Scouting Week 7 in the Fox Valley

Crystal Lake Central (4-3, 1-2) at Huntley (2-5, 1-2)

When: 7:45 p.m. today at Harmony Road Campus

Last week: Prairie Ridge 34, Huntley 6; Johnsburg 34, CL Central 21

Last year: Huntley 26, CL Central 0

Outlook: The Red Raiders are playing for pride after their elimination from playoff contention last week. Crystal Lake Central still has much to play for; The Tigers are bidding for their second straight postseason berth on the heels of a 15-year playoff drought. CL Central has outscored Huntley 187-128 this season, but the Tigers have given up more points (207) than the Red Raiders (164). Huntley is led offensively by quarterback Casey Popenfoose, who has rushed for 556 yards and 5 touchdowns on 93 carries. Junior Jordan Neukirch has gained 486 yards and scored 6 TDs in 63 attempts. Huntley will have its hands full against the Fox Valley Conference's top rushing tandem of Anthony Degani (988 yards, 14 TDs) and Anthony Niemo (746 yards, 6 TDs). Degani gained 196 yards in the loss to Johnsburg last week.

Jacobs (3-4, 1-2) at McHenry (5-2,. 2-1)

When: 7:45 p.m. at McCracken Field

Last week: Woodstock 25, Jacobs 14; Cary-Grove 20, McHenry 0

Last year: McHenry 14, Jacobs 13

Outlook: Jacobs lost its room for error last week in a defeat at Woodstock. Now, the Golden Eagles have to win at McHenry tonight and beat rival Dundee-Crown next week to become playoff eligible. Can the up-and-down Eagles take flight once more? "It's something we can do," Jacobs coach Dean Schlueter said of bouncing back this week. "(McHenry) is a very good football team, very well coached. We were on a steady incline throughout the season from where we started through the CL South game, so I was encouraged by our effort and performance in some areas. I felt we were on the rise, but I thought last week we took a step backward. How we played last week is not how you want to finish. Woodstock played well and deserved to win, bottom line. We just have to go on from where we're at." The Golden Eagles are tasked with stopping a good McHenry offense that was shut down a week ago by Cary-Grove. Mark Iglesia has rushed for 726 yards and 7 touchdowns for the Warriors, who still have a chance to share the Valley Division title if they win out and CL South beats Cary-Grove tonight.

Woodstock (4-3, 1-2) at Dundee-Crown (1-6, 0-3)

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

Last week: Crystal Lake South 41, Dundee-Crown 7; Woodstock 25, Jacobs 14

Last year: Dundee-Crown 31, Woodstock 21

Outlook: When all's said and done this season, Dundee-Crown will have likely faced eight playoff teams. The Chargers have dropped five straight by an average score of 43-13 against great competition, but the kids from D-C don't quit. "I haven't seen anyone give up," Chargers coach Mike Davis said. "The kids are a little down with the record and everything, but their attitude is still good and they're hanging in there. They played hard against (Crystal Lake) South; South's just a better team." The Chargers defeated Woodstock in Week 8 last season to earn their only victory of the season. Pulling the same trick won't be easy against the improved Blue Streaks, who knocked off Jacobs last week behind 166 yards rushing from running back Cole Freund and 3 TD passes from quarterback Derek Brown to wide receiver Ryan Ortmann, who this season has 31 receptions for 544 yards and 9 touchdowns. The Chargers will hope for some homecoming magic to help spring the upset.

South Elgin (2-5, 2-2) at Waubonsie Valley (5-2, 3-1)

When: 7:30 p.m. today at Dick Kerner Stadium

Last week: St. Charles East 38, South Elgin 19; Waubonsie Valley 34, Bloom 0

Last year: Waubonsie Valley 41, South Elgin 7

Outlook: South Elgin would love to help spoil Waubonsie Valley's playoff drive. If they're able, it'll be solid quarterback Peter Scaffidi who does most of the spoiling. Scaffidi has thrown for 1,104 yards and 16 touchdowns on 107-of-196 passing. He has thrown only 3 interceptions. But the season has been tough on Scaffidi's partners in crime. Wideouts Josh Smith and Jordan Uvegas and starting running back Josh Kabala are all done for the season with injuries. Scaffidi will need great protection and scrambling ability to avoid a Waubonsie Valley defense, led by linebackers Spencer Merritt and Kevin Garbis, that's looking good. Offensively, another Warriors receiver came to the fore; following Mark Hilgers' 7-catch outing against Lake Park, last week Alex Stokowski caught 3 passes, all for touchdowns. After missing the 2006 playoffs despite 5 wins, coach Paul Murphy will have all guns blazing for win No. 6.

