Scouting St. Francis at Marian Central

Suburban Christian Conference Blue

St. Francis (5-1, 1-1) at Marian Central (4-2, 2-1)

Game time 7 p.m. today.

Last year St. Francis 13, Marian Central 7.

Last week St. Francis 54, Hales Franciscan 0; Marian Central 20, Montini 14 (OT).

Outlook These two powers both have lost to 3-0 Marmion in the SCC Blue but want to be in position should Montini beat Marmion in Week 9. More important is just honing what they do. The defending Class 5A champion Spartans are rolling since their Week 3 loss to Marmion with three straight games scoring at least 51 points. Running behind an experienced offensive line the Wing-T has produced five players - Colin Marshall, Tony Vargyas, Collin O'Donnell, Mark Schmitt and Bob Miller - with at least 152 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. A key is the development of junior quarterback O'Donnell, who doesn't pass much but completes 58 percent when he does. Defensively, leading tackler Marshall (25 solo, 10 assists) and lineman Vince Perry go up against a solid Marian offensive line, averaging about 230 pounds, to get backs Corey Cavitt and Jared Koch, quarterback Ben Krol. Ball control has served coach Ed Brucker's Hurricanes well in two straight wins over Immaculate Conception and Montini. "I think we have to be able to shut their run offense down and force them to throw," said Spartans coach Greg Purnell.

Next St. Francis at Aurora Christian; Marian Central at St. Edward.