Scouting Lakes at Antioch

Lakes (5-1, 2-1) at Antioch (5-1, 3-1)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Lakes def. Round Lake, 28-14; Antioch def. North Chicago, 56-7.

Skinny: It's rivalry week for sister schools Antioch and Lakes. Lakes, which branched off from Antioch about five years ago, is looking to make it two in a row over the Sequoits after last year's 38-22 victory. "We're obviously very excited about this week. We are every year," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. "The fact that both teams are 5-1 adds to it. I think that says a lot about our district, our two schools and our communities. Last year it was kind of the same thing. Both teams had good records going into this game. It's a big game (for the rivalry), but it's also a big game because both teams are trying to get into the state playoffs."-Lakes is hopeful that a potential state playoff run will include exciting running back James Zell, who should see some action against Antioch. He's been out since the Eagles' Week 3 loss to Vernon Hills in which he hurt his knee. Even though second-string running back (Direll Clark) also got knocked out a couple weeks ago with an injury, Lakes has managed to go 3-0 since, thanks in part to the versatility of players like Michael Pfeiffer, a wide receiver who was shifted to running back and rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown last week-Mertens says that Zell would be a good counter to Antioch's multi-faceted rushing game, which most prominently features Vinnie Holm and Dan Arden. They rushed for 157 and 131 yards respectively last week. Sam Green has also had some big yardage games this season for the Sequoits. "Their offense is very productive and dynamic," Mertens said of Antioch. "They seem to have a stable of running backs and they never run out of them. And their quarterback (Tom Sears) is pretty good, too."-Last week against North Chicago, the Sequoits, who sit in second place in the North Suburban Prairie and average 42.5 points per game, passed for 3 touchdowns, all caught by Brett Prather-But North Chicago has one of the softest defenses in the Prairie. This week, the Sequoits' offense will get a much different test. After Vernon Hills, Lakes has the second-stingiest defense in the division, allowing 17.3 points per game.