Scouting Cook playoff games
CLASS 8A
No. 9 Palatine (7-2) at No. 8 Fremd (7-2)
When: 7 p.m. today at Hale Hildebrandt Field
Last week: Palatine d. Schaumburg 31-10; Fremd d. Hoffman Estates 27-23
Playoff history: Palatine is making its second straight trip and 14th overall and last year's 44-0 win over Lane Tech was its eighth straight in the first round. Fremd is making a Mid-Suburban League record 14th straight trip and 19th overall and has made the 8A quarterfinals the last two years.
Outlook: Not a lot of unknowns or gray areas in the 42nd meeting all-time - including Palatine's 28-21 win three weeks ago - and first in the postseason between rivals who shared the Mid-Suburban West title. "We know what they are physically and what they are speed-wise," said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci, who is tied with Conant's Dave Pendergast for career wins at an MSL school with 115. "They're still a ton." The Vikings felt like they had been hit by a ton last time as Palatine scored all of its points in the first 15 minutes behind QB Matt Rossi (2,031 yards, 16 TDs) and a deep crew of weapons in WR Jose Munoz, WR-RB Jamie Silveira, RB Jack Hansen and WR-RB Cody Bobbit, who will play after suffering a mild concussion last week. The Fremd defense led by LB Jonathan Diegel and DE Ben Perna will try to pick up where it left off last time. "That game could have gone either way, I'm sure both of us will admit that," said Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly. "It will be quite an environment to play in, but both of us have been in big games before and executed well. I don't see anything different." The big thing Fremd hopes to eliminate are the turnovers that led to the first two scores and three second-half red zone trips that resulted in nothing capped by Joe Pelnar's stop on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 1:11 left. Mike Tauchman (1,373 yards passing, 9 TDs; 578 rushing, 6 TDs), WR Andrew Corso (49 catches, 795 yards, 4 TDs), RB Mike Gyetvay (771 yards, 8 TDs) and the line anchored by junior Christian Lombard will try to make those chances pay off this time. "It will be wild," Donatucci said. "I don't think there will be too many high school games with more excitement around than this one."
Advancement: Fremd would be on the road and Palatine would be at home in the second round against the winner of No. 16 Notre Dame at No. 1 Bartlett.
No. 13 Schaumburg (5-4) at No. 4 Glenbrook South (8-1)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday at John Davis Stadium
Last week: Schaumburg lost to Palatine 31-10; Glenbrook South d. New Trier 28-13
Playoff history: Schaumburg is making its 11th trip and second in three years. Its last win was in the 1999 6A semifinals over Lincoln-Way. Glenbrook South has won three straight first-round games and is making its 16th trip.
Outlook: It's not often a guy who never touches the ball would be regarded as a team's best offensive player. But Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling sees Virginia-bound T Sean Cascarano (6-6, 270) as the guy who makes the high-powered Titans go. "He's every bit as good as any lineman we've seen in the MSL," Stilling said. "He's an absolute stud." Glenbrook South coach Mike Noll isn't about to disagree and has a near-similar feeling about Schaumburg QB Anthony Iannotti (2,001 yards passing, 20 TDs, 3 INT; 519 rushing, 4 TDs). "(Maine South's Charlie) Goro is obviously in a class by himself but he's the next guy," Noll said. "We haven't seen anybody better than this kid." Iannotti, WR Josh Spandiary (62 catches, 748 yards, 9 TDs) and RB Shepard Little (1,169 yards, 13 TDs) face a defense where the entire secondary anchored by S Kyle Brubaker returns. "Our back seven is as good as we've had since I've been here," Noll said. Glenbrook South suffered a tough loss last week when RB Michael Schroeder broke his leg. Ryan Hopkins has completed 66 percent of his passes and has formed a nice duo with Trent Monckton and FB Michael Hirsch (975 yards) provides balance in the wing-T to test Schaumburg's defense anchored by Alex Coglianese. "It's a little old school," Stilling said. "The play-action pass is a big part of what they do and Hopkins is very accurate and doesn't make a lot of mistakes." Glenbrook South's only loss was 30-27 on a last-second field goal as Maine South overcame a 19-7 deficit. Schaumburg lost its opener to the Hawks 52-20.
