Scouting Warren at Stevenson

Warren (1-1) at Stevenson (2-0)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Warren def. Highland Park, 21-20 (OT); Stevenson def. Glenbrook South, 42-20.

Outlook: Stevenson may have a new coach in Bill McNamara, who replaced retired Bill Mitz after 28 years. But Warren coach Dave Mohapp says that the Patriots are essentially the same old Patriots. And that's not good news for the rest of the North Suburban Conference. "You can say that this is a transition year for Stevenson with a new coach and everything," Mohapp said. "But from what I've seen, this is a very similar team to most Stevenson teams in the past. You may see little changes here and there, but you still see those traditional Stevenson formations and it's still a really good team all the way around." In one way, Mohapp says this batch of Patriots may actually be the best he's ever seen. "They're very fast," Mohapp said. "Faster than in most years maybe. They score fast, the defense is a fast bunch of headhunters. This is a real quality team that already is hitting on all cylinders."-Senior running back Joe Cassata showed some quick footwork for Stevenson in last week's victory over Glenbrook South. Cassata ran for 4 touchdowns and 266 yards (on 16 carries) and also scored another touchdown on a pass (14 yards from quarterback Kevin Earl). Junior Nathan Kahn also rolled up 81 rushing yards as the Patriots ran for a total of 330 yards. "Our backfield has really stepped up," McNamara said. "And our offensive line has stepped up, too. Offensively, we're moving the ball pretty well and executing. We're getting a tremendous amount of balance. We're not playing perfect, but I think we've come together nicely."-The Blue Devils are also getting on the same page after a season-opening loss to New Trier. Warren dug deep to fend off the Giants last week in overtime. A blocked extra point was the difference, and junior quarterback Bob Boesch scored the game-winning touchdown on a 5-yard run while kicker Chris Bordwine made his extra point. Senior running back Nolan Sordyl also made a difference for the Blue Devils. He had 144 yards on 17 carries. "It was good to see the character of our team right there," Mohapp said. "It was nice to have that test and we're happy we got out of that with a win. We made a lot of improvement from Week 1 to Week 2."