Vernon Hills' feeling: TGIF

Finally. A Friday night football game.

For Vernon Hills, it's been a rarity this season.

The Cougars, who visit Antioch tonight (7:30 p.m.), have been out of their routine ever since the second week of the season.

Back on Sept. 4, they lost to visiting South Elgin. From there through last Saturday, they played only two games over 22 days and none of them were on their usual Friday night.

"It's been really difficult to find an offensive rhythm, to get a routine going," Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken says.

The goofiness in the schedule started when the Cougars earned a 2-0 Week 3 forfeiture win over North Chicago because North Chicago was forced to serve a one-game suspension for its role in a bench-clearing brawl against Simeon the week before.

Although an automatic win seems great on paper, Monken says that his team missed out on the chance to develop and grow while playing at game speed, something that is difficult to replicate in practice.

Then it was on to a Week 4 showdown against Lakes, which was played on a Thursday night because of the Rosh Hashanah holiday. Add in last week's game to Round Lake, which was played on a Saturday, and the phrase "Friday Night Lights" has had little meaning to the Cougars this season.

"You hate to have a Thursday then a Saturday anyway because it really throws you off. But to also have had what was basically a bye week before that-it's been a really strange season," Monken said. "We've never had anything like this before."

And yet, the Cougars seem to be faring just fine.

The only game Vernon Hills has lost this season was that game to South Elgin. Heading into the Antioch game, they are 4-1 and sit in first place in the North Suburban Prairie Division with a 3-0 record.

"You can't let circumstances change what you do from day-to-day," Monken said. "We've just tried to keep the kids focused by having a little fun in practice."

On the fly: Perhaps the least likely player to take Vernon Hills' crazy schedule in stride is quarterback Steve Nelson. He's just a sophomore.

But last week against Round Lake, Nelson completed 6-of-7 passes for 147 yards, and three of his passes went for touchdowns (of 48, 67 and 10 yards).

"When you lose a game on your schedule (because of North Chicago's forfeiture), that's tough when you have a young quarterback," Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said. "But Steve has been making a lot of progress. Round Lake was trying to do everything they could to take away the run and Steve did a nice job of stepping in there when we needed to pass the ball."

Sugar high: Known as "Coach Bitto" for years, Carmel head coach Andy Bitto might soon take on a new moniker.

"Candy Man."

Last week against Marian Catholic, Carmel fell behind 17-0 and had to scratch and claw to force an overtime that eventually resulted in a loss.

Earlier this season, in a Week 1 loss to Joliet Catholic, the Corsairs also got off to a slow start.

"This is a different kind of team," Bitto said. "I have to expend a lot of energy on motivating. We have some very talented kids and I think they're used to just walking on the field and winning. That's what they were able to do on the lower levels. But there are too many good teams and good coaches on the varsity level in this league that if you don't bring it every game, you're going to get handed your lunch."

So Bitto wants to give his team a sweet snack.

This week, he started tying certain drills and tasks at practice to a candy reward.

"We've broken the guys into groups by position and whatever group plays the best or wins a race or does the best at a drill gets a candy bar," Bitto said. "We're thinking about bringing out Ben and Jerry's ice cream, too. Practice is a competition again."

And, after all, a competition is what the Corsairs are preparing themselves for.

"It's the old adage, you play the way you practice," Bitto said. "Football is a game of a lot of emotion and you can't just turn it on when you want. You've got to be doing it all week in practice. The candy is a good incentive for the kids. It makes them practice hard and it makes practice fun."

Bitto said that so far, the offensive linemen have been the biggest winners. They were rewarded with Snickers bars earlier this week.

Big guy back: Having committed to Illinois State during the summer, Wauconda senior Bradon Prate was supposed to give the Bulldogs an intimidating presence on the line.

But for nearly the entire season, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound lineman has been a presence only on the sideline. In Wauconda's Week 2 win over Orr, Prate sprained his knee and has been out ever since.

"You just miss everything about a guy like that," Wauconda coach Dave Mills said. "You miss his talent, his leadership, everything. We've also had a few guys playing out of position to cover for him and that's been hard, too."

The good news is, Prate is likely to get clearance to return for next week's game against Vernon Hills.

"Having him back is going to make such a difference," Mills said. "There's a reason he was offered a scholarship. The kid is so athletic and he's very strong. Some of it is natural but a lot of it is because he works so hard in the weight room. He's a man out there on the field."

Pleasant surprise: There was a silver lining in Antioch's loss to Grant last week.

Junior running back Josh Guadarrama rolled up the yardage for the Sequoits, a career-high 146 yards on 19 carries.

That news managed to put a smile on Guadarrama's face?

"Really? 146 yards?" Guadarrama said right after the game. "Cool."

Guadarrama immediately gave credit to his offensive linemen, as well as his inner drive to be a contributor that could help fill the void left by the graduation of Cameron White, a standout running back who was the Daily Herald Lake County Player of the Year in 2008.

"Last year, I just saw how good Cameron White was and I wanted to get that spot," Guadarrama said. "I had to fight really hard to get it. I just work hard at practice and do my best, 110 percent every time."

Daddy's girls: Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz has an extra full plate this season.

Not only is he busy with all of his usual football and school responsibilities, he's also juggling an even more hectic home life.

Stortz's wife Jamie gave birth to their second daughter on September 9. Baby Alexis joins big sister Avery, who is nearly 3 years old.

"Probably not the best planning on our part with the football season," Stortz joked. "But it's been great. She's doing very well."

In fact, Stortz said that little Alexis should be out at her first Bears football game soon. After all, that's just what Stortz girls do.

"Avery goes to every game," Stortz said. "If it's not too cold, we'll get Alexis there, too."