Week 2 Tri Cities football previews

Nonconference

Lincoln-Way East (1-0) at St. Charles East (1-0) Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Lincoln-Way East 14, Providence 6; St. Charles East 30, Batavia 7.

Players to watch: Sam Gunther was outstanding in his debut under the lights in Batavia. The senior quarterback is coming off a fine 16-for-26, 176-yard passing performance in which he connected with Matt Hammer for a touchdown and handed the ball off to Wes Allen for three touchdown runs. Allen finished with 99 rushing yards on 26 carries. Hammer hauled in 8 catches overall for 85 yards and Jake Krzeczowski (4 catches, 38 yards) showed some nice moves and proved that Gunther has a variety of weapons to utilize to move the chains. Lincoln-Way East quarterback Blake Hammond is listed at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds. That itself makes him an intriguing presence. He only completed 2-of-9 passes for only 23 yards, and was picked twice, last week, but he did his damage on the ground rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown. Senior tailback Dan Cebula makes the most out of running behind a powerful offensive line, which includes Gabe Padilla and Alex Tradros. He carried 20 times for 95 yards and a TD last week. The Griffins' Cincinnati-bound defensive end Dan Giordano (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) did not play for disciplinary reasons. He's expected to return this evening.

Outlook: Defeating Batavia in convincing fashion was a heck of a way for the Saints to begin their 2007 campaign. Now, they get an even tougher opponent as Lincoln-Way East makes the 50-plus mile pilgrimage to St. Charles to visit the Saints. The Griffins are 27-1 over the last two seasons and the beginning of this one. Memories of a Class 8A state championship in 2005 remain fresh in the Frankfort area and once again they have a very strong team. While the way the Saints moved the ball last week didn't necessarily impress St. Charles East coach Ted Monken, he was pleased with the fact that his team was able to score 30 points, as well as keep the opponent out of the end zone when the game was still competitive. "I'm very pleased with the way we moved the ball; not exactly how we had to do it," Monken said. The Griffins' defense held a tough opponent in Providence to only 6 points last week so the Saints offense will have a tough chore in moving the chains and crossing the goal line tonight.

Bottom line: Sometime around or after 10 p.m. tonight the Saints will have a great understanding of where they rank as a team, and should be well prepared to begin their conference schedule. The offensive line and skilled players were impressive last week, but they'll face a huge test against the big and strong Griffins. Can they do enough so Gunther and Allen's talents can shine? The Saints faithful certainly have their fingers crossed.

McHenry (1-0) at St. Charles North (0-1) Game time: 7:45 p.m. today

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: McHenry 66, Larkin 29; Cary-Grove 16, St. Charles North 9

Players to watch: McHenry senior wide receiver Mark D'Angelo was one of several offensive players who shined with the ball in last week's opener. He scored three touchdowns with a 25-yard reception, 32-yard run and 38-yard fumble return. Fullback John Doessel nearly rushed for 200 yards (186) on 20 carries, while Mark Iglesia (133 yards) and quarterback Tyler Marunde also played key parts in the McHenry attack. McHenry accumulated nearly 500 rushing yards on the ground mainly because of a combination of talented skill players and a dominating offensive line. Keep an eye out for the battle between the two lines in this meeting. St. Charles North's defensive ends, Tim Janeway and Dan McSweeney, along with the team's linebackers will need to set the tone early and often against McHenry's potent attack. North Stars quarterback Nick Neari had a nice debut on Saturday. Facing the always formidable Cary-Grove defense, Neari completed 13-of-21 passes for 119 yards and scored the North Stars' lone touchdown on a 22-yard run.