Advancement: The winner would host No. 5 Warren or travel to face No. 12 York in the second round.
No. 11 St. Patrick (6-3) at No. 6 Barrington (7-2)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday at Barrington Community Stadium
Last week: St. Patrick d. Benet 20-0; Barrington d. Conant 33-7
Playoff history: St. Patrick is making its 11th trip and first since 2005 and reached the second round in 2004. Barrington is making its 16th trip and missed the postseason last year after five straight berths.
Outlook: Barrington coach Joe Sanchez joked "it's nice to see a team that huddles again." And St. Patrick hopes to be in the huddle as long and as often as it can to keep the Broncos' high-powered offense led by RB Sam Ojuri (1,018 yards, 18 TDs), QB Cody Seeger (1,341 yards passing, 11 TDs) and Division I OL prospect Gus Handler on the sideline. "They've got some dangerous people over there," said St. Patrick coach Dan Galante. "Ojuri is a heck of a player and the other thing we probably haven't seen is (Seeger) is a heck of a runner, too." The Shamrocks have thrived in close games with half of their wins by 6 points or less and their defense led by All-East Suburban Catholic picks in LB Adam Nitsche (6-0, 210), LB Mike Labek (5-9, 190), DL Doug Key (6-0, 292) and DB Conor Joyce has 2 shutouts. They are used to seeing spread offenses but not with this many formations. "They have a lot of speed so we have to make sure we're on top of our game," Galante said. St. Patrick switched to the triple option this year led by Nitsche (470 yards, 8 TDs), who Galante said would have much better numbers if he wasn't doing double-duty, and dual-threat QB Dan DiCanio. "I think what they do matches up well with what we do," Sanchez said of the 3-5-3 bolstered by last week's return of Central Michigan-bound LB Alex Smith from a week off with a leg injury. "Playing an option team the biggest thing is being disciplined and assignment sound. The greatest challenge for us is we haven't seen a team like that (this year)." Barrington also hopes to keep getting points and field position from K-P Ryan Murach.
Advancement: Barrington would be on the road and St. Patrick would host a second-round game with the winner of No. 14 New Trier at No. 3 Lane Tech.
CLASS 7A
No. 9 Rockton Hononegah (7-2) at No. 8 Prospect (7-2)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday at George Gattas Stadium
Last week: Hononegah d. Belvidere North 27-21; Prospect d. Elk Grove 34-6
Playoff history: Hononegah is making its 20th trip and third since 2005 but lost 14-10 to Rockford Guilford in the first round last year. Prospect is making its 11th trip with three 7A titles since 2001 and lost 14-7 at Rockford Boylan in the first round last year.
Outlook: It will be a different look for Prospect as Hononegah is going with a traditional Rockford-area staple of wing-T on offense. "We've got to break them somewhere and get their offense on their heels a little bit," said Prospect coach Brent Pearlman. "Our defense has to rise to the challenge because we don't see much of that. We didn't see teams trying to slam it down your throat." Leading the way for Hononegah, which finished third in the NIC-10 behind Boylan and Machesney Park Harlem, is 6-3, 215-pound senior FB Brett McWilliams (945 yards, 9 TDs). Sophomore Chase Robinson (407 yards passing, 3 TDs) stepped in at midseason at QB because of injury. "They've got speed and they're a little bigger than what we've seen," Pearlman said. "Our defense did some good things against Elk Grove. We keep growing and I just hope we grow up fast enough." But even though more NIC-10 teams are going to the spread has Hononegah seen anyone like Prospect junior QB Miles Osei (1,989 yards passing, 18 TDs, 1 INT; 1,007 rushing, 17 TDs) and his array of weapons in Peter Bonahoom (25 catches, 637 yards, 5 TDs), Austin Sobey and Mike Przespolewski against Hononegah's 3-5-3. "It's unbelievable," Pearlman said of Osei's numbers. "I'm sure they've seen their share of throwing teams."
Advancement: Prospect would be on the road and Hononegah would host a second-round game with the winner of No. 16 Meadows at No. 1 Geneva.
