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Scouting Week 4 in Lake County

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

Carmel Catholic Corsairs (1-2, 1-0) at Joliet Catholic Hilltoppers (2-1, 1-0)When: 7 p.m., Friday

Last week: Carmel def. Marian Catholic, 48-26; Joliet Catholic def. St. Viator, 55-10.

Skinny: Carmel got first-year head coach Blake Annen the first win of his career at the school with a decisive victory over Marian Catholic last week. After scoring just 7 points in each of their first two games, the Corsairs exploded offensively. Senior running back Sean Lynch scored 2 touchdowns and ran for 180 yards on 29 carries. He was part of a monster Carmel rushing attack that mounted 370 yards. Syone Usma-Harper also reached the 100-yard rushing mark with 139 yards on 11 carries. He ran for 3 touchdowns. Carmel found a nice weapon in kicker Ben Packer, who booted 2 field goals (29 and 35 yards). Joliet Catholic piled up 377 rushing yards last week on St. Viator. Running back Keenan Hailey was essentially a one-man wrecking crew, rushing for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns on 24 carries.

Next: Carmel at St. Viator; Joliet Catholic at Marist

NORTH SUBURBAN CONFERENCE

Libertyville Wildcats (0-3, 0-1) at Warren Blue Devils (2-1, 1-0)When: 7:30 p.m., Friday

Last week: Libertyville lost to Stevenson, 28-0; Warren def. Waukegan, 49-0.

Skinny: Libertyville desperately needs a win to avoid an 0-4 start that would make a playoff berth extremely difficult to attain. The Wildcats have been sputtering offensively, scoring just 6 points over the last two weeks. Warren will be a tough team to right the ship against. The Blue Devils have been on point defensively, pitching two straight shutouts over the last two weeks. Warren has allowed just 31 points on the season, second-fewest in the North Suburban Conference after undefeated Stevenson (22). Libertyville managed only 8 first downs and 145 yards of total offense against Stevenson last week.

Next: Waukegan at Libertyville; Warren at Lake Forest

Lake Forest Scouts (1-2, 1-0) at Lake Zurich Bears (2-1, 1-0)When: 7:30 p.m., Friday

Last week: Lake Forest def. Mundelein, 39-12; Lake Zurich def. Zion-Benton, 23-0.

Skinny: Lake Zurich got its offense going last week in a shutout victory over Zion-Benton. After suffering a shutout the previous week themselves (against Nazareth), the Bears had a nice mix of passing and rushing to keep the Zee-Bees guessing. Senior quarterback Matt McGraw threw 3 touchdown passes on the night, 2 to junior Jack Moses, a "Jack" of all trades utility player who is not only the backup quarterback but is also making big plays as both a wide receiver and running back. McGraw completed 10-of-23 passes for 182 yards while Moses caught 5 passes for 85 yards and ran for 41 yards on 7 carries. James Piggott also made 2 big catches for 69 yards. The Bears will be tested by a Lake Forest defense that registered 5 sacks and 3 interceptions last week against Mundelein. Offensively, the Scouts were tough in the passing game as senior quarterback James Swartout completed 21-of-31 passes for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile, running back Jacob Thomas rushed for 120 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries.

Next: Warren at Lake Forest; Lake Zurich at Stevenson

Stevenson Patriots (3-0, 1-0) at Zion-Benton Zee-Bees (1-2, 0-1)When: 7:30 p.m., Friday

Last week: Stevenson def. Libertyville 28-0; Zion-Benton lost to Lake Zurich, 23-0.

Skinny: It's just a third of the way into the season and already Stevenson boasts an impressive resume. The Patriots are the only undefeated team in the North Suburban Conference and they are the highest-scoring team in the league, too, putting up 28.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the Stevenson defense is allowing just 7.3 points per game. That ranks No. 1 in the league as well. Against Libertyville last week, Stevenson had a great offensive balance with 143 rushing yards and 141 passing yards. JM Etienne rushed for 102 yards (on 18 carries) while quarterback Cole Okmin completed 12-of-24 passes for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. Okmin also rushed for a touchdown. Despite getting shut out last week by Lake Zurich, Zion-Benton managed 279 yards of offense. Quarterback Romey Crawford completed 20-of-33 passes for 219 yards.

Next: Lake Zurich at Stevenson, Zion-Benton at Mundelein

Mundelein Mustangs (1-2, 0-1) at Waukegan Bulldogs (0-3, 0-1)

When: 1:30 p.m., Saturday

Last week: Mundelein lost to Lake Forest, 39-12; Waukegan lost to Warren, 49-0.

Skinny: Scoring points has been an issue for both of these teams this season. Mundelein has scored 29 points on the season and Waukegan only 26 points. Those rank as the lowest-scoring offenses in the North Suburban Conference. Each team has suffered a shutout this season as well: Mundelein in Week 1 to Maine West (42-0) and Waukegan last week to Warren (49-0).

Next: Zion-Benton at Mundelein; Waukegan at Libertyville

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY CONFERENCE

Wauconda Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0) at Antioch Sequoits (3-0, 1-0)When: 7:15 p.m., Friday

Last week: Wauconda def. Grayslake Central, 35-7; Antioch def. Grayslake North, 29-8.

