Scouting Stevenson at Libertyville

Stevenson (7-0, 5-0) at Libertyville (3-4, 2-2)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: Stevenson def. Zion-Benton, 45-7; Libertyville def. Round Lake, 44-7.

Skinny: As if the Stevenson-Libertyville annual uber-rivalry game needed any more electricity. Now this. Libertyville will be supercharged against the Patriots as it fights for its playoff life. The Wildcats are one loss away from being eliminated from the playoffs for the second straight season. A win against Stevenson and then a win in Week 9 at Warren would give Libertyville the minimum five wins for playoff consideration. But with a boatload of playoff points (Libertyville has a North Suburban Lake Division best 37 points already), the Wildcats should make the cut easily on points. "We'd be one of the highest-rated 5-4 teams in the state," Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski said. "That's our dream. We have to put everything on the line to get there. We've got two tough games in front of us, but we're playing with a lot of confidence right now. We know that Stevenson is the favorite going in, but what I'm telling our guys is that the favored team hasn't always won this game. A lot of crazy things have happened in this series."-Kuceyeski pointed to the 1993 game between Stevenson and Libertyville. Both teams featured high-powered offenses that were each averaging more than 35 points per game. Libertyville ended up winning that game 6-0 in overtime-To log another win over Stevenson, the Libertyville offense is going to need to keep clicking on all cylinders, and them some. The Wildcats, who are averaging 35.3 points per game, were super effective last week against Round Lake, rolling up 402 yards. Quarterback AJ Schurr threw for a school-record 5 touchdowns. The problem for Libertyville has been preventing the other side of the scoreboard from catching fire. The Wildcat defense is giving up 33.9 points per game, third most in the North Suburban Lake Division. And Libertyville won't catch a break from Stevenson. The Patriots score more points than any other team in the Lake Division (37.1 ppg). "It's kind of pick your poison with Stevenson," Kuceyeski said. "They've got a great rushing attack and a great passer (Kevin Earl). Their defense is also very good. They've just got the complete package. We're going to have to play close to perfect to compete."-The Patriots are coming off a dominant performance against Zion-Benton. Wide receiver Stephen Salata continued his red-hot season by catching 2 touchdown passes from Earl. Meanwhile, Christopher Fisher rushed for 2 touchdowns and Anthony Bozin added a kickoff return for a touchdown for good measure.