Scouting the Fox Valley area's Week 2 football games

Jacobs (0-1) at Larkin (0-1)

When: 7:30 p.m. today at Memorial Field

Last week: Prairie Ridge 35, Jacobs 14; McHenry 66, Larkin 29

Outlook: This is the first meeting between these area football programs since the second round of the 1999 state playoffs, when the Royals handed Jacobs a 48-21 defeat. Larkin needs to gain a toehold following its disappointing opener at McHenry, a game in which the defense struggled. In that setback the Royals gave up 66 points and allowed 591 total yards. The Larkin staff hoped to avoid playing key athletes on both sides of the ball this season, a plan that may have to change if the run defense doesn't stiffen. Larkin allowed 417 yards on the ground last week. "It can be fixed," Larkin coach Dave Bierman said. "We tried to play a lot of kids Friday night because we're trying to keep kids on one side of the ball. As much as we hate to do it we may have to have more go both ways unless someone steps up. I think our skill is pretty good, but when we're running a three-deep zone and people get behind you… That just can't happen. Those are the kinds of things that boggle the mind." The silver lining? Senior quarterback Cam Kinley was effective in his season debut, completing 18-of-30 passes for 257 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. His top targets were receivers Jake Kane and Nick Bee, who combined for 9 catches for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jacobs is aiming to make a return to the playoffs in 2007, led by running back Darius Bowers. A senior familiar with coach Dean Schlueter's Wing-T offense, Bowers last week rushed for 197 yards on 13 carries in a 35-14 loss to Prairie Ridge. That total included a 79-yard scoring run in the first quarter that pulled the Golden Eagles within a touchdown of the lead at the time. Bowers and fellow running backs Bobby Molinaro and Jon Szalonek are tough to see let alone tackle behind the great wall of Algonquin, better known as Jacobs' huge offensive line, which is anchored by mammoth bookend tackles. Senior Jeff Czjaka stands 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds while fellow senior Cam Allsworth is 6-foot-6, and weighs in at 325. To be more competitive Friday, the Golden Eagles must eliminate turnovers. Jacobs turned the ball over 4 times in the first half last week against Prairie Ridge, mistakes it can't afford on the road. "Even without the turnovers, Prairie Ridge really outplayed us last week," Jacobs coach Dean Schlueter said. "We've stressed this week that we have to be more aggressive than we were in the first game. We have to be more physical."

Cary-Grove (1-0) at Prairie Ridge (1-0)

When: 7:45 p.m. today at Prairie Ridge Athletic Field

Last week: Prairie Ridge 35, Jacobs 14; Cary-Grove 16, St. Charles North 9

Last year: Cary-Grove 48, Prairie Ridge 6

Outlook: The area's marquee matchup this week pits a pair of state-ranked rivals from District 155: Cary-Grove is ranked No. 7 in Class 7A by the Associated Press; Prairie Ridge is No. 8 in Class 6A. This is truly a backyard war. In fact, several Wolves live in Cary, where they grew up playing for the Junior Trojans football program with players from Cary-Grove. Even the schemes of each team are eerily similar. Both schools run the 3-5-3 defense made trendy by Cary-Grove in 2004 and each executes a triple option offense taught by legendary coach Bill Mack, who is now an assistant coach at Prairie Ridge, where his grandson, Will, is a defensive back. "Similar? We call ours the Mack Attack," joked Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay of his offense this week. "And they've put a few wrinkles in that I like. I wish Bill would have told me about them earlier, but he's keeping things real secretive now. I think he's more interested in that team now than ours. And I thought I was family. You can tell the difference between blood and water." Kay said his staff took note of how aggressive the Prairie Ridge defense played against Jacobs last week. The Wolves used 4 turnovers in the first half to springboard to victory. Likewise, Cary-Grove's defense looked strong in Week 1. "They are very quick on that side of the ball," Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp said of the Trojans. "They have a lot of very good athletes. Maybe they're not getting as much press this year or being talked about as a state contender, but they are an awfully strong team again." Cary-Grove's leading returning rusher, fullback Nick Parfitt (6-0, 225) returns to action from an ankle injury that sidelined him in Week 1. "It'll be a tough task for us to stop him," Schremp said. "We'll know a lot more about ourselves as a football team when Friday night is over."

