Week 7: Scouting the North Suburban
Waukegan Bulldogs (0-6, 0-4) at Warren Blue Devils (4-2, 3-1)
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday
Last week: Waukegan lost to Zion-Benton, 31-0; Warren def. Mundelein, 48-7.
Skinny: Warren rebounded nicely from its Week 5 loss to Lake Zurich (41-35) with a decisive win over Mundelein in which offense was aplenty. The Blue Devils rolled up 455 yards of offense, including 241 passing yards from quarterback Ian Schilling. He completed 18-of-23 passes and threw 3 touchdowns, including 2 to Notre Dame-bound receiver Micah Jones (4 catches for 68 yards). Running back Martin Walker Jr. was a handful on the ground, tallying 156 of Warren's 214 rushing yards. He ran in 4 touchdowns ... The Warren defense was also tough, forcing 4 fumbles and recovering 3. The Blue Devils will attempt to be the fifth team to shut out Waukegan this season ... Waukegan has scored just 20 points over the first six weeks (14 against Libertyville and 6 against Mundelein). The Bulldogs have been held scoreless by North Chicago, West Aurora, Lake Zurich and Zion-Benton ... Last year, Warren defeated Waukegan, 42-7.
Lake Zurich Bears (6-0, 4-0) at Stevenson Patriots (5-1, 4-0)
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday
Last week: Lake Zurich def. Lake Forest, 27-0; Stevenson def. Libertyville, 24-10.
Skinny: It's a showdown of the unbeatens in the North Suburban Conference. In fact, the only blemish at all between these two heavyweights is Stevenson's Week 2 loss to an out-of-state powerhouse (Muskegon) that is Michigan's all-time winningest high school football team ... Defense will be a key as Lake Zurich (8.5 ppg) and Stevenson (9.8 ppg) boast the two stingiest defenses in the league. Lake Zurich is coming off its second shutout of the season while Stevenson has allowed just 24 points over the last four weeks. Lake Zurich limited Lake Forest to just 160 yards of total offense last week while Stevenson didn't let up any points to Libertyville until the fourth quarter. The Patriots also scored a touchdown off a fumble recovery in the end zone ... Offensively last week, Stevenson was led by the running of Jean-Marc Etienne, who rolled up 3 touchdown runs, including a 74-yarder ... Lake Zurich was all about the passing game last week against Lake Forest with quarterback Evan Lewandowski attempting 50 passes. He completed 27 for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns. Matthijs Enters had 7 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown ... Last year, Stevenson defeated Lake Zurich, 17-14.
Mundelein Mustangs (2-4, 1-3) at Libertyville Wildcats (3-3, 2-2)
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday
Last week: Mundelein lost to Warren, 48-7; Libertyville lost to Stevenson, 24-10.
Skinny: Both of these teams are hurting from Week 6 losses, but the good news is that both teams are still playoff eligible. Libertyville would qualify with an at-large bid by running the table and Mundelein could qualify on playoff points by doing the same ... Mundelein had a tough time offensively last week against Warren. The Mustangs managed just one score and 196 yards of total offense. Jack Dorfler ran in Mundelein's score from 25 yards out ... Libertyville scored all 10 of its points against Stevenson last week in the fourth quarter. The Patriots held Libertyville's strong rushing game in check and top rusher Brendan Bazar finished with just 28 yards ... Last year, Libertyville defeated Mundelein, 28-0.