Scouting Crystal Lake South @ Lake Zurich
Crystal Lake South (9-1) at Lake Zurich (7-3)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Last week: No. 3 Crystal Lake South def. No. 14 Glenbrook North, 35-0; No. 11 Lake Zurich def. No. 6 Rolling Meadows, 16-6.
Playoff experience: Lake Zurich is back in the second round of the playoffs for the third time in the last four years. The Bears are making their 13th playoff appearance, eighth straight and fourth in as many years under head coach Bryan Stortz. The 2007 Class 7A state champions suffered a 17-13 loss to St. Charles East in Round 1 of the state playoffs last year. ... Crystal Lake South is the playoffs for the 15th time and ninth straight year. The Gators reached the Class 7A semifinals last year, losing to Geneva, 25-21. They're seeking their fifth quarterfinal appearance since 2002.
Skinny: This is a battle of two playoff-tested programs, both of which can play defense with the best of them. And, both play the same defense - a 3-5 or stack. "They are aggressive," Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said. While Lake Zurich has allowed only 125 points (39 coming against undefeated Stevenson), Crystal Lake South has done even better than that. The Gators have surrendered just 55 points, 28 coming in a Week-8 loss to rival Cary-Grove. Their shutout of Glenbrook North last week was their school-record fifth of the season. The key for South will be stopping junior wingback Jacob Brinlee, who's had a breakout season with 1,420 rushing yards (nearly 11 per carry) and 21 touchdowns (18 rushing). Brinlee rushed for 229 yards in the Bears' playoff-opening win over Rolling Meadows. Fullback Devian Ruiz (468 rushing yards, 9 TDs) also has had a good year running the ball. "(Brinlee) has run for a lot of yards against a lot of people," Gators coach Jim Stuglis said. "He's definitely the best back we've seen this year. He's legit, no doubt about it. He's broken some long runs for touchdowns, he returns kicks, he returns punts. Against Meadows they only had 240 yards of offense and he had 220 of it, so he's it. They sweep it to him all day long and take it to the edge. Cary-Grove got the edge on us, so that's something we're a little concerned about being able to stop." ... Crystal Lake South has it own potent offensive weapons, including junior quarterback Drew Ormseth (5-10, 165), senior running back Kameron Scott (5-10, 215) and senior wide receiver Alec Giles (5-10, 155). Ormseth has throw for 938 yards and 12 touchdowns (only 4 interceptions) and can also run, Scott has rushed for 609 yards and 12 TDs, and Giles has caught 25 passes (18 yards per catch) with 6 touchdowns. "They key to beating them," Stortz said, "is to stop their run game, keep our offense on the field and win the field-position battle." ... Crystal Lake South practiced Thursday on Barrington's artificial turf to get acclimated to LZ's surface. "We just wanted to do it one day to get our footing," Stuglis said. The Gators played on turf at Bartlett in Week 2 and won 40-0. "We seemed to like it there so, hopefully, we'll get the same result," Stuglis said. And the key for the Gators against the Bears? "We have to eliminate the big play on their side and we need to control the ball," Stuglis said. "We have to score the way we have all year, moving the ball 7 or 8 yards a crack, getting long drives going and punching it in the end zone when we have the opportunity."
Up next: Winner gets the winner of No. 15 Wheaton North at No. 10 Prospect.