Scouting Larkin @ Elgin

Larkin (3-2, 0-1) at Elgin (1-4, 0-1)

When Today at 11:30 a.m. at Memorial Field

Last year Larkin 15, Elgin 6

Last week St. Charles North 20, Larkin 7; Lake Park 34, Elgin 6

Outlook The 48th varsity meeting between the Maroons and Royals will be competitive if the struggling Maroons can get their passing game going, which would open some room for Jordan Dean and the rest of Elgin's running backs to gain more running room. To that end, Elgin will switch quarterbacks this week, going with senior quarterback Ryan Parks in an effort to get more out of a passing attack that has gained only 348 yards in 5 games. Parks is also adept at running the option. "We have to mix it up and get some balance in the offense as far as throwing the ball," said Elgin coach Dave Bierman, who coached Larkin from 2005-07. "(Larkin) has a real good back (Jalen Williams) and we do too. But if you fill the box, it sometimes doesn't matter how good you are. You have to get people out of the box and you do that by throwing the ball, throwing it and running the option. We have to get more balance." Larkin outside linebacker Alex Wahl moves to middle linebacker this week in place of the injured Leandre Lee. The Larkin defense, led by safety Reid Ellis, defensive lineman Cody Schue and linebacker Garrett McDaniel, has held opponents to an average of 16.2 points per game. The Royals have won the last 7 meetings for the Town Jug trophy and 14 of the last 16 to take a 30-17 series lead. Nevertheless, Larkin is wary of an athletic Elgin team facing playoff elimination with a loss. "Elgin matches up very well with us and they have a lot of talent," Royals coach Matt Gehrig said. "They're deep at both tight ends and at running back. They also have two quarterbacks who are talented and bring slightly different attributes to the table with Ryan Parks being more the athletic-type option quarterback who can make something out of nothing and (Jake) Meyer, who is more of a classic pocket passer. Defensively, they bring a lot of different looks to the table, so they are going to challenge us to be sound in our scheme."