Outlook: McDonald's might not verbally invite you to supersize your order these days, but the McHenry offense put on a supersized offensive effort last week in plowing over Larkin with a 66-point performance. The scary thing? If not for some turnovers the team might have surpassed 80 points. Points aren't expected to come as easily against an experienced North Stars defense, but the hosts will have to put the hammer down. "We're very impressed with their fullback who's very quick," North Stars coach Mark Gould said. "Their quarterback does a nice job of running the team and for the type of offense they have he did a great job (last week) of throwing the ball and he's accurate and mobile too." A key concern for the North Stars is McHenry's ability to efficiently run the ball and then to throw it when the need would arise. "They're a well coached, good team and will be another real contest for us," Gould said. "It's one we have to step up for." The North Stars need their backfield to step up so that Neari can mix in a fair amount of the pass and run so McHenry doesn't know what's coming each time. Last week the North Stars only had 44 yards rushing, and Nic Higgins, Colton Hinrichs and Kyle Harmon combined for 15 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Bottom line: The nonconference schedule doesn't get any easier for the North Stars tonight. They're going to have to find a way to move the ball on the ground to create scoring opportunities and to reduce the confidence of the Warriors offense. If they can't, then McHenry might travel home on their bus looking as suave as Superbad's McLovin.

South Elgin (0-1) at Geneva (1-0) Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: Geneva 55, South Elgin 13

Last week: Geneva 34, Dundee-Crown 7; Marmion 45, South Elgin 12

Players to watch: Michael Ratay made up for lost time in the season opener last Saturday, carrying the ball 16 times for 83 yards, but more importantly he rushed for three touchdowns. After missing most of last season with an injury, Ratay is back and healthy. 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 and will try to eat up the South Elgin secondary tonight. 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 on five other occasions for 119 total yards. Josh Kabala did most of the rushing for the Storm in the opener, but the ground game has question marks so unless Kabala or others can move the ball on the ground Geneva will be able to zone in on Scaffidi's passes. Mayszak should try to avoid D'Aron Bowman who had 2 interceptions for the Storm on Friday.

Outlook: Although South Elgin got beat handily by Marmion in Week 1, Geneva coach Rob Wicinski isn't taking them likely. In fact, he believes the Storm are a much better team than they showed in a 45-12 defeat. "I don't think they represented well against Marmion," Wicinski said. "For whatever reasons they didn't give a fair representation." Similar to Dundee-Crown on Saturday, Wicinski is concerned with individual matchup problems. "They have another year of experience and they concern me with their speed," he said. "Their coach knows what he likes to do with the offense and they can put pressure on your defense." The Vikings also have been able to put pressure on defenses and don't think of for one second that the Storm forgot about giving up 55 points to Geneva last season, especially with Ratay and Mayszak opening the season strong. "He (Mayszak) made some plays with his feet and I need someone to bail me out on those bad plays," laughed Wicinski. "He (Ratay) put in a lot of time to get himself ready. I thought he ran well but I think the offensive line needs some improvement on being consistent and hopefully they'll continue to improve." If the offensive line does its job then the two should be able to put up big numbers once again tonight.

Bottom line: South Elgin is more experienced than it was a year ago while most of Geneva's players gained some of their first varsity experience last week. Experienced or inexperienced, the Vikings have plenty of weapons readily available to keep this Storm from doing any damage.

Batavia (0-1) at West Chicago (1-0) Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: Batavia 35, West Chicago 8

Last week: St. Charles East 30, Batavia 7; West Chicago 23, Evanston 3

Players to watch: The West Chicago defense is worth taking a look at. The Wildcats only have two returning starters -- defensive end Taylor Overman and linebackers Mason Brandstetter -- but they along with nine new starters didn't allow any rushing yards against Evanston and only 87 yards in the air last week. Offensively, senior quarterback Chris Willie, tailback Jake Venchus and wide receiver James Eckler lead the attack. JR Kabba and Brian Krolikowski will aim to be consistent and big when the Bulldogs need them most. Kabba only had 6 yards on 7 carries last week. Krolikowski gained 62 yards on 9 carries. Batavia quarterback Jordan Coffey only completed 4-of-20 passes last week and backup Jack Creed was 6-of-10 for 116 yards late in the contest. Regardless of who gets the start or who plays most, each will be tested by a young but talented and athletic West Chicago defense.

