Week 8: Scouting the East Suburban Catholic
Marist (7-0, 5-0) at Benet (5-2, 4-1)
East Suburban Catholic Conference
Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Benedictine University in Lisle.
Last week: Marist 42, Nazareth 0; Benet 17, Joliet Catholic 14.
Last year: Marist 31, Benet 14.
Outlook: This definitely will be the toughest test of the season for the Redwings, who work on a short week after having to play Joliet Catholic on Saturday. Marist rolled up nearly 400 yards of offense against previously unbeaten Nazareth, with junior quarterback Mike Markett leading the way. Receiver T.J. Ivy is committed to West Virginia; sophomore receiver Jadon Thompson is also attracting top college attention. The Redwings can't forget about running back Delonte Harrell, who last week rushed for over 100 yards. Benet's defense will lean on linebacker Devin Petersen and safety Jack Cooney, who last week notched 17 tackles. The Redwings are still trying to acclimate sophomore quarterback Colin Gillespie to varsity play, mainly with the running game. Whether it's Ben Hickey, Ben Cooney, Connor Reid, or even Gillespie, Benet must find a way to sustain drives against Marist defensive linemen Gavin McCabe, an Indiana recruit, and Minnesota-bound Elijah Teague.
Next week: Joliet Catholic at Marist; Benet at Carmel.
Carmel Corsairs (0-7, 0-5) at St. Patrick Shamrocks (2-5, 2-3)
When: 7:30 p.m., today
Last week: Carmel lost to Marian Central, 16-15; St. Patrick lost to St. Viator, 32-3.
Skinny: Carmel is still searching for its first win, and just narrowly missed last week. Marian Central scored its winning touchdown with less than a minute to play ... A positive for Carmel is that freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmais led the Corsairs on a late drive that gave them a lead with 53 seconds remaining. Zaire Barnes, who is healthy after dealing with an injury earlier in the season, scored Carmel's go-ahead touchdown ... Carmel, which is averaging an East Suburban Catholic Conference-low 12.4 points per game, is trying to avoid its first winless season since 1969 (0-8) ... St. Patrick has lost three straight games and has scored only 17 points over those three games. George Ohanessian was a bright spot for St. Patrick last week against St. Viator. He had 89 rushing yards on 23 carries ... Last year, Carmel defeated St. Patrick, 27-24.
St. Viator (5-2, 4-1) at Nazareth (6-1, 4-1)When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last year's result: Nazareth 20, St. Viator 17
Outlook: Last week's victory was huge for St. Viator, all but guaranteeing the Lions a second consecutive trip to the playoffs. Again it was an opportunistic Lions defense that came to the forefront, with Christian Dolecki coming up with his fifth interception of the year and Casey Kmet getting another pick. St. Viator's offense also has been operating in high gear thanks to the rushing of Elijah Black, who now has 739 on the ground, and quarterback Bryce Hellgeth has made big plays when needed. Nazareth had been playing solid football until last week's 42-0 beatdown by Marist. The Roadrunners had given up just a total of 48 points before that and are ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 6A.