Elgin (1-0) at West Aurora (1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. today at West Aurora Stadium

Last week: Elgin 27, Plainfield Central 18; West Aurora 38, East Aurora 6.

Last year: West Aurora 27, Elgin 12

Outlook: This annual nonconference game celebrates the third-oldest rivalry between football-playing Illinois high schools, dating back to 1895. Elgin led at halftime last year before the Blackhawks came from behind. This year the Maroons enter the game fresh off a big win. "The kids were pretty excited," said Elgin coach Tom Kim of beating Plainfield Central. "We beat a team that was bigger than us physically and that's not something that's happened in a while here. It's great for the kids. I was encouraged by how much better our line play was than I thought it would be. Our coaches did a nice job of getting our guys to stay low and get off the ball, and the kids played really hard." West Aurora is making its home debut. A team with promise, the Blackhawks are nearly in a must-win position heading into the unforgiving DuPage Valley Conference schedule, which begins with Naperville Central next week. Converted West Aurora running back D.J. Smith scored on touchdowns jaunts of 10, 10 and 7 yards last week. Blackhawks coach Buck Drach enjoyed the result, saying his offense has a few more weapons this year than it did during a 2-7 season a year ago. "They are big up front," Kim said of the West Aurora offensive line. "Pretty athletic, more than we saw last week. They have some nice skill position players. (Smith) is solid and their quarterback can throw."

Oswego (1-0) at Bartlett (0-1)

When: 7:30 p.m. today at Millenium Field

Last week: Glenbard North 35, Bartlett 28; Oswego 40, Benet Academy 0.

Last year: Oswego 30, Bartlett 19

Outlook: Week 1 ushered in a transformation for the Bartlett offense. Known as a running team for most of the program's decade-long existence, these Hawks prefer to fly. Bartlett junior quarterback Josh Hasenberg finished with impressive numbers in his debut: 16-of-26 passing for 377 yards and 2 touchdowns. "He's a smart kid," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said of his quarterback, a 4.0 student. "He really studies and coach (Eric) Ilich, who played at Neuqua Valley, is tutoring and working with him a lot." One blow to the offense will be the loss of right tackle Mike Aiello (6-0, 230). The junior landed wrong during a celebration last week and broke his leg. A rod was inserted this week, knocking Aiello out for the season. Mike is the fourth of four football-playing brothers in his family and, in an uncanny coincidence, last week he became the third Aiello to suffer an injury on Glenbard North's field. He'll be replaced by junior Gianni Pietanza (6-4, 235). One problem for the Hawks? Just 60 un-Bartlett-like rushing yards in the season opener. "Obviously we out-threw them with 365 yards," Meaney said. "We played pretty well for 16 juniors and sophomores starting but we didn't get the result we want. We still want one more point than the other team and we have to find a way to win. Oswego running back Tim Riley (12 carries, 65 yards) scored a pair of touchdowns in the season opener. Quarterback Cam Quackenbush (11-of-15, 150 yards) threw for two scores and ran for a third in a blowout of Benet. New coach Dave Keely called off the dogs with his team leading 34-0 midway through the third quarter. The Oswego defense held Benet to 3 first downs and 67 total yards.

South Elgin (0-1) at Geneva (1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. today at Burgess Field

Last week: Geneva 35, Dundee-Crown 7; Marmion 45, South Elgin 12.