Outlook: The Bulldogs have grown accustomed to the extremely physical, hard-hitting battles against the Wildcats in recent years. They'll look for another matchup like that tonight as they try to get their offense and defensive units on track after struggling in the opener. The Wildcats have a new head coach in John Walters, but as the longtime defensive coordinator at the school already has his young defense playing very well. "We came out and punched someone (Evanston) in the mouth defensively and it gave our offense time to shoot a rhythm and be patient," Walters said. "We understand Batavia is our opponent and know their history, but we're trying to focus on us. It's what we can do and what we can do better and then aim for consistency." West Chicago knows the importance of this game especially since the team is hungry to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Batavia doesn't want to begin Western Sun play next Friday winless. The defense will need to improve on third-down play as that was one of the deciding factors Batavia coach Mike Gaspari noted in the Week 1 loss. "I think our first and second down defensive play was outstanding," he said. "We had them in third and long all night long and they converted them to their credit." They'll need to reduce that conversion rate if they want to head back home with a 'W.'

Bottom line: The Bulldogs don't want to experience déjà vu. The last time the Bulldogs opened the season 0-2 was 2003 and the Week 2 loss that year was a 34-7 drubbing to …you guessed it…West Chicago. In order to avoid it they'll need to show great improvement on both sides of the ball. They'll also need to jump on the Wildcats early to reduce the high level of confidence the gained by opening the season with a victory last Saturday.

Elgin (1-0) at West Aurora (1-0) Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: West Aurora 27, Elgin 12

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

Players to watch: Both teams got off to a good start. Converted running back D.J. Smith scored on 10-, 10- and 7-yard touchdowns for West Aurora. West Aurora coach Buck Drach enjoyed the result, saying his offense has a few more weapons this year than they did during a 2-7 season a year ago.

Outlook: The Blackhawks trailed at halftime of this matchup last year before coming back, but it was an ugly win for West Aurora in a game they committed 13 penalties. "They are big up front," Elgin coach Tom Kim said. "They are pretty athletic, more than we saw last week. They have nice skill position players, running back, solid quarterback who can throw, their defense hits. Be prepared."

Bottom line: West Aurora makes its home debut. It is a team with promise, and this is a must win for the Blackhawks to build momentum heading into the DuPage Valley Conference schedule next week against Naperville Central.

Aurora Central (0-1) at Harvard (0-1) Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Mendota 43, Aurora Central 26; Big Foot, Wis., 21, Harvard 0.

Players to watch: Aurora Central junior quarterback Mike Adams did everything he could to try to bring the Chargers a win last week. He threw for 1 touchdown and ran for 2 others while also throwing for nearly 200 yards and rushing for 137. Chargers coach Mike Curry was impressed with how well Adams responded to playing corner back in addition to QB. "Keep in mind how many times he ran the ball. He's a horse. You either want the ball, or you want to give it somebody else. And he doesn't like to give it up. He's a good quarterback, he's a good athlete," Curry said.

Outlook: Harvard went 10-2 last year but struggled in its season opener. If Harvard can learn anything from Mendota, it is to run the ball at Aurora Central. The Chargers fought hard but wore down, allowing 220 yards and 28 points in the second half last week. "Our nemesis all year is how well we can stop the ground game of the opposing team," Curry said. "We have to rely on quickness of our backers if we have a chance."

Bottom line: In past years Aurora Central has played Spring Valley Hall in its nonconference slate. While Harvard is another quality opponent, this should be a better matchup for the Chargers than perennial power Hall.

St. Edward (0-1) at Aurora Christian (1-0) Game time: 7:30 p.m. today at East Aurora High School

Last year: Aurora Christian 49, St. Edward 26

Last week: Hampshire 48, St. Edward 41; Aurora Christian 12, Immaculate Conception 7.

