Week 7 football preview: Conference races heating up
Conference races on the line, teams clinching playoff spots, others with their backs against the wall ... Week 7 of the prep football season brings us all kinds of storylines with pairings night — Oct. 21 — fast approaching.
Loyola Academy (6-0) at IC Catholic Prep (5-1)
The Knights are going to have their hands full and then some, but it's not every year you get the defending Class 3A state champs getting a shot against the defending 8A champions. That's what's happening Friday in Elmhurst.
IC Prep is coming off a heartbreaking 35-34 loss to St. Francis, and the gauntlet of a schedule — Nazareth, Marist and St. Francis the past three weeks — hasn't been easy. “To say we can compete with anyone is true. To say a school of 360 (students) can do it with a 32-man varsity roster is just not real world,” IC coach Bill Krefft told Daily Herald correspondent Craig Brueske. “Our schedule is absolutely loaded with high-powered, physical teams, and Loyola is at the top of the list. We are down 12 guys on a 32-man varsity roster. The physical grind has taken a toll on us.”
Lake Forest (4-2, 3-1) at Lake Zurich (5-1, 3-1)
Lake Zurich can guarantee a playoff spot with a win. The Bears are in the middle of a rugged stretch of their schedule; they followed a hard-fought 21-17 loss to Warren two weeks ago by rallying to beat Libertyville 29-28 in overtime. Junior free safety Copelan Oettinger came up big with 2 interceptions in last week's win.
Barrington (6-0, 2-0) at Hoffman Estates (4-2, 1-1)
The Broncos can't afford to look ahead to next week's clash with Palatine. Hoffman Estates averages 36.5 points per game; wide receiver Stephon Sellers is just one of the threats with 796 receiving yards and 11 TDs. Barrington's balanced attack features Dillon Fitzpatrick with 707 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns and QB Nick Peipert's 1,289 passing yards.
Antioch (6-0, 4-0) at Grant (4-2, 3-1)
The Sequoits took control of the Northern Lake County Conference race last week by handling Wauconda, and they can go a long way to nailing it down by beating an improved Grant squad. Senior Nick Day and junior Martin Cohen combined to rush for 338 yards and 4 TDs last week vs. Wauconda. Grant counters with sophomore QB Matthew Gipson, who completed 15 of 21 passes for 208 yards last week, bringing his season totals to 793 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Huntley (5-1, 5-1) at Cary-Grove (5-1, 5-1)
These teams ended in a three-way tie for the Fox Valley Conference title with Prairie Ridge a year ago. Huntley enters No. 8 in state's Class 8A poll with QB Braylon Bower completing a cool 77.4% of his passes. Cary-Grove is No. 6 in 6A behind a strong running attack led by Logan Abrams with 635 yards.
For much more on these matchups and the rest of the area's games, go to football.dailyherald.com.