Scouting North Chicago at Lakes

North Chicago (0-3, 0-0) at Lakes (2-1, 0-1)

When: 7 p.m., today

Last week: North Chicago lost to Lake Zurich, 36-0; Lakes lost to Vernon Hills, 47-0.

Outlook: The worst loss in Lakes football history, last week's 47-0 thrashing by Vernon Hills, came out of nowhere. "We didn't see that coming. At all," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. "It was disappointing. It was embarrassing. I was expecting us to play the way we've taught our players. But it was players not doing what they're supposed to do, it was coaches not doing what they are supposed to do. The biggest thing we preach is to play hard at all times and last week we didn't have that. Honestly, that was much more embarrassing than the score. We're excited to have a short week because it's hard to sit with what happened. It's not easy to live with." - After two straight wins to start the season, the Eagles were dominated by Vernon Hills in every way last week. They had 83 total yards of offense and had given up 32 points by halftime. "Defensively, we let them run up and down the field and our offense was pathetic," Mertens said. "And our defense was on the field almost the entire first half. I'm sure North Chicago is pretty excited to play us. We've got a lot to fix." - The Eagles won't even have one of their best players as they try to right the ship. Running back James Zell was hurt in the Vernon Hills game when someone rolled over his leg. He left the game with a knee injury and is awaiting MRI results that will determine how much more time he'll miss. "He is a huge threat for us," said Mertens, who noted that Zell was averaging 9.7 yards per game. "He's a senior and he's worked so hard. It's beyond unfair that this happened to him." - North Chicago struggled to get anything going offensively last week against Lake Zurich. Quarterback Abel Williams had minus-20 yards rushing and completed just 1-of-7 passes for 11 yards. He also threw 2 interceptions.