Early look at MSL playoff matchups

The pairings are out and the preparation begins. Here's a chance for you to get a jump on preparing for the Mid-Suburban League's first-round football playoff games.

Class 7A

Schaumburg (7-2) at Elk Grove (7-2)

A rematch of one of the MSL's most exciting games of the year when Elk Grove won 36-34 at Schaumburg in a Week 4 crossover.

"We have to find a way to beat them again," said Elk Grove coach Brian Doll. "With Shepard (Little) and Mark (Iannotti), I'm sure we'll see some new stuff. We feel the same way and have some stuff we haven't shown yet."

Schaumburg was the state's top-ranked Class 8A team Associated Press going into the first meeting.

Meyer was 21-for-32 passing for 227 yards and touchdowns to Kyle Pass, Joey Bishoff and Eddie Solorio. He rushed for 141 yards and his 16-yard score made it 36-28.

Iannotti was 14-for-18 passing for 196 yards and touchdowns to Kyle Lamberty, Little, Mike Mallett and Tim Schwarz. The latter, a 40-yarder, got the Saxons within 2 points.

But Shepard Little, who rushed for 132 yards but saw limited action in the second half with a hip injury, was stopped short on a 2-point conversion try by Jimmy Sanders, John Eliades and Dejan Basara.

"It feels like five years ago and not five weeks ago," said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling, whose team won a share of the MSL West title. "We're excited about it."

Elk Grove's two losses were in overtime and Schaumburg's two losses were by 2 points apiece.

Meyer has thrown for 2,115 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushed for 865 yards and 18 TDs. His top targets have been Joey Bishoff (48 catches, 629 yards, 4 TDs), who is also a standout linebacker, Eddie Solorio (38 for 503, 6 TDs), Mike Wary (31 for 478, 6 TDs) and Eddie Stahl (30 for 351).

Iannotti hit all 12 of his passes in Friday's win over Hoffman Estates and is 112-for-158 for 1,184 yards with 10 TDs and 2 INTs. He has also rushed for 695 yards and 8 TDs.

Little has rushed for 1,579 yards and 19 TDs and caught 21 passes for 286 yards. Senior defensive tackle Joe Zolper and senior safeties Bob Quilico and Johnny Kirk lead the defense.

Rockford Guilford (6-3) at Prospect (8-1): Guilford makes its seventh straight playoff trip under Mel Gilfillan but its only win was 14-10 over NIC-10 rival Rockton Hononegah in 2007. It lost 28-0 to Glenbard West and 47-0 to Cary-Grove the last two years and 19-13 to Rolling Meadows in 2006.

The Vikings finished fourth in the NIC-10 with their losses to Boylan, Hononegah and Machesney Park Harlem. They're small but 5-foot-5, 160-pound junior Dontrell Chance has been timed at 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash and has rushed for 899 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Gary Ford, a 5-7 junior, has rushed for 592 yards and 10 TDs and quarterback Cody Bell has rushed for 350 yards. But he had only completed 13-of-43 passes for 310 yards with 6 interceptions and 1 touchdowns going into Week 9.

"We've seen a conference of five receivers and four receivers with quarterbacks who can run," said Prospect coach Brent Pearlman. "As far the matchup goes it's probably pretty good for us. When teams have tried to run it on us our kids have done a pretty good job.

"I've heard Guilford is physical and they get out and hit you. I think in the first round you want to get out and have a (good) game."

Prospect quarterback Steve Dazzo has rushed for 1,296 yards and 19 TDs and thrown for 1,000 yards and 9 TDs.

Peter Bonahoom saw limited action in the Week 8 overtime win over Elk Grove but returned Friday to rush for 99 yards. Bonahoom has rushed for 843 yards and 8 TDs and has 6 interceptions.

Sam Frasco has 21 catches for 316 yards. Linebacker-running back Grant DePalma, Anthony Babicz and Dan Panicko have been two-way standouts and Ryan Ward has also been a key factor in an improved defense.

