Week 9: Scouting the East Suburban Catholic

Benet (5-3, 4-2) at Carmel (1-7, 1-5)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The quick hit: The Redwings lost to Marist, but there were positives. It's started with 193 passing yards by quarterback Colin Gillespie. Against Carmel's defense, headed by Western Michigan-bound safety Zaire Barnes, Benet must improve its run game. Carmel finally got a win this season. And a big reason why is that the Corsairs were finally a little healthier. Carmel has been decimated by injuries, including serious injuries (most season-ending) to multiple starters. One of those formerly injured starters had a big game against St. Patrick last week. Barnes, who had missed much of the season with a broken thumb, went off for 156 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries. He also had an interception in the fourth quarter that helped seal the victory for the Corsairs. Fellow running back Sean Lynch, who also missed time with an injury, was back and rushed for 100 yards on 21 attempts ... Benet had won four of five games and two straight before falling to Marist last week. The Redwings made a valiant effort trying to win that game. They were down 24-3 headed into the fourth quarter and scored 21 fourth-quarter points. But Marist kept Benet at arm's length with a 14-point fourth quarter. Benet was opportunistic on defense last week, scoring two of its touchdowns off fumbles, a fumble recovery in the end zone and a fumble return for a touchdown ... Last year, Benet defeated Carmel, 38-14.

St. Viator (5-3, 4-2) at Notre Dame (6-2, 4-2)When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Last year's result: Notre Dame 31, St. Viator 21

Outlook: The Lions are headed back to the playoffs for the second year in a row, and a win here would improve their seeding greatly. Viator would also love to have some momentum heading into the postseason after a rough loss at Nazareth last week. Viator will be looking to get its offense back into gear after scoring just 7 points last week. The Lions defense led by Casey Kmet, Christian Dolecki, Jacob Wolf, Michael Wittich, Bobby Ochoa and Niko Weber will have to stop Notre Dame running back Ty Gavin. Notre Dame, which has also clinched a playoff spot, is coming off a 14-7 loss to Marian Central last week.