MSL West riding high; pressure's on in East
It should be a wild ride for all the Mid-Suburban West football teams as they enter conference play Friday.
For the first time, all six teams in the division are at least .500 with Barrington, Conant and Fremd each undefeated. And if things shake out just the right way, all six could qualify for the playoffs.
“It should be a great finish,” Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. “There are a lot of great teams here and it should be lots of fun.”
The West teams got there by going 5-1 on the opening weekend of the season, with only Palatine dropping a heartbreaker to defending state champion Stevenson. The West then went an unprecedented 16-2 against the East in crossover games, with only Hoffman Estates, which is 2-2, losing games to East opponents.
Despite those setbacks and the huge loss of Division I prospect Dante Cleveland to a season-ending injury, Hoffman Estates coach Mike Donatucci feels his team can compete for the title.
“We can win,” Donatucci said. “We have the personnel to do that. We just have to avoid mistakes to get there.”
Barrington, Fremd and Conant have been impressive by staying unbeaten in their first four games.
Barrington belted a solid Glenbrook South team in its opener and then easily sprinted to one-sided victories in their three crossover games. Led by quarterback Johnny Davidson and running back Nate King, the Broncos are averaging 45 points per game.
Conant, which has not won a conference title since 2003 when it shared the title with Fremd, is looking to change that this season. The Cougars have been impressive in their games thanks to the play of WR/DB Palmer Graham and quarterback Kyle Bradley. The Cougars did struggle a bit last week in the second half against Hersey, but hope to turn things around.
Fremd got the Lake Zurich monkey off its back in Week 1, and the Vikings have been on a roll since. Off to their best start since 2009, the Vikings, who are led on defense by Matt McCabe and Kenny Lyke, made a statement last week when they were too much for Buffalo Grove.
Defending West champion Palatine is right where it was a year ago. Forgotten after a 2-2 start last year, the Pirates roared through the West to capture their third conference title in 4 years.
After their season-opening season loss to Stevenson in a game many thought the Pirates outplayed the Patriots, Palatine has fallen off the radar to most. But with an offense led by quarterback Zack Oles that has averaged 31 points, that Pirate flag flying in the horizon could be very dangerous.
Schaumburg, which starts up to 17 juniors, is showing the future could be now. After a stout effort in an opening-game loss to a very good St. Charles North team, the Saxons have won three in a row and also could be dangerous if overlooked.
The best news for East teams is that crossover season is over.
Beginning next season, they will have just one crossover games against West teams. They will also play a pair of games against teams from the Central Suburban North, which should help bolster their overall records.
But that is for next season. Right now, East teams will be really focused upon wins, because Rolling Meadows at 2-2 is the only team at .500. The maximum number of East teams that could reach the playoffs would be three, but that would happen only if all three were to go 4-1 in conference play.
Meadows has played two games in which the margin of victory was just 1 point, wining one of them and losing another. The Mustangs have had injury issues in the early part of the season, but are hoping to be healthy for conference play while quarterback Asher O'Hara has played well.
Prospect (1-3) has shown it can run the ball with great success. Led by Bobby Jarosz who is the leading rusher in the area, the Knights' ground game has carried them. But Prospect defense has allowed big plays at inopportune moments, and it has cost them.
Hersey (1-3), which won the East last year, has shown improvement. Coach Joe Pardun's young Huskies have been getting nice play at quarterback from Tommy Jackson.
Buffalo Grove has been putting up points thanks to the strong play by quarterback Trey Cervantes and wide receiver Jimmy Trieb. But the Bison have allowed 207 points in compiling a 1-3 mark.
Wheeling (0-4) can be dangerous offensively. The Wildcats have terrific skill players in quarterback Jalen Dennis, running backs Josh Diaz and Dylan Draka and wide receiver Johnny Campbell. But coach Brent Pearlman is still looking for his team to take it to the next level.
“We have kids who play hard here,” Pearlman said. “But we still have a long way to go.”
Elk Grove (0-4) has shown some flashes in their first 4 games with the running of Azeez Alabi but has struggled to keep pace with its opponents' ability to score.