Preview: Cary-Grove at Jacobs

When: today at 7:45 p.m. at Jacobs Athletic Field

Last year: Cary-Grove 21, Jacobs 14

Last week: Cary-Grove 35, Johnsburg 14; Huntley 36, Jacobs 0

Outlook: Cary-Grove can add to its streak of 28 straight conference wins with a victory in the Valley Division opener in Algonquin. The Trojans have steamrollered their last three opponents since they edged St. Charles North in the season opener. The triple option has been humming and the once-inexperienced defense now has some playing time under its belt and continues to show improvement. The Trojans are allowing 217 yards a game, but the offense is averaging 339 yards. On top of that, kicker Marcus Kerrigan and punter Matt Nelsen give the Trojans the advantage of good field position. "They're pretty sharp on both sides of the ball, and they're kicking game is very good," Jacobs coach Dean Schlueter said. "They're going on all cylinders from what we've seen. They're a good football team in all areas." Jacobs lost in disappointing fashion last week to Huntley, a game in which Schlueter said the team had breakdowns at positions that hadn't previously been problems. This week was spent addressing those issues. Don't expect Cary-Grove to take this one for granted, though. Last season Prairie Ridge beat Jacobs soundly the week before the Cary-Grove game, yet Jacobs recovered to give the Trojans one of their toughest tests of the season before falling by a touchdown. "They're a team that rebounds very well from losses," Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay said. "We know they're going to play hard, good football. Sometimes turnovers have gotten in their way. For us it boils down to fundamentals." Cary-Grove has a plus-2 turnover rating while Jacobs sits at minus-2. Can the Golden Eagles give Cary-Grove a real test? "I think we can, I think we have that ability," Schlueter said. "We sure want to get them back on track and go in the right direction and execute better. We just fell apart with execution in some areas last week. We have to get back to doing the right things."