North Suburban, Week 7: Warren visits Libertyville in Lake showdown
NORTH SUBURBAN LAKEWarren Blue Devils (4-2, 4-0) at Libertyville Wildcats (6-0, 4-0)When: 7:30 p.m., today
Last week: Warren def. Stevenson, 30-27; Libertyville def. Lake Zurich, 41-21.
Skinny: At Warren, taking care of the football is important, important enough to get its own saying. "We say that 'ball security is job security,'" Warren coach Bryan McNulty said. "We preach 'ball security' every day. If you want to play, you've got to take care of the ball."
Taking care of the ball will be of the utmost importance on Friday at Libertyville, where first place in the rigorous North Suburban Conference Lake Division will be on the line. Warren (4-2, 4-0), which is riding a four-game winning streak that includes a 30-27 victory last week over defending Class 8A state champion Stevenson, takes on undefeated Libertyville (6-0, 4-0) in the Daily Herald's Lake County game of the week. Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m.
Warren, which had trouble taking care of the ball during its 0-2 start, faces a Libertyville defense that is averaging 2 forced turnovers a game. The Wildcats, who have also already beaten Stevenson, are often capitalizing by converting those turnovers into points.
"We were turning the ball over the first couple of weeks, but we got that out of our system," McNulty said. "Our tendency now is to not turn the ball over. We've gotten a lot better at that. That Libertyville defense is as good as we've seen and they're good at forcing turnovers. But we're a pretty good offensive team now. And we work on taking care of the ball every day."
Last week, the Libertyville defense, led by opportunistic senior linebacker Riley Buncic, forced 3 Lake Zurich fumbles, two of which came early and set the tone. The Wildcats wound up getting a 41-21 win.
"That's been a huge factor for us, getting those turnovers," Libertyville coach Mike Jones said. "We knew we'd be good on offense this year, but we just weren't sure how good we'd be on defense. A big key for us has turned out to be how well the defense has played, and a lot of that comes down to the turnovers.
"You kind of get what you coach, and every day, in every situation with our defensive guys, we're not only focusing on tackling technique and reads, we're also preaching to 'get the ball out.' We want our guys to finish the play by going after the ball. What our kids are working on in practice is what we're seeing (come to fruition) in games and I think that's exciting for them."
- Patricia Babcock McGraw
Stevenson Patriots (3-3, 1-2) at Lake Forest (4-2, 1-2)When: 7 p.m., today
Last week: Stevenson lost to Warren, 30-27; Lake Forest def. Grant, 40-6.
Skinny: Stevenson is in a position it often is not. The Patriots, who went undefeated last year on their way to the Class 8A state championship, have lost their last two games, to Libertyville and Warren respectively…Stevenson out-gained Warren last week (414 yards to 366 yards) but had 2 interceptions and gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown…Tyler Vincent had a big game for the Patriots, rushing for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries. Quarterback Jack Sorenson also rolled up the rushing yards. He had 91 yards on 17 carries while also passing for 166 yards on 12-of-19 attempts…Running back Quinn Julian helped Lake Forest roll up 244 rushing yards last week. He finished with 151 yards on 11 carries. He also scored 4 touchdowns. All of his production came in the first half as Lake Forest dominated Grant both offensively and defensively. Grant managed just 3 first downs and 69 total yards of offense.
Lake Zurich Bears (2-4, 1-2) at Mundelein Mustangs (4-2, 1-2)When: 7:30 p.m., today
Last week: Lake Zurich lost to Libertyville, 41-21; Mundelein def. Zion-Benton 28-22 (OT).
Skinny: Lake Zurich is in must-win mode, needing to win its last three games in order to have a shot at earning an at-large postseason berth. If the Bears lose, they will miss the state playoffs for the first time since 2001, when they went 4-5. ... Mundelein also has a lot riding on the game. One more win for the Mustangs will guarantee them a winning regular season for the first time since 2004, which is the last time they went to the state playoffs. With 4 more touchdowns at Zion-Benton, QB Colten Fisher is up to 18 for the season. He's rushed for 1,430 yards (9.5 average) and thrown for 681 yards.