Last year: Geneva 55, South Elgin 13

Outlook: The checklist of areas to address is always longer after a loss, but if anything stood out to South Elgin coach Dale Schabert after a defeat against Marmion it was stalled drives. "We've got to fix our third-down conversions because many of them were manageable," Schabert said. "And we've got to catch the ball. We were caught short a number of times and had to punt and other times we just dropped balls. We had five plays where receivers on the dead run dropped balls that would have gone either for touchdowns or big gains. We had a clip on another 40-yard pass play. We have to get the little things cleaned up. We'll see how we bounce back." South Elgin gave Geneva a challenge in the first half last year before the Vikings pulled away for a big win. "I'm not looking forward to facing that team with all those seniors," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said at the conclusion of last year's game." South Elgin rushed for just 45 yards last week while allowing 196 yards to Marmion. This week the Storm will be tested by Geneva running back Michael Ratay. He missed most of last season with an injury but made up for lost time in the season opener last Saturday with 83 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries. Vikings quarterback Michael Mayszak excelled in his debut, completing 8-of-15 passes for 164 yards. He tossed touchdown passes to Michael Faught (44 yards) and Jose Augustine (34 yards). Both Faught and Augustine can make big plays. South Elgin quarterback Pete Scaffidi has proven that he can make some plays, but he can't do it by himself. Scaffidi completed 21-of-31 passes for 226 yards in a loss to Marmion last Friday. He did throw an interception but also connected with Josh Smith for a 42-yard touchdown and spotted him on five other occasions for 119 total yards. D'Aron Bowman who had 2 interceptions for the Storm last week.

Sycamore (1-0) at Burlington Central (0-1

When: 7 p.m. today at Rocket Hill

Last week: Sycamore 41, Streator 0; Kaneland 42, Burlington Central 29

Last year: Burlington Central 20, Sycamore 6

Outlook: Burlington Central hopes to get into the win column this week after suffering a tough loss at Kaneland in Week 1 in a game that was 29-29 with 5:30 to play. "I believe we have a good football team and we played real hard against (Kaneland)," said BC coach Aaron Wichman. "We made some Week 1 mistakes but we played real hard." Fullback Greg Dickson impressed Wichman against Kaneland, gaining 107 yards in 24 carries and scoring 3 TDs in his first game at that position. Senior QB Dan Hagberg also rushed for 55 yards and a score as the Rockets gained 199 yards on the ground. "Dan did a good job of running the option," Wichman said. "Our running game was pretty good. We didn't have to punt once because they stopped us." Three BC turnovers are what really made the difference in the game. "We're focusing more this week on fundamentals and protecting the football," said Wichman. In Sycamore, the Rockets will see a much improved team from a year ago when the Spartans were 3-6. They opened the season by allowing Streator just 48 yards on the ground and 5 yards passing. Meanwhile, Sycamore racked up 345 yards of offense behind junior QB Nick Anderson, who was 9 of 14 passing for 205 yards. "It was a good way to start the season," said Spartans coach Joe Ryan. "We threw the ball well and had good balance." One of the Spartans' top players is 6-foot-3, 242-pound defensive end Jason Schepler, who is drawing major college interest, including from NIU. "The more people see him the more people will want him," said Ryan of Schepler. Wichman is overall impressed with Sycamore. "They are a much-improved team," he said. "Watching them on film I'm impressed with almost every unit they have. Both of their lines did an outstanding job in Week 1." Ryan also has great respect for the Rockets. "I'm not going to fall victim to their loss," he said. "That was a close close game. They run the ball real well. We have to try to take away their favorite running plays but that's easier said than done because it's all veer stuff. You have to be very disciplined against them."

St. Edward (0-1) at Aurora Christian (1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. today at East Aurora High School's Roy E. Davis Field

Last week: Aurora Christian 12, Immaculate Conception 7; Hampshire 46, St. Edward 41

