Grant battles injury bug

Injuries may be a part of football, but Grant coach Kurt Rous has got to be wondering if they have to be such a big part.

At Grant, injuries have been like the Wall Street collapse. Some of the biggest names in the game have been directly affected.

On Wednesday, Rous learned that two of the biggest stars on his team will be out for the next four weeks - and that's on top of the Bulldogs already having lost one of their best defensive players this summer to a season-ending knee injury.

Senior fullback Izzy Rodriguez, who had been playing on a sore knee all season and sat out last week's win over Lakes, reluctantly went to the doctor recently and was told that he needed arthroscopic surgery to clean out the damaged areas.

Meanwhile, senior wide receiver Tommy Bychowski, arguably one of the best athletes in the North Suburban Conference, discovered this week that he has mononucleosis.

Both Rodriguez and Bychowski were all-North Suburban Conference picks last season - as was Kevin Savage, a center and linebacker who is missing his entire senior season so that he can recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"Those are three really key guys for us," Rous said. "I've only been a head coach for three years, but I've been around (as an assistant coach) before that and I don't think I've ever seen anything like this, where three integral all-conference athletes are out. The caliber of these guys is so high, and to have them all out at the same time is a pretty unique experience."

Rous isn't going to sugarcoat reality.

He knows the loss of Rodriguez and Bychowski is going to be difficult for his offense to handle. But he also says there could be a silver lining.

"If there's any good that will come out of us, it's that other teams are going to think even less of us now," Rous said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "We're going to take that and use it to our advantage."

Stepping up: So who will step up at Grant in the wake of the injuries to Rodriguez and Bychowski?

Luckily for the Bulldogs, there happens to be some depth at both positions.

Rodriguez actually started the season at quarterback and while he was there, junior Dan Hourihan was Grant's fullback.

He'll return there in Rodriguez's absence and hopes to have as much success as he did the first time around. Against Johnsburg in the season opener, he rolled up nearly 200 rushing yards.

"He did a phenomenal job and we feel good about him going back in there," Rous said of Hourihan. "We'll make the best of this situation. We have some depth and some good leadership that will help get us through this."

At wide receiver, Brandon Bushing figures to get more opportunities in Bychowski's absence.

Unsung heroes: Offensive linemen aren't exactly known for their flash.

But at Vernon Hills, where sophomore wide receiver DaVaris Daniels is producing exciting touchdown runs and spectacular catches, they've been responsible for a lot of it.

And that's been a pleasant surprise for head coach Tony Monken and his staff.

"We had only one returning starter on the O-line," Monken said, referring to center Matt Peterson. "We've got three juniors starting there, so we came in pretty young and inexperienced. But those guys keep improving so much each week and that has had a huge effect on what everyone else on the team can do.

"We're averaging 400 yards of offense each week. Our linemen had to get their feet wet in a hurry, but to see the improvements they've made just from June on, it's quite an incredible change and we're really benefiting from that."

Major fake out: Vernon Hills wide receiver DaVaris Daniels comes from NFL stock and seems destined for his own future in football at a higher level.

But perhaps Daniels should also consider a career in acting.

Against North Chicago last week, Daniels was inserted as a halfback and was then called on to throw a halfback option pass off a reverse. He wound up throwing a touchdown, but only after throwing his coaches for a loop.

As the play developed, they were convinced he didn't know the right play.

"We ran it as a reverse at first and DaVaris sold the running part of it so well that I had gotten to the point where I was just about ready to yell at him to throw the ball," Monken said. "He did and it all turned out great, probably because he did such a great job (with the fake).

"DaVaris has such great instincts for the game and a football awareness that you usually don't see from a sophomore."

No doubts: What is more telling? The fact that Antioch is 4-0 or the fact that Antioch's opponents - Grayslake Central, Grayslake North, Round Lake and Mundelein - are a combined 0-16.

Antioch coach Brian Glashagel has no doubt it's the former, considering the way in which the Sequoits got their wins.

"Did we do what we were supposed to do? Yes," Glashagel said. "But did we also exceed what we were supposed to do? Yes."

Glashagel's point is that not only did his team beat teams it was supposed to beat on paper, it decimated them. The Sequoits put up 49 points on Mundelein by halftime last week, and they're winning by an average of 35 points a game.

And that's with their best player, running back Cameron White, sitting the bench for nearly every second-half play of the season thus far. Against Grayslake Central, White played in the first series of the second half before leaving with leg cramps.

He has not played in a second half against any other team, and yet he already has had multiple 100-plus yard rushing games.

As a team, Antioch has rushed for more than 300 yards in three of its four games. And in the one game it didn't, quarterback Matt Romani passed for more than 100 yards.

"We've also blocked a punt for a touchdown this year, we've returned kicks for a touchdown, our defense is playing fast, our special teams are doing great, our kicker (Vinnie Holm) is doing such a great job that our opponents are starting at their own 18-yard line on average," Glashagel said. "We also have only one turnover so far this year and are plus-5 overall.

"We're doing so many good things that who we played really doesn't concern me. I'd be concerned if we played these teams badly and won by only one score or something like that. But the way we're winning games, the way our kids are playing makes me feel really good about what we're doing."