Week 9: Scouting the Northern Lake
Antioch Sequoits (8-0, 6-0) at Grayslake North Knights (6-2, 5-1)
When: 7:15 p.m., Friday
Last week: Antioch def. North Chicago, 21-20; Grayslake North def. Grayslake Central, 26-19.
Skinny: A win for Antioch would be two straight undefeated regular seasons and two straight Northern Lake County Conference titles for the Sequoits. A win for Grayslake North could create a tie for the conference title between Antioch and Grayslake North and possibly Lakes as well ... Antioch is coming off its second 1-point scare of the season. The Sequoits defeated Woodstock North earlier in the season, 15-14. Antioch pulled off the North Chicago win by coming up with a big defensive play in the final minute. The Warhawks scored a touchdown with 42 seconds left to cut its deficit to 21-20. They decided to go for the 2-point conversion and the win, but they were unable to convert thanks to a fumbled snap and some tough Antioch defense ... Grayslake North has won five straight games. Last week, the Knights won their rivalry game against Grayslake Central thanks to a big game by receiver Bubba Hochsteinm, who caught 7 passes for 126 yards. Quarterback Austin Martineau completed 11-of-19 passes for 152 yards ... Last year, Antioch defeated Grayslake North, 25-20.
- Patricia Babcock McGraw
Round Lake Panthers (2-6, 0-6) at Grant Bulldogs (1-7, 1-5)
When: 7:15 p.m., Friday
Last week: Round Lake lost to Lakes, 49-0; Grant def. Wauconda, 9-7.
Skinny: Don't let the records of these two teams fool you. Plenty is on the line tonight between Round Lake and Grant. Round Lake is going for its third win of the season, which would be its most wins in 11 years. Meanwhile, Grant is looking to equal its win total from last season (2). Plus, the Bulldogs would love to make up for their razor-thin loss (1 point) to Round Lake in last year's season finale ... The Panthers could also really use a win because it's been a long time since they were on that side of the ledger. Round Lake opened the season with two straight wins, doing so for the first time since 2006. But since then, the Panthers have lost six straight games. Last week against Lakes, Round Lake got shut out for the third time this season and lost by its widest margin of the season. The Panthers mustered only 9 first downs and 181 yards of offense, compared to 21 first downs and 421 yards of offense by Lakes. Quarterback Alex Larson completed 7-of-21 passes for 101 yards for Round Lake ... Grant finally got its first win last week in a nail-biter against Wauconda. Wauconda had a chance to win the game with a field goal in the final seconds, but the attempt fell just a tad short. The Grant sideline erupted and now the Bulldogs are hoping that momentum and emotion carry over into the final week for possibly another win ... Grant rolled up more than 75 percent of its 180 total yards of offense last week on the ground, with running backs Noah Lautner and Kenyon Jones finishing with 86 and 83 yards respectively ... Last year, Round Lake defeated Grant, 25-24.
-Patricia Babcock McGraw
Grayslake Central Rams (3-5, 3-3) at Wauconda Bulldogs (1-7, 1-5)
When: 7:15 p.m., Friday
Last week: Grayslake Central lost to Grayslake North, 26-19; Wauconda lost to Grant, 9-7.
Skinny: Both of these teams are coming off tough losses. Grayslake Central's loss was to its crosstown rival, Grayslake North. Plus, the loss officially eliminated the Rams from the playoffs. Meanwhile, Wauconda had multiple chances in the final minute to win its game last week against Grant, but penalties came into play, even wiping a touchdown off the board. Plus, the Bulldogs missed a last-second, go-ahead field goal by less than a yard ... Against Grayslake North, Grayslake Central quarterback Sam Lennartz put up some nice numbers. He completed 23-of-36 passes for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns, including 2 touchdown passes to Mike Przybylski ... Wauconda sputtered offensively for much of its game against Grant but showed some life late in the third quarter and in parts of the fourth. Quarterback Andrew Saccameno ran in Wauconda's only touchdown (3 yards) and finished with 76 passing yards, many of which came on a big drive late in the game that put the Bulldogs in a position to go for the win ... Last year, Wauconda defeated Grayslake Central, 52-14.
-Patricia Babcock McGraw
Lakes Eagles (7-1, 5-1) at North Chicago Warhawks (5-3, 3-3)
When: 7:15 p.m., Friday
Last week: Lakes def. Round Lake, 49-0; North Chicago lost to Antioch, 21-20.
Skinny: Lakes is fighting for playoff positioning at this point and North Chicago might be fighting for the playoffs, period. North Chicago already has the minimum five wins to be eligible to qualify for the playoffs on points, but the question is, do the Warhawks have enough points? Heading into the Lakes game, North Chicago has only 29 playoffs points, fewest in the Northern Lake County Conference ... Last week, Lakes rolled over Round Lake, and got its second shutout of the season. In Week 3, Lakes blanked Grayslake North, 31-0. Quarterback Jake Johnson had a big game against Round Lake, completing 9-of-11 passes for 206 yards and 4 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Lakes got 3 touchdowns and 101 rushing yards out of running back Ethan Greenfield ... North Chicago goes the way of quarterback Dyshawn Gales and Gales had a huge game as North Chicago almost upset Antioch last week. Gales rushed for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns on 22 carries. He also completed 7-of-16 passes for 90 yards ... Last year, Lakes defeated North Chicago, 63-35.
- Patricia Babcock McGraw