate Eight River title with a victory over the Maroons, who have dropped 17 straight. "I'd like to see some depth out of our program this week," St. Charles East coach Bryce Farquhar said. "We will still play our starters, but you might see some kids take on some roles they don't normally play and see how they handle it."

East Aurora (1-6) at Streamwood (2-5)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Millennium Field

Quick hit: This should be a competitive Upstate Eight crossover. Streamwood has beaten West Chicago (28-20) and Elgin (14-6). East Aurora lost by a point to West Chicago and defeated Elgin 26-22 in the season opener. The Tomcats have since dropped 6 straight. Both have struggled offensively. The Sabres average 218 total yards per game, while the Tomcats average 194 yards.

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.