Scouting West Suburban Silver football
Teams: Downers Grove North, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, Lyons Twp., Oak Park-River Forest, Proviso West, York.
Key games: York at Downers North, Sept. 13; Hinsdale Central at Oak Park, Sept. 20; Downers North at Hinsdale Central, Sept. 27; York at Glenbard West, Sept. 28; Hinsdale Central at Glenbard West, Oct. 19; Glenbard West at Oak Park, Oct. 25; Lyons Twp. at Hinsdale Central, Oct. 25.
Top players: OL Kiran Amegadjie, Hinsdale Central, sr.; RB Nazareth Bryant, Oak Park, sr.; OL Hunter Campbell, Downers North, sr.; QB-DB Drew Cassens, Downers North, sr.; WR Chris Clarke, Lyons Twp., sr.; WR Braden Contreras, Hinsdale Central, sr.; OL Tim Glavan, York, sr.; DB Owen Goss, Hinsdale Central, sr.; DL Dave Lanciloti, Glenbard West, sr.; OL Josh Mathiasen, York, sr.; QB Jaden McGill, Oak Park, jr.; LB Greyson Metz, Glenbard West, sr.; DB Sean Michel, Glenbard West, sr.; RB Jalen Moore, Glenbard West, jr.; WR Owen Pechous, York, sr.; WR Sam Rodriguez, Lyons Twp., sr.; LB Will Skowronski, Glenbard West, sr.
Outlook: Last season - for the first time since 2010 - three teams shared the Silver title. All three have reason to believe they can do it again, although Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central and Oak Park each have their question marks. And York and Downers North are on the rise with second-year coaches. And Lyons Twp. welcomes a new coach in Dan Hartman, who just left Hinsdale Central. In other words get ready for an interesting season in the Silver. Glenbard West gets the edge based on its defensive strength with linebacker Greyson Metz, lineman Dave Lanciloti and safety Sean Michel returning for their third varsity season. The running game, even without graduated all-stater Tyquon Cox, remains a strength with backs Joey Richmond, Nic Seifert and juniors Jalen Moore and Samson Zander. Hinsdale Central, with longtime assistant Brian Griffin at the helm, needs first-year quarterback Mike Brescia to feed the ball to receiver Braden Contreras as much as possible. Downers North quarterback Drew Cassens, who last season threw for 1,200 yards and rushed for 500, hopes to lead the Trojans back to the playoffs. York will lean on four returning offensive linemen headed by Josh Mathiasen. Oak Park quarterback Jaden McGill took his lumps as a sophomore, but that experience will serve him well this season. Nazareth Bryant joins McGill in a potent backfield.
Quotable: "Every week it's a battle and it's a league where you have to be able to handle adversity," said York coach Mike Fitzgerald. "That's going to be a huge test for us this season."