No. 13 Wheeling (6-3) at No. 4 Carmel (8-1)
When: 7 p.m. today at Baker Stadium
Last week: Wheeling d. Hersey 27-0; Carmel d. Nazareth 35-3
Playoff history: Wheeling is making consecutive trips for the first time after losing 30-15 at Lake Zurich in last year's first round. This is its sixth berth and its only win was over Hersey in 1994. Carmel is making its ninth straight trip and 15th overall and lost to Lake Zurich in last year's 7A semifinals.
Outlook: After being spread out all year long Wheeling's 3-5-3 defense led by Mike Barton and Mike Zimmer will see a much different look in Carmel's vaunted triple option. "They try to get their pound of flesh with 3-4-5 yards at a crack and break a big one," said Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar. "We have to be aggressive and try to get on the other side of the line of scrimmage as soon as possible." Mike Taylor (1,093 yards, 13 TDs) and QB Andrew Nerup (636 yards, 10 TDs) lead the running game behind a big line that includes Arizona-bound TE Jack Baucus (6-6, 246), but Nerup keeps defenses honest with 10 of his 17 completions going for TDs. "When they throw the ball they're throwing the ball deep on you," Dunbar said. "But the first thing you've got to do is stop the run." Carmel goes with a 5-man defensive front as Wheeling will look to get big plays from multithreat QB Matt Holmes (994 yards passing, 14 TDs; 534 rushing, 11 TDs) and WR James Kurtz (42 catches, 638 yards, 8 TDs). The Wildcats also don't figure to be caught up in all the postseason hoopla. "A year ago we weren't quite sure what we were getting into and how it was going to play out," Dunbar said. "These guys have been through it before and understand about preparing hard and taking it one play at a time and seeing what happens." Wheeling did lose starting SS Tony Brzezniak to a separated shoulder and he'll be replaced by Tony Peak.
Advancement: The winner would host No. 5 Machesney Park Harlem or visit No. 12 Woodstock in the second round.
No. 16 Rolling Meadows (5-4) at No. 1 Geneva (9-0)
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Last week: Meadows d. Buffalo Grove 22-17; Geneva d. Batavia 47-14
Playoff history: Meadows is making its sixth straight trip - the third-best streak in Mid-Suburban League history - and 10th overall. It lost to Lake Zurich 10-7 in the 7A second round last year. Geneva is making its fifth straight trip and 11th overall and made the quarterfinals last year.
Outlook: Meadows is in territory similar to its 7A semifinal run in 2004 - getting in with 3 straight do-or-die wins and heading west for its playoff opener. "Of course you're not 9-0 without a reason, but I really like our matchup," said Meadows coach Doug Millsaps. "We know it's going to be physical and it's someone new, which we really enjoy." But will the Mustangs defense bolstered by having junior linemen Erick Louis-Charles and Jordan Farnum at 100 percent enjoy tackling the challenge of Geneva RB Michael Ratay (1,948 yards, 32 TDs)? "You can't even tell he's in the mud," Millsaps said. "He gets a little crease in the power play and gets through it and makes people miss. He is a really nice running back." Geneva FB Drew Fagot (393 yards, 4 TDs) and QB Brandon Beitzel (710 yards, 6 TDs, 9 INTs) will try to keep Meadows honest. On the other side, Millsaps said Geneva "looks like a college defense" with its size led by LB Brennan Quinn, DL Andrew Clausen and DB Sean Grady. Meadows junior QB Jimmy Garoppolo (1,091 yards passing, 8 TDs; 584 rushing, 5 TDs) will look for two-way threats Mick Viken (30 catches, 514 yards, 4 TDs) and Steve Orchell (29 for 426, 3 TDs). "Jimmy is taking care of the football and the game plan is coming together," Millsaps said. "I'm really proud of his progress and what he's done." Geneva just finished its second straight perfect regular season while Meadows was a deceptive 5-4 with losses where it held fourth-quarter leads against Barrington, Fremd and Wheeling. "Every team is good now and we just have to go out and play football," said Geneva coach Rob Wicinski. "We're more concerned with what we do, and focus on ourselves, than anything else."
Advancement: The winner hosts No. 8 Prospect or visits No. 9 Hononegah in the second round.