NORTH SUBURBAN PRAIRIEGrant Bulldogs (1-5, 1-2) at Wauconda Bulldogs (2-4, 2-1)When: 1:30 p.m., Saturday
Last week: Grant lost to Lake Forest, 40-6; Wauconda def. Vernon Hills, 12-0.
Skinny: Wauconda needs to win out to get five wins and have a chance to make the state playoffs on points. Last year, this game ended in heartbreak for Wauconda, which had scored a touchdown with seven seconds left to take a 3-point lead. But Grant, with just one second left and 60 yards to go, lobbed up a Hail-Mary pass and wound up coming down with it to win 32-29…Wauconda is hoping to ride the momentum of last week's big win over Vernon Hills. The defense was stellar in shutting out a team that was previously averaging nearly 31 points per game. Defensive lineman Connor Mitchell had 4 sacks for the Bulldogs while running backs Jacob Bicknase and Andry Nevski kept the offense moving and Vernon Hills' offense off the field…Last week against Lake Forest, Grant had just 3 first downs and 69 yards of total offense. Kemar Miller scored Grant's only points on an 85-yard kickoff return.
Lakes Eagles (4-2, 4-0) at Vernon Hills Cougars (5-1, 3-1)When: 7:30 p.m., today
Last week: Lakes def. Round Lake 55-7; Vernon Hills lost to Wauconda, 12-0.
Skinny: First place in the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division is on the line in this game. With a win, Lakes, currently alone in first place, will extend its one-game lead over Vernon Hills to two games. A Vernon Hills win will create a tie for first place with the two teams … Vernon Hills suffered its first loss of the season last week in uncharacteristic fashion. After averaging 30.8 points per game over their first five games, the Cougars were shut out by Wauconda. Quarterback Connor McNamara was sacked four times and intercepted twice while the rushing attack managed only 54 yards … Lakes, playing its final home game of the season last week against Round Lake, put together a potent passing attack. Quarterback Jordan Mercure and Colton Jewell hooked up for 2 touchdown passes. Mercure completed 11-of-17 passes for 214 yards while Jewell caught 4 passes for 124 yards.
North Chicago Warhawks (1-5, 0-3) at Round Lake (0-6, 0-3)When: 1 p.m., Saturday
Last week: North Chicago lost to Antioch, 53-6; Round Lake lost to Lakes, 55-7.
Skinny: It's homecoming for the Panthers, who are out to snap a nine-game losing streak. Their last win came against North Chicago in Week 6 of last season. Before scoring a touchdown against Lakes last Friday night, Round Lake had not scored in its previous three games. ... North Chicago, which went 0-9 last year, picked up its only win in Week 2, 26-23 over Chicago Robeson co-op. Against Antioch last Friday night, the Warhawks' only points came on as 67-yard TD pass from DyShawn Gates to Jajuan Harris.
NORTH SUBURBAN CROSSOVERAntioch Sequoits (4-2) at Zion-Benton Zee-Bees (2-4)When: 7:30 p.m., today
Last week: Antioch def. North Chicago, 53-6; Zion-Benton lost to Mundelein, 28-22 (OT).
Skinny: Antioch is likely going to need to win its remaining three games to make the playoffs, while two more will make the Sequoits playoff-eligible. Through six weeks, however, they have played only two teams - Lakes (4-2) and Vernon Hills (5-1) - with a winning records. Against North Chicago last Friday night, Antioch put up 50 points for the second time this season. The Sequoits got 2 touchdowns apiece from Griffin Hill (11 for the season) and Brandon Gallimore. Sophomore Drew Porter scored his first varsity TD, and Matt Adams returned a punt for a score. ... Zion-Benton has lost four straight games since starting the season 2-0. The Zee-Bees have dropped two tough decisions in the last two weeks, falling to Mundelein in overtime last Friday night and by a 24-21 margin to Warren two weeks ago.