Players to watch: Aurora Christian's offense gets most of the headlines, but the Eagles' defense came up big in last week's season-opening victory. The middle linebacker made 13 tackles (4 solo), a tackle for loss, forced a fumble and had a huge sack on the last play of the game to ensure the win. "He was just sensational," Eagles coach Don Beebe said.

Outlook: Beebe certainly is impressed with the Green Wave's offense after St. Edward scored 41 against Hampshire. "St. Ed can score points," Beebe said. "They are all seniors and the best team they have had in years. It should be a offensive shoo out. Of course, when you say that it will be a defensive battle." Last year Immaculate Conception defeated Aurora Christian to start the year, so getting a win in Melrose Park was an extra big lift for the Eagles. "It was a big win for us," Beebe said. "They are a good team and will be very competitive this year." Junior Jordan Roberts completed 12 of 24 passes for 182 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 interception while also leading the ground game with 73 rushing yards. John Smith was held to 31 rushing yards on 14 attempts while adding 32 receiving yards including a touchdown catch. Matt Morse had 3 catches for 43 yards, second to Michael Friend (5-69).

Bottom line: The Eagles will try to go 2-0 against the Suburban Catholic Conference, which is never an easy thing. Look for the Aurora Christian offense to get going.

Wheaton Academy (1-0) at Genoa-Kingston (1-0)

Game time: 7:30 p.m., today.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Wheaton Academy 32, Kirkland-Hiawatha 6; Genoa-Kingston 46, CICS Longwood 0.

Outlook: Wheaton Academy enters off what coach Ben Wilson called "a huge benchmark" win in its first varsity game since 1989. Genoa, out of the Big Northern West, must body back Chris Reddick, who ran behind right tackle Connor Reilly for some of his 95 yards and a touchdown; receiver Anthony Ritchie, with 4 catches for 151 yards and an 89-yard touchdown; and defensive end Matt Hattendorf. Genoa, returning 15 starters, is a step up with playmakers like quarterback Chris Wilkins and receiver/cornerback T.C. Holterhaus, whose interception return for a touchdown was one of two returns that burned Longwood.

Kaneland (1-0) at Marmion (1-0) Game time: 1 p.m. Saturday

Last year: Last year: Kaneland 21, Marmion 20

Last week: Kaneland 42, Burlington Central 29; Marmion 45, South Elgin 12.

Players to watch: Hall of Fame football coach Tom Landry once said, "Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible, it's unbelievable." Those who have been fortunate to see the Kaneland offense in action the past few years may take it for granted, those who haven't will be impressed by the speed of the game and the way the Knights spread the ball over the field. The source of the movement this year is quarterback Jody Henningson so he's the player to watch. In his QB debut on Saturday, the senior completed 14-of-19 passes for 185 yards and 2 TDs. Most impressively, he didn't throw an interception. His prime target was Korey Maple who hauled in 6 catches for 100 yards, but he's got a handful of other weapons. When not throwing the ball, Jamie Snyder usually does most of the rushing. He had three short touchdown runs last week and accumulated 42 yards total on 9 carries. Marmion coach Dan Thorpe wasn't kidding when he said he would use a running back by committee approach. Twelve players carried the ball in last week's blowout win. Alex Cook led the way with 75 yards on 8 carries.

Outlook: Losing by a point last year certainly gives Marmion confidence it can come out with a win. "We respect Kaneland but know we can play with them," Thorpe said. "We have waited all year of this game and will be ready." The Cadets wouldn't mind a warm day in Aurora to try to take advantage of more depth this year. "We are praying for 90 degree weather," Thorpe said. "We have only two kids going both ways and need to take advantage of that late in the second and fourth quarters. They are still very organized, explosive on offense, hit you on defense and play with great hustle." Thorpe is thrilled with his team's kicking game, which included a 32-yard field goal by Alex Picini in the opener.

Bottom line: The teams combined for 87 points in Week 1. Does that mean it's going to take 45 or 50 points to win this game? It could, especially if neither defense is able to come up with big plays and slow the other down.