Skinny: Antioch and Wauconda are the hottest two teams in the Northern Lake County Conference. Antioch is the only undefeated team in the league while Wauconda has been surging hard after a season-opening loss to Richmond-Burton. The Bulldogs have gotten decisive wins over Riverside-Brookfield and Grayslake Central over the last 2 weeks. Wauconda let up just 7 points in each of those wins and ranks second in points allowed in the NLCC with 55 on the season. Antioch ranks as the No. 1 defense and the No. 1 offense in the conference. The Sequoits are allowing just 9.7 points per game and are scoring 29 points per game. Antioch is actually the highest-scoring team in all of Lake County, besting Stevenson by 0.3 points per game. Against Grayslake North last week, the Sequoits got a big rushing game out of senior running back Nick Wiley, who rolled up 160 yards on 24 carries. Meanwhile, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completed 9-of-18 passes for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to his brother Dino. Athan Kaliakmanis also rushed for 2 touchdowns. The Sequoits rolled up 474 yards on the game, 345 of those on the ground.

Next: Lakes at Wauconda; Grant at Antioch

Grayslake Central Rams (0-3, 0-1) at Grant Bulldogs (1-2, 1-0)When: 7:15 p.m., Friday

Last week: Grayslake Central lost to Wauconda, 35-7; Grant def. Round Lake, 32-6.

Skinny: Grayslake Central is trying to get on the right side of the tracks after a rough first three weeks. The Rams lost starting quarterback Ben Vogeler to a knee injury in the season opener and have been using wide receiver/running back Nick Paul under center since then. The points have been tough to come by as Grayslake Central is the lowest scoring team in the Northern Lake County Conference at 9.3 points per game. The Rams also allow 30 points per game, most in the league. Grant got its first win of the season last week against Round Lake. The Bulldogs rolled up 352 yards of offense last week, 327 of which came on the ground. Quarterback John Bolton, a 5-foot-7, 150-pound sophomore, rushed for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries.

Next: Round Lake at Grayslake Central; Grant at Antioch

Grayslake North Knights (0-3, 0-1) at Lakes Eagles (2-1, 1-0) When: 7:15 p.m., Friday

Last week: Grayslake North lost to Antioch, 29-8; Lakes def. North Chicago, 49-20.

Skinny: Lakes bounced back from a Week 2 loss to Highland Park with a big victory over North Chicago. Lakes is the second-highest scoring team in the Northern Lake County Conference, just behind Antioch at 28 points per game. Meanwhile, Grayslake North has been one of the most generous defenses in the league, allowing 26.7 points per game. Last week against Antioch, Grayslake North not only let up nearly 30 points, the defense also allowed 474 yards of offense to the Sequoits. Grayslake North got in the end zone only once last week against Antioch, but is certainly capable of big plays. The Knights' touchdown was on a 75-yard pass from Austin Martineau (10-of-25, 181 yards) to Joe Swanson (4 catches for 110 yards).

Next: North Chicago at Grayslake North; Lakes at Wauconda

Round Lake Panthers (1-2, 0-1) at North Chicago Warhawks (1-2, 0-1)When: 7:15 p.m., Friday

Last week: Round Lake lost to Grant, 32-6; North Chicago lost to Lakes, 49-20.

Skinny: Both of these teams have won big, and have lost big this season. Round Lake rolled to a 38-point win over Maine East in Week 2, but then suffered a 26-point loss to Grant last week. North Chicago enjoyed a 13-point win over Waukegan in the season opener but then lost by 29 points last week to Lakes. The Warhawks have had a tough time on defense, allowing 29.3 points per game, second-most in the Northern Lake County Conference. Round Lake had trouble in the passing game last week. The Panthers finished with only 57 passing yards and threw 2 interceptions.

Next: Round Lake at Grayslake Central; North Chicago at Grayslake North

NONCONFERENCE

Vernon Hills Cougars (2-1) at Wheeling Wildcats (1-2)When: 7:30 p.m., Friday

Last week: Vernon Hills lost to Hersey, 61-8; Wheeling def. Maine East, 57-7.

Skinny: After letting up just 27 points total over Weeks 1 and 2, Vernon Hills was tagged for 61 points by Hersey last week. Hersey had a near-perfect balance of offense against the Cougars, passing for 238 yards and rushing for 204 yards. Quarterback Derek Jarrell scored the only touchdown for Vernon Hills, a 4-yard run in the second quarter. He did, however, complete 25-of-42 passes for 184 yards. Wheeling had the opposite result of Vernon Hills. After allowing 71 points over the first two weeks, the Wildcats got stingy in Week 3 against Maine East, giving up just 7 points on a fourth-quarter touchdown. In the first half alone, Wheeling outgained Maine East 304 yards to 38 and scored on six of its eight possessions. Jonathon Panganiban rushed for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 9 carries. Meanwhile quarterback Michael Best (9-of-11, 146 yards) connected with receiver Brandon Zettek for 2 touchdowns.

Next: Vernon Hills at Highland Park; Buffalo Grove at Wheeling

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