Last year: Aurora Christian 49, St. Edward 26

Outlook: The last time St. Edward coach Mike Rolando stepped on the Roy E. Davis Field at East Aurora, the site of tonight's nonconference game, the year was 1990 and Rolando was making his debut as quarterback for the Larkin Royals. He won that game, and he's hoping the return visit 17 years later proves to be as happy an occasion. The Green Wave is looking to snap its 21-game losing skid against the Eagles, who beat another team from the Suburban Catholic Conference last week, Immaculate Conception. Beating IC gave the Eagles confidence. "It was a big win for us," said Aurora Christian coach and former Buffalo Bills star Don Beebe. "They are a good team and will be very competitive this year." Aurora Christian was led by quarterback Jordan Roberts. The junior completed 12-of-24 passes for 182 yards and 1 touchdown and led his team in rushing with 73 yards. Matt Morse caught 3 balls for 43 yards, second to Michael Friend (5-69). Rolando ceded it took a couple days for the team to bounce back from Saturday's loss after coming so tantalizingly close to ringing the victory bell for the first time since 2004. His team showed a world of improvement in Week 1 but won't be satisfied by anything less than a victory. "We're not going 0-9 this year, I can guarantee you that," said quarterback Ryan Gilbert after the Hampshire game. Expect the Green Wave to punish the Eagles' defense with alternating doses of hard running fullback Moises Quiroga (58 yards) and athletic tailback Jimmy Mathisen (45 yards, 2 TDs). "We're hoping to use some powerful backs and good offensive line to run the ball and control possession as much as we can," Rolando said. "They have a lot of athletes on defense, so we'll try to punch it between the tackles and run more this week."

Huntley (0-1) at Elmwood Park (1-0)

When: 7:45 p.m. today at Elmwood Park High School

Last week: Elmwood Park 15, Schurz 6; Wauconda 27, Huntley 13.

Outlook: Due to last week's weather-postponement, the Huntley staff had a chance to scout Elmwood Park's win against Schurz. "They are a spread throwing team with real good speed on that turf they play on," said Huntley coach Steve Graves. "They are very quick and move the ball pretty well." Elmwood Park switched offenses this season from the Wing-T to a four receiver spread offense. The most notable speedster for the Tigers is receiver Jeff Romano, who made 5 receptions for 118 yards last week from senior quarterback Eddie Anderson. John Norris, who doubles as a linebacker, is the other deep threat. Elmwood Park third-year coach Eric Hennessey scouted the Red Raiders, too. "I'm impressed with their size," Hennessey said. "They are a big, physical team. Their quarterback (Casey Popenfoose) didn't have a great game last week but you could tell he's a good guy to have pulling the trigger for them. And their linebacker (Jordan Neukirch, 6-2, 227) was impressive. We're really concerned with him because he's so big and physical. The team we played last week wasn't very physical." Graves said he was pleased with the way the offensive line performed in the opener, but wants more from his skill position players. "We thought our skill positions were our strength, but we didn't make some big plays when we needed to on both sides of the ball. Our receivers have to catch the ball better, no question about it." This is a key game for Huntley's playoffs hopes. "When we look at the schedule, it certainly doesn't get any easier," Graves added.

Streamwood (0-1) at Dundee-Crown (0-1)

When: 7:45 p.m. at the D-C Bowl

Last week: Geneva 35, Dundee-Crown 7; Crystal Lake Central 34, Streamwood 21.

Outlook: Football rightly has taken a back seat this week at Dundee-Crown in the aftermath of the sudden passing last Friday of Doug Cutinello, the father of senior running back Matt Cutinello. A moment of silence will be observed prior to tonight's home game. "I'm not going to lie. It has been a hard week for everyone who knew Doug," said Dundee-Crown coach Mike Davis. "He was the most positive, supportive guy I met in the 15 years I've been here. We've had a very average couple of days of practice is the best way to put it. I expected it. But we've told the kids this week the same thing we told them before the game last week: The best way to honor his memory is to play as hard as possible the whole game." Matt Cutinello, who also plays defense, is expected to play. He scored the Chargers' lone touchdown last week. He also made the first tackle of the game on defense. Davis said the Chargers have to be wary of Streamwood's skill players, particularly senior running back Kevin Wohlhart (15 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD) and tall receiver Kyle Holder (6-4). "If we don't tackle well, they'll hurt us," Davis said. Arguably the fastest player on the Streamwood roster, sophomore receiver Derrick King, who scored a touchdown in Week 1, is out for the season after breaking his femur in the season opener. He'll be replaced by Tem Esikiel, who did not play last week. King had a rod inserted in the clean break and should be ready for track season, said coach Cal Cummins. The Sabres are hoping to earn their first win but remain respectful of Dundee-Crown's potential. "They are pretty athletic and they play hard, especially defensively" Cummins said of the Chargers. "They're quite aggressive. Our kids are excited about the opportunity to take another shot at this and I'm sure (the Chargers) are, too. We're both in similar situations, trying to improve."

