Patriots still have a chance

No one at Stevenson would choose to start off the season 0-2. But the Patriots' current record might not have to be all doom and gloom.

Historically, the Stevenson football program has responded very well to slow starts.

The last time the Patriots limped out to an 0-2 record was 2003 when they lost nonconference games to Barrington and Naperville Central. Stevenson then went on to win seven of its next eight games and advance into the second round of the playoffs.

Before that, the Patriots made an even bigger statement after an 0-2 start.

In 1994, Stevenson lost its first two games of the season. The Patriots then won their last seven regular season games. The following two years, Stevenson put together back-to-back perfect 9-0 regular seasons. And then the Patriots started out the 1997 season winning their first seven games.

Add it all up and that was a school record 32-game regular season winning streak after those two straight losses at the beginning of the 1994 season.

"That'd be nice if we could do that again," Stevenson coach Bill Mitz said with a chuckle. "Yeah, we wish we were 2-0, but we're not and we've just got to get back on track. Our kids aren't down. In fact, we've had some of our best practices this week."

The Patriots have every reason to be upbeat.

They gained toughness and plenty of perspective after having just faced two of the best teams in the state. Loyola and Glenbrook South are both ranked among the top 10 teams in Class 8A.

And the Patriots came real close to beating Glenbrook South.

Down by a touchdown with a minute to play, Stevenson fumbled the ball away 2 yards shy of the end zone. Fumbles cost the Patriots throughout the game. They lost a total of three.

Fumbles were also an issue in the season opener against Loyola. Stevenson had five in that game.

But besides that issue, the Patriots have been moving the ball well both on the ground and through the air, thanks in large part to running back Steven Haynes and quarterback Zach Wujcik.

The Stevenson defense has also made its fair share of big plays. Middle linebacker Lucas Peilet had 15 tackles last week.

"We really feel like we're a few plays away from being a very good team," Mitz said. "The other thing is that we're very young. We started 13 underclassmen against a very senior-laden Glenbrook South team. So we're learning every day. But we're getting better. We've just played two very good teams and we think that's going to help us down the road."

Show time: While a 65-point victory is considered a blowout by fans, it's considered an opportunity by the players who don't see the field all that often.

And let's just say Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz feels like some of his reserves made the most of their opportunity last week as the Bears wound down the clock on their 65-0 win over East Aurora.

They showed him exactly what they could do in a game situation.

"Some of the kids that we've been wanting to get a closer look at really did a nice job with some of that extra playing time," Stortz said. "It's nice to be able to evaluate where those guys are really at."

Stortz said he was most impressed with fullback George Knebal and a trio of linebackers: Steve Piff, Tommy Flaherty and Eddie McGlauchlin.

"George played at least two quarters and he did some really nice things," Stortz said of Knebal. "I think we might have to try to find a spot for him somewhere. Defensively, Eddie (McGlauchlin) really stood out. He did a lot of nice things. He ran down a lot of plays."

That hurts: We're only two weeks into the season, and already injuries are wreaking havoc.

At least at Lakes they are.

The hardest hit has been taken by the Eagles' defense, which lost one starter for the season during training camp and has lost two starters since.

Meanwhile, Division-I offensive lineman Richard Hayes aggravated a nagging shoulder injury and missed all of last week's game against Crystal Lake Central.

"We're really hurt and unhealthy," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. "We're trying to get some of our players back."

Mike Seay won't be back. He's the defensive player that has been out since training camp. The tackle tore up his knee in practice.

Meanwhile, starting linebackers Dante Soto and Chris Heerema are questionable. Soto suffered a concussion in the second quarter of the season opener against Grayslake North and has been out ever since. Heerema hyperextended his knee last week and is day-to-day.

"It's kind of surprising to have this much going on this early in the season," Mertens said. "But that's the way football goes. Sometimes you get lucky with injuries and sometimes you don't. But it seems like when you don't, you're hit all over the place.

"It seems like if you get one injury, you get multiple injuries."

That's what happened to Lakes last year around playoff time. One key player went down late in the season and by the time the Eagles kicked off their playoff game, they were down four starters.

"We just had to make the best of it," Mertens said. "That's what we're doing now."

Sophomore defensive lineman Bill Brinser has done his share. Mertens says that Brinser was brought up to fill in and will likely start this week.

Name game: Their names are catchy, which is appropriate, because both P.J. Marsek and E.J. Lannon are catching on at Vernon Hills.

Marsek is the Cougars' starting quarterback and has shown a lot of promise in his new role. He completed 10-of-22 passes for 138 yards last week against Highland Park. And he's also shown a knack for running with the ball out of the option.

Meanwhile, Lannon might be just a sophomore, but is already emerging as a defensive star. Last week, he rolled up 14 tackles, a sack and made an interception.

"We've got a P.J. and an E.J. -- how about that?" Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken laughed. "They're both doing great. E.J. is learning very quickly, just like P.J. is."

Double trouble: Coaches like consistency, which means that the coaches at Grant are loving Tommy Bychowski and Izzy Rodriguez right now.

It's uncanny how consistently good the two offensive stars have been so far this season.

Bychowski, Grant's top receiver, has put together back-to-back 10 reception games. Last week in a win over Grayslake Central, he hauled in 10 passes for 115 yards.

On top of that, Bychowski has returned a kickoff for a touchdown in each of the first two games. Last week's return was for 82 yards.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez has rolled up back-to-back 125 yard rushing games.

The running back reached that milestone last week on 21 carries.

"Tommy is a track guy, so he has some speed," Grant coach Kurt Rous said. "And we knew Rodriguez was tough.

"But they both would say they've gotten some help. Tommy got some great blocks on his kickoff returns and our offensive line has been doing a great job of blocking for all of our backs."