Expect fireworks -- literally -- in this one

There should be plenty of fireworks on the field Friday night between archrivals Libertyville and Stevenson.

But to get the ball rolling, Libertyville officials will be shooting off the real thing during the national anthem.

This is Homecoming Week at Libertyville and it became a tradition recently to include fireworks during the football game.

"It should be pretty neat," Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski said. "It's a good way to celebrate (homecoming)."

Of course, both teams are concerned only with celebrating after the game.

This is an atypical matchup between the titans since Libertyville's record isn't even at .500 (2-3) and Stevenson is just 3-2.

"I don't think Stevenson would see us at 2-3 and take us lightly because they know what we're about and they really need to win this game, too. Neither one of us can afford a loss right now," Kuceyeski said. "Whoever does get the loss is going to be under a lot of pressure. And I can tell you right now that we don't need any more pressure. The first three weeks of our season were pretty stressful."

Libertyville started off going 0-3, the first time Kuceyeski can remember a Libertyville team in that position.

Of course, the competition had something to do with that. The Wildcats opened with three tough teams in Barrington, Carmel and defending Class 7A state champion Lake Zurich, which are a combined 11-4 right now.

"We're hoping that schedule will help us out down the road," Kuceyeski said. "But that was a tough way to start. Those are some good teams and we turned the ball over a few times in those games and you can't do that against teams like that.

"But I think winning the last two games has helped us a lot. We've turned that mental corner and I can see that we're getting our confidence back."

About face: If there was a common denominator in Libertyville's three losses to start the season, interceptions would be it.

Last week against North Chicago, the Wildcats had no interceptions and not only did they win, but quarterback Matt Persin, not surprisingly, wound up having his best game of the season.

"That made a big difference," Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski said of the absence of the interceptions. "Matt had a great game, his best overall and his best reading and throwing."

Persin completed 8 of 13 passes for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a pretty 74-yarder to junior wide receiver Eric Andrews.

The 74-yard reception was a school record, beating the old one set in 1985 by Tim Paramski by just one yard.

"It was a really nice pass," Kuceyeski said. "Eric caught it right in stride and everything. He's been a real pleasant surprise for us this season."

Balancing act: Stevenson has brought new meaning to the idea of a balanced offense.

Two weeks ago in a 24-17 win at Lake Zurich, the Patriots were limited to just 36 rushing yards. But with the Bears selling out to stop the run, quarterback Zach Wujcik was able to throw for 245 yards.

Last Friday, Stevenson resembled a running team in a 35-19 victory at Zion-Benton. The Patriots piled up 366 yards on the ground, 188 by Matthew Harris and 163 from fellow junior Mark Weisman. Back on Sept. 13 against Lake Forest, Stevenson ran for 251 yards.

Asked if he'd consider going back to Stevenson's traditional three-back "robust" offense, which was used with success in the fourth quarter against Zion-Benton, Stevenson caoch Bill Mitz said no thanks.

"We've got some receivers we want to get the ball to," he said, listing Michael Bilton and Henry Wood among his preferred targets. "It's nice to be able to go either way with it."

Must be nice: Call Carmel the "Fullback Factory."

When senior fullback Jackson Davenport blew out his knee in the season opener against Joliet Catholic, the Corsairs didn't have to dig deep for a quality replacement.

Backup Sean Madison stepped right in and Carmel didn't miss a beat with its potent option offense.

But as time wore on, a shoulder injury that had been nagging Madison since the summer began to grate on him more. So before the Marist game three weeks ago, Carmel coach Andy Bitto moved Madison over to halfback where the physical pounding wouldn't be as great and then went into his fullback reserve and made Mike Taylor the new starting fullback.

Taylor, who had been playing halfback, made the transition seamlessly.

In the last five quarters, he's scored 7 touchdowns and has rushed for more than 400 yards.

"I almost feel like a leprechaun here," Bitto said. "We've been really lucky with our depth at this position, luckier than heck.

"I think that over the years kids have figured out that in our offense we do a lot of things with the fullback. That position gets the most carries and a lot of kids coming into the program want to play that position."

Super stat: How is this for efficiency?

In its last 14 offensive possessions, Carmel has scored 14 touchdowns.

No wonder the 4-1 Corsairs were able to recover quickly from their Week 3 slip against Marist. They've won their last two games by 39.5 points per game.

"That's pretty crazy," Carmel coach Andy Bitto said of the 14 straight touchdowns. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like that."