Winnebago (1-0) at Hampshire (1-0)

When: 7 p.m. today at Hampshire Athletic Stadium

Last week: Hampshire 46, St. Edward 41; Winnebago 49, North Boone 0

Last year: Hampshire 38, Winnebago 14

Outlook: Hampshire learned last week it can depend on production from the passing combo of quarterback Trace Teboda to T.J. Burzak. The duo connected six times for 123 yards and 4 touchdowns even though the St. Edward coaching staff had schemed specifically to stop the 6-foot-4, 205-pound tight end. Of course, Winnebago, under first-year head coach Mark Helm, will try to limit Burzak's touches. That's why Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh stressed more production from the running game in practice this week. In Week 1 the Whips gained 218 yards on the ground, led by junior running back Joe Moore (78 yards, 2 TDs) and Teboda (72 yards, 1 TD). "We need to be able to run the ball, too," Cavanaugh said. "We can't just depend on passing the ball all the time. When Winnebago puts eight men in the box against us we'll be able to throw, but if they put seven men up and drop four, we have to be able to grind yards out like we've done in the past." The Whip-Purs will play without junior Luke Meyer. The two-way lineman suffered a broken femur in the St. Edward game and left the field on a stretcher. This week Meyer had a screw inserted in the leg just below the kneecap. He suffered no ligament damage, but he's likely out for the season. Helm, formerly an assistant at Stockton, scrapped Winnebago's five-receiver spread offense in favor of a more traditional I-formation scheme. The offense clicked last week for 49 points against North Boone, including 260 rushing yards. "We watched them play Friday night and the y have some really good athletes," Cavanaugh said of the Indians. " Hampshire's defense be aware of wide receiver Kory Vaught (6-0, 170), who was second in the Big Northern West last year with 384 yards receiving.

Glenbard North (1-0) at Crystal Lake South (1-0)

When: 7:45 p.m. at Ken Bruhn Field

Last week: Crystal Lake South 37, Crete-Monee 23; Glenbard North 35, Bartlett 28

Outlook: The Gators, ranked No. 3 this week in Class 7A by the Associated Press, were an offensive force in Week 1 with 5 touchdowns and 472 yards. They rushed for 316 yards on 60 attempts and quarterback Ian Ormseth (7 of 13) passed for another 156 yards and a score. Questions were answered in the backfield as sophomore Colin Masterson ran for 190 yards on 26 attempts in his debut and junior fullback Derek Mortensen gained 86 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. "We were planning to give Masterson maybe 10 carries, but he showed he could handle it," Gators coach Jim Stuglis said. "Not a bad first game for a sophomore. With he and Mortensen running and Ormseth throwing the ball well, it's nice to be able to mix it up a little." In Glenbard North the Gators will face the tallest quarterback on their schedule. Evan Watkins, who stands 6-foot-6. "We were hoping he was 6-foot-6 and a clod, but he can run," Stuglis said. Last week Watkins completed 15-of-26 passes for 238 yards and 4 touchdowns and he ran for another. The Gators must also be aware of fullback Billy Schwartz, who toted the ball 35 times for 112 yards in a 7-point win against Bartlett. The Gators allowed big plays last week to speedy Crete-Monee, which gained 200 of its 308 yards on 4 long plays, all passes. "We have to eliminate the big plays," Stuglis said. "Otherwise, we held a very fast team to just over 100 yards offense the rest of the game."