Scouting Crystal Lake Central at Grayslake North

Crystal Lake Central (2-2, 0-1) at Grayslake North (3-1, 1-1)

When: 7:15 p.m., today

Last week: Crystal Lake Central def. McHenry, 42-21; Grayslake North def. Dundee-Crown, 28-14.

Skinny: At 3-1, Grayslake North is already off to the best start in school history. But the Knights are determined not to stop there. They want a playoff spot. "It's nice to have three wins after four weeks because that puts us in a really nice position (to make a legitimate run at the postseason)," Grayslake North coach Steve Wood said. "We've just got to keep it going." - But first, the Knights will have to shift gears. They've been matched up against a lot of strong passing teams so far this season and are now presented with the task of stopping a Crystal Lake Central team that loves to run, run and run some more. "I'm not too worried about changing focus like that," Wood said. "At the beginning of the year, I felt like our defense against the run was our strength and we've come out and defended the pass pretty well. I'm hoping that we'll be just as tough, if not tougher, against the run now."- Gage Harrah is the focal point of Crystal Lake Central's offense. In the Tigers' upset of defending Class 6A state champion Cary-Grove on Opening Night, Harrah rolled up 182 yards on 29 carries. He also scored 5 touchdowns. "This kid is also a two-time state place winner in wrestling," Wood said of Harrah. "He's big and powerful at 220 pounds, but he's also quick. We're going to have to gang tackle him and also remember to stay really low on him. We're just going to have to be very physical." - Offensively, the Knights are looking to continue to get the ball in the hands of running back David Collins. Just a sophomore, Collins already has more than 500 rushing yards. Last week against Dundee-Crown, he rushed for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile, another sophomore, quarterback A.J. Fish, has also been remarkably steady and reliable for Grayslake North.