Week 7: Scouting the Fox Valley Conference

Jacobs (4-2) at Glenbard East (1-5)Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Jacobs 48, Glenbard East 0

Last week: Jacobs 35, Crystal Lake Central 18; Glenbard East 35, East Aurora 25

Outlook: Following consecutive Fox Valley Conference victories against McHenry and Crystal Lake Central, Jacobs travels to Lombard for a nonconference matchup with the Rams. Glenbard East didn't pick up its first win until last week against winless East Aurora. How does veteran Jacobs coach Bill Mitz keep his Golden Eagles from looking past the Rams, a team they defeated by 48 points last season, particularly ahead of next week's matchup against defending Class 6A state champion Prairie Ridge? He showed his team the film of Glenbard East's 26-20 loss to West Aurora (4-2), a game Glenbard East nearly won. "We showed what (Glenbard East) did against a pretty good West Aurora team so our guys aren't overlooking anybody," Mitz said. "After we lost to Cary (52-26 on Sept. 15), we told the kids we're on a mission to win 5 in a row and this is the third stop. We're not looking ahead or talking about anything but Glenbard East right now." Rams junior quarterback Bret Bushka threw for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns and ran for 101 yards and a score in last Friday's homecoming win. Defensively, East yielded 265 first-half yards against the Tomcats but stiffened after halftime. Jacobs junior fullback Stephen Kavanaugh gained 103 yards and scored a touchdown last week and senior wide receiver John Farrissey made 6 catches for 128 yards, including scoring receptions of 26, 47 and 29 yards. Jacobs cornerback Trevor Fitzsimmons remains sidelined due to injury, Mitz said. Another 17 tackles by Rams safety Mike Brown would come in handy against Jacobs' downhill run game. In last week's win Bushka passed for TDs to Kenny Adams, Jeremy Johnson and Matt Shockey.

Next week: Jacobs at Prairie Ridge (6-0, 5-0); Glenbard East at West Chicago (2-4, 1-2)

McHenry (2-4, 1-4) at Dundee-Crown (1-5, 0-5) Game time: 7 p.m. Friday at the D-C Bowl

The quick hit: Including last week's 116-yard performance at Cary-Grove, Dundee-Crown junior running back Ricky Ibarra has rushed for 749 yards (124.8 avg.) and 5 touchdowns and has 2 touchdown receptions. McHenry has dropped 3 straight to Crystal Lake Central, Jacobs and Prairie Ridge.

Crystal Lake South (2-4, 2-4) at Cary-Grove (4-2, 4-2) Game time: 7 p.m. Friday at Al Bohrer Field

The quick hit: The Gators have won 2 two in a row for new coach Rob Fontana. Since a 7-6 season-opening loss at Prairie Ridge, Cary-Grove has won 5 in a row by outscoring its opponents by an average of 44-22. The Trojans are ranked No. 5 in Class 6A.

Prairie Ridge (6-0, 5-0) at Hampshire (1-5, 1-4)