Pearlman said he expected offensive lineman Payton Eckert to play after he missed Friday's regular-season finale with a broken hand.

Class 8A

Glenbrook South (5-4) at Barrington (7-2): Both teams come into the matchup with consecutive losses. Glenbrook South lost 55-16 to Maine South in Week 8 but Friday night's 34-31 loss to Evanston saw a stunning turnaround as the Titans led 31-0 late in the third quarter.

Glenbrook South is making its fifth straight playoff trip under Mike Noll, who also turned McHenry into a perennial playoff qualifier. The Titans lost their first two games but outscored teams 222-21 in their five-game winning streak.

"They're a physical football team and they want to run the ball," said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez. "Everything they do is off play-action. It's like taking an opponent from our conference."

Josh Strickland rushed for 258 yards and 2 TDs on 28 carries against Evanston.

Barrington lost its second straight game 21-10 to Palatine on Friday as junior Chase Murdock (1,010 yards, 11 TDs) left the game with a hip injury.

"We think he'll be OK," Sanchez said of Murdock, who also missed two games with a foot injury. "We still want to see how the next couple of days go.

"He got hit on one side and hit by another guy and it kind of torqued. He tried to get back in but it was too painful."

Matt LeMire has thrown for 1,106 yards with 10 TDs and 8 interceptions and Zach Dulla has caught 29 passes for 516 yards and 6 TDs. Ben LeCompte has been a big factor with his kicking, punting and play in the secondary.

"Our defense played outstanding (Friday)," Sanchez said. "We did everything we wanted to except get in the end zone. We got to the (Palatine) 6 and 11 and got 3 points out of it.

"We can't do that. We can't miss those opportunities."

Fremd (5-4) at Evanston (6-3): Late surges pushed both teams in the playoffs as Fremd makes its 16th straight trip and Evanston makes its first since 2003.

Evanston's three-game winnin streak includes Friday's stunning comeback from a 31-point third-quarter deficit to beat Glenbrook South 34-31.

James Brown returned from missing two games with a foot injury to catch 4 passes for 69 yards with 2 TDs in the final minute of the third quarter. Senior running back Rendell Massie rushed for 172 of his 206 yards in the second half and his third TD capped the comeback with 1:11 left. Quarterback Byron Dawkins was only 7-for-19 passing but had 103 yards and 2 TDs.

Fremd running back-defensive end Justin Wallace has 1,102 yards and 10 TDs behind the offensive line led by Ohio State-bound center Brian Bobek and Northwestern-bound tight end Jack Konopka.

Freshman quarterback Sam Beutler took over as the starter at midseason and has thrown for 599 yards and 6 TDs with no interceptions. Jeff Diegel had 24 catches for 366 yards and 4 TDs.

"In three of our four losses, if you take out a couple of plays or a couple of mistakes we would have been in those games," Wallace said. "We weren't executing when we needed to but we had to get it done and we're good to go.

"Our offensive line has been pounding them. They're doing an amazing job out there."

Palatine (5-4) at Glenbard North (8-1): Palatine stopped Barrington to make its fourth straight playoff berth. Glenbard North finished second in 8A in 2007 and lost in the semifinals last year to Marist.

"They're very physical and very tough kids," said Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly. "It will be a good challenge for us."

Quarterback Mark Ng and linebacker-running back Evan Natick have led the way for the Panthers, who started 7-0 before losing 49-6 to 7A powerhouse Wheaton Warrenville South.

Palatine quarterback Cody Bobbit has thrown for 1,706 yards with 15 TDs and 4 interceptions and rushed for 445 yards and 7 TDs. Senior running back-linebacker Jim Smearman (721 yards, 11 TDs) had only 12 yards on 3 carries Friday after sitting out the week before with leg and hand injuries.

Bobbit's top targets are Dan Haze (34 for 457), Jesse Bobbit (30 for 369, 3 TDs) and Nick McHugh (19 for 270, 3 TDs), who missed half the season because of injury.