Scouting Waubonsie at Homewood-Flossmoor

No. 5 Waubonsie Valley Valley (8-2) at No. 4 Homewood-Flossmoor (8-2)

Class 8A

Game time: 7 p.m. Friday

Last week: Waubonsie Valley 33, Brother Rice 7; Homewood-Flossmoor 41, Curie 14.

Outlook: The host Vikings, rebounding from last year's 1-8 record under new coach Craig Buzea, seek their first 8A quarterfinal berth since 2007; for Waubonsie it would be since 2001. It's skill vs. skill here. Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy depicts H-F's conference, the South Suburban Blue, as “basketball on grass.” The Vikings' spread offense features 6-foot-6 quarterback Tim Williams handing off to tailback Malik Norman and throwing to Lance Sims and Keaton Fisher. A couple huge defensive linemen make the Warriors' option blocking an even greater priority. Waubonsie again will force H-F to choose which to defend, quarterback Tommy Kolzow passing to Eric Josupait and Demetrius Gray (receiver Joey Storto returns after missing three games with a groin pull) or the ground game of Kolzow and Austin Guido, who opened eyes with a career-high 211 yards rushing against Brother Rice. Murphy said it'll come down to execution and “who can hang on to the football.”

Advancement: Winner advances to play the winner between No. 1 seed York (9-1) and No. 9 Naperville North (7-3).