Scouting Lakes at Round Lake

Lakes (4-1, 1-1) at Round Lake (1-4, 0-3)

When: 1 p.m., Saturday

Last week: Lakes def. Zion-Benton, 14-7; Round Lake lost to North Chicago, 24-10.

Skinny: Since experiencing what coach Luke Mertens termed an "embarrassing" 47-0 loss to Vernon Hills in Week 3, Lakes has been on a nice little roll. The Eagles have won their last two games, against North Chicago and Zion-Benton. Defense has been a key as Lakes has given up just 21 points in the last two weeks. In fact, despite the 47 points given up to Vernon Hills, Lakes boasts the second-stingiest defense in the North Suburban Prairie Division, behind Vernon Hills. The Eagles have allowed just 90 points on the season, or 18 points per game. Lakes' defense has also gone above and beyond and scored some points of its own. In fact, the Eagles' winning touchdown last week against Zion-Benton came on a fumble recovery in the end zone by senior Mike Beckman. - Offensively, the Eagles are surviving the loss of running back James Zell, who has missed two games because of a knee injury. Michael Pfeiffer scored Lakes' other touchdown against Zion-Benton last week on a 2-yard run. - Round Lake is on a three-game losing streak and the cause is no mystery. Scoring points has been a problem for the Panthers. They've scored only 16 points over the last three games. In fact, with the exception of their 42-0 victory over Chicago Sullivan in Week 2, those are the only points they've scored all season. - The Panthers did have one nifty offensive highlight last week when quarterback Anthony Gutierrez hit Jorge Venegas with a 17-yard touchdown pass.