Scouting Crystal Lake South at Grayslake Central
Crystal Lake South (2-0) at Grayslake Central (2-0)
When: 7:15 p.m. Friday
Last year: Crystal Lake South 35, Grayslake Central 0
Last week: Crystal Lake South 10, Bartlett 9; Grayslake Central 35, Woodstock North 0;
Outlook: The Gators enter this game ranked No. 6 in Class 7A. They're aiming for a 3-0 start for the second year in a row in a tough Fox Valley Conference crossover test on the road. The Gators have had their way with the Rams since Grayslake joined the FVC in 1997, winning 11 of 12 matchups including the last 9 in a row. The Rams have gotten off to a good start, outscoring Johnsburg and Woodstock North by a combined score of 71-20. Grayslake Central has rolled up 933 total yards of offense in its first two games, 780 of those yards via the run. Junior running back Joey Valdivia is on pace to eclipse his total of nearly 800 yards as a sophomore after rushing 29 times in 2 games for 394 yards and 5 touchdowns. Senior Vinnie Culhane has carried 23 times for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns. Track sprinter Jahard Nelson notched a 76-yard run last week en route to a 109-yard night. "They're good. I'm real impressed with them on film," Gators coach Chuck Ahsmann said. "They're fast and their backs are very good." CL South boasts a tough runner of its own in senior Bolek Mikulec, a physical ball carrier. Mikulec has rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries last week against a solid Bartlett defense. In Week 1, he scored 2 touchdowns and ran for 109 yards on 19 carries. "I'm an old Bears fan and I remember Walter Payton well," Ahsmann said. "Bolek doesn't have Walter's moves, but he lowers his shoulder and punishes tacklers the same way." CL South's defense is performing at a high level, limiting its two opponents thus far to a total of 21 points and an average of 215.5 yards per game. Ahsmann credited the emergence of junior inside linebacker Reese Dziedzic and sophomore safety Brendan Chrystal as key reasons. "Those two young guys have really stepped up," he said.
Grayslake Central coach Nick Goshe says he's seen an offensive line like Crystal Lake South's before. On Saturdays. During college football games. "Those guys look more like Michigan State than a high school team," Goshe said. "They might even be bigger upfront than Michigan State. Their offensive line is gigantic. They're all like 6-foot-5, 300 pounds across and they've got (two to three) guys who are going Division I. I mean, it's an impressive group. It's a rarity to find that kind of size at the high school level." The Gators' offensive line is led by Jake Bernstein (6-foot-4, 279 pounds) and Fahn Cooper (6-foot-6, 300). Bernstein has already committed to Vanderbilt and Cooper is committed to Bowling Green. Phil Hespen (6-foot-4, 290) is considering South Dakota-Crystal Lake South's offense, which tries to strike a balance between the running of senior Bolek Mikulec and the passing of senior quarterback Drew Ormseth, will have to contend with a Grayslake Central defense that uses its quickness as a weapon. The Rams are giving up just 10 points per game and already have a shutout on the books. Meanwhile, offensively, Grayslake Central has been getting a lot of mileage out of its three-headed rushing monster that is comprised of Joey Valdivia, Vinnie Culhane and Jahard Nelson. Valdivia and Culhane ran for 128 yard and 123 yards respectively last week while Nelson had just 15 yards on 2 carries. But Goshe says that's simply because Woodstock North chose to pick its poison and key on Nelson, who had 109 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns the week before in the season opener against Johnsburg. "If you focus on one of our backs, the other two will have really good games," Goshe said. "We have three really good guys back there who have all shown different looks of what they can bring to the table. It's tough to stop all of them."