Scouting: Lake Zurich @ Wheaton North

CLASS 7A QUARTERFINALS

No. 11 Lake Zurich (8-3) at No. 15 Wheaton North (7-4)

When: 7 p.m. today

Road to the quarterfinals: Lake Zurich defeated Rolling Meadows 16-6 in the first round and Crystal Lake South 30-28 in the second round; Wheaton North defeated Rockford Boylan 17-13 in the first round and Prospect 38-24 in the second round.

Skinny: Rarely do quarterfinal teams have current season game film on each other, but in this case they do. Lake Zurich and Wheaton North met up in a Week 2 nonconference game in which the Bears prevailed 35-9. That being said, the feel of the matchup this time will be much different, particularly on Wheaton North's end. The Falcons faced Lake Zurich with 6-foot-5 quarterback Taylor Graham, who will be playing at Ohio State next year. Graham later hurt his knee and has been sidelined ever since the midway point of the season. Taking over for Graham has been Reece Butler, a 5-foot-9 junior. "He's a very good quarterback and this whole situation (losing Graham) has almost made their team have to find ways to win instead of just relying on a kid like (Graham)," said Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz, who pointed out the big-play capability of wide receiver Richard Finley and the tough defense of safety Carson Rajcan. "They also do more in the running game because of (Butler's) abilities. That's why it's going to be a totally different game than it was in Week 2." So what was Lake Zurich's secret weapon in Week 2? Stortz says big plays, such as an unexpected reverse that gobbled up big yardage and set up a touchdown on the next play, a 99-yard kickoff return and a couple of interception on defense. "It was a game that was pretty tight for quite some time and the big plays we made opened it up," Stortz said. "But without a couple of plays like that, it would have been tight all the way to the end. That's why I don't think the score of that game is indicative of really what kind of game it was. A lot of things went our way that night. A couple plays go the other way, it's a much closer game that they could have possible won." Lake Zurich has been winning lately with a balanced rushing attack that includes the explosive Jacob Brinlee, a junior who had 75 yards and a touchdown last week, sophomore Mike Shield (53 yards, 1 touchdown) and senior Devian Ruiz (42 yards, 1 touchdown). The accurate foot of kicker Max Methling has also come in handy. He booted 3 field goals (36, 45 and 27 yards) last week, and the Bears needed all three. "We're really starting to play well as a team in all three phases, just like Wheaton North is," Stortz said. "It's no secret we wouldn't be here without our special teams. We had a big special teams game last week against Crystal Lake South."

Next: Winner advances to the semifinals and gets the winner of No. 12 St. Charles North at No. 1 Glenbard West.