Streamwood (1-6, 1-4) at Neuqua Valley (3-4, 3-2)

When: 7:30 p.m. today in Naperville

Last week: Neuqua Valley 24, Bartlett 23; Lake Park 32, Streamwood 0

Last year: Neuqua Valley 35, Streamwood 7

Outlook: The playoffs in the balance, Neuqua rose up against Bartlett; Streamwood will face similar resistance. The Sabres hung with Lake Park early but didn't finish drives and never recovered despite Dan Poierier's 60 yards rushing. Regarding rushing, Neuqua's Anton Wilkins is averaging 168.4 yards a game. Among other difference-makers like kicker Nick Schneider, defensive end T.J. Jordan and the combo of Denzel Neal and Mitch McGilliard, who stopped Bartlett's late 2-point conversion try, is quarterback Alex Lincoln, whose 152 yards passing last week opened Neuqua's offense.

Prairie Ridge (7-0, 3-0) at Grayslake Central (0-7, 0-3)

When: 7:45 p.m. today at William Eiserman Stadium

Last week: Prairie Ridge 34, Huntley 6; Grayslake North 31, Grayslake Central 6

Last year: Prairie Ridge 49, Grayslake Central 29

Outlook: The Prairie Ridge freight train has been rolling all season and it isn't likely to be derailed in Grayslake, where an obvious mismatch is on tap. The Wolves are arguably the strongest team in the Fox Valley Conference. The Rams haven't won a game this season and were blown out 31-6 last week by Grayslake North, a team that hadn't won a game in two seasons of football. The Wolves are led by running back Sam Campbell, who is on the precipice of a 1,000-yard season. The senior has rushed for 952 yards and 14 touchdowns on 109 carries for a phenomenal average of 8.7 yards per rushing attempt. Junior quarterback Bryan Bradshaw has thrown for 715 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Prairie Ridge defense, which has allowed only 20 total points in three Fox Division games, will be aiming for a shutout.

St. Edward (1-6, 1-4) at Montini (7-0, 5-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. today in Lombard

Last week: St. Edward 28, St. Francis 26, OT; Montini 33, Marian Central 0

Last year: Montini 56, St. Edward 0

Outlook: Ah, sweet victory! St. Edward vanquished a demon by snapping its 26-game losing streak last week with a thrilling overtime win against St. Francis on homecoming night. A repeat performance, however, would be a minor miracle considering how potent Montini is this season with three Big Ten-bound players: two-way starter Dex Jones (Wisconsin), 290-pound lineman Chuck Porcelli (Northwestern), and lineman Garrett Goebel (Ohio State), who plays on both sides of line of scrimmage. Montini has beaten defending Class 5A champ Sacred Heart-Griffin and runner-up Marian Central. Montini is the third No. 1-ranked team the Green Wave have faced in four weeks. St. Edward coach Mike Rolando aspires to someday run the same type of successful program Montini coach Chris Andriano has spent over two decades building. "It's gonna take a heck of a lot of hard work to be where we need to be," Rolando said. "But we have most of our team coming back next year and we can't let them think one win is good enough. Playing Montini, we'll see what it takes. We'll see a team that spends time in the weight room getting bigger and stronger. You need to compete against great teams and see how they do it. And if Montini happens to have one of those down days and fumbles the ball away, anything can happen." Montini's defensive line play from Goebel, Dave Lembas, Porcelli and John McMahon (4 sacks and a fumble recovery), speed and inventive play calling like John Borsellino's halfback pass to Sal Mazzulla were enough to shut out previously top-ranked Marian Central. The challenge for the Broncos will be to stop St. Edward's ground game and avoid a letdown prior to next week's cataclysmic Suburban Catholic Conference finale against archrival Driscoll.

Bartlett (4-3, 3-2) at Thornton (3-4, 3-0)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday in Harvey, Ill.

Last week: Neuqua Valley 24, Bartlett 23; Thornton 28, Thornton Fractional South 24

Last year: First meeting

Outlook: Thornton is trying to take a page out of Bartlett's book by making the playoffs after opening the season with four straight losses. Bartlett pulled that rare coup last season. The Wildcats lost their season opener by a point to Hillcrest (4-3), lost 17-10 against Lockport (3-4), were beaten 7-6 by Crete-Monee (5-2) and lost 21-17 to Rich Central (2-5). Facing playoff elimination after just four weeks, they rallied to blow out Thornwood (1-6) and Thornridge (1-6) before beating playoff-bound T.F. South (5-2) last week, 28-24. It's the kind of playoff drive by a team with great speed that can worry a coach like Bartlett's Tom Meaney. "Looking back, we've had trouble with teams that have speed like Larkin and Elgin, and Thornton has speed all over the place. They have a big offensive line, a solid defensive line, and their middle linebacker is tougher than nails." Bartlett is still stinging from what it feels was a missed call last week. The Hawks believe running back Vinnie Libreri had clearly breached the end zone on a 2-point conversion attempt that would have beaten Neuqua Valley, but the line judge didn't see it their way. Now the Hawks must win out against Thornton and East Aurora to guarantee their eighth straight playoff appearance. Lose either game and Bartlett could will be at the mercy of playoff points on selection Saturday. "This is a must," Meaney said. "You think the Bears needed that win Sunday night against Green Bay? Well, we need one just as bad."