In control: There's a burning question heading into Friday's North Suburban Prairie Division showdown between Antioch and Grant.

How exactly does Grant stop Antioch's potent rushing attack, which features a Division I-caliber back in Cameron White and plenty of other threats in Steve Lorenzini, Matt Romani and Vinnie Holm?

Grant head coach Kurt Rous had a surprisingly quickly answer.

"Our offense will be our best defense," Rous said. "We have to really control the ball and take time off the clock and keep their offense off the field."

Rous must believe in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" brand of coaching. Because controlling the ball is exactly how the Bulldogs beat Antioch last year en route to running the table in the Prairie and finishing 10-1 on the season.

"They killed us on time of possession last year," Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. "I remember our offense sitting on the sidelines for seven to eight minute chunks. They did such a nice job of keeping their offense moving.

"We can't let that happen this year. This year, we're going to have to keep them off the field."

History Buff: There's plenty on the line for Antioch in Friday's game against Grant.

Most importantly, the Sequoits, just a year after finishing 3-6, would qualify for a playoff spot at the first possible opportunity. Also, they would stay atop the North Suburban Prairie Division standings.

And on top of all that, Antioch will also be playing for a bit of history.

If the Sequoits move to 6-0, they will be the first Antioch team to do so since the 1982 squad, which finished with a 10-2 record. According to the IHSA Web site, the 10 wins that year were the most in a season in school history.

"I just found out about (the 1982 team) a few days ago," said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel, who is in only his second year at the helm. "Del (Pechauer) told me about it."

Pechauer was the head coach at Antioch for 19 years before Glashagel took over last season. He remains on the staff as an assistant coach.

"Del is like this history freak when it comes to this program," Glashagel laughed. "He can tell you all of these obscure facts. Like if I went up to him and said, 'Yeah Del, what year did we give up the fewest sacks,' he would know it.

"He's got a bunch of records on the team. They might be in some secret vault, but he's got them."

Something's working: He's kind of short. And according to his coach, he's not the fastest guy on the team.

So how has 5-foot-9 Grant quarterback Justin Cokefair managed to "fare" so incredibly well this season?

After all, the junior began as the backup and was thrown into the fire only when starter Izzy Rodriguez was required to sit out a game for team reasons?

"He's shifty, he can read the option really well, he makes good decisions and he's not an easy kid to bring down," Grant coach Kurt Rous said, ticking off Cokefair's best attributes. "We knew that he was good last year. He was the starter on the sophomore team. But he really impressed us when he came into that game (in Week 2) and did so well."

Against Grayslake Central, Cokefair rushed for 179 yards on 22 carries and also threw a 33-yard touchdown to Tom Bychowski.

And just like that, Cokefair had earned himself a starting job.

"After that game, we knew we had to reevaluate things at quarterback," Rous said. "He played that well."

The impressive performances have continued. Last week against Round Lake, Cokefair scored 3 touchdowns and piled up 241 rushing yards.

"That's a lot of yards for one person," Rous said. "It's been awhile since we've had someone rush for that much, especially a quarterback."

Cokefair's backup, Leo Minne, didn't do too badly for himself either. With Grant firmly in control, he took over to give Cokefair a break and ran for 109 yards.

No rest for the weary: On Saturday afternoon, Grayslake Central takes on Huntley, which has something in common with four of the Rams' other five opponents.

Huntley is undefeated heading into its game against Grayslake Central.

Not exactly what an 0-5 team that hasn't won since 2006 needs.

"It's been a brutal schedule for us," Grayslake Central coach Nick Goshe said. "When you play good teams, you tend to get beat up and then when you have no chance to exhale and catch your breath, you end up losing kids for multiple games with injuries and then you're not playing at full strength.

"Our kids like a challenge, but it can be discouraging."

The Rams have lost three starters so far to season-ending injuries _ running back and linebacker Nick Mandich, wide receiver and defensive back Mike Katona and lineman Bobby Traske.

Also, lineman Angelo Gargano, one of the best athletes on the team, was out last week with an injury.

"When you have only 36 kids to start with, it makes it really tough when you lose three starters," Goshe said. "It's part of football. But you feel it more when your roster is already small and you're playing the caliber of teams we are. We really haven't had a week or two where our opponent was more at our caliber and we could (compensate) for our injured kids."

• Staff writer Mike McGraw contributed to this report.