Determined Jacobs just wants to keep winning
Jacobs is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2012, when the Golden Eagles made the playoffs as a 5-4 team.
Coach Bill Mitz said his team's late comeback to beat Prospect in the opener and last week's methodical defeat of St. Charles East are emblematic of the squad's determination to return to the postseason. Jacobs finished 5-4 in 2014 but missed the playoffs on points.
"The kids have been in the weight room since that night and it's been a long process," Mitz said. "The kids have worked and are working extremely hard, and they believe in each other. The way we won that first game says a lot about the way they have each other's backs. You can build off that as a team. They definitely play like they have a chip on their shoulder."
The veteran coach credited the play of senior twins Matt Barnes and Sean Barnes. Not only did they both play well as outside linebackers against St. Charles East, Matt carried the ball 16 times for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns and Sean finished with 13 carries for 84 yards and 2 scores.
Mitz also pointed out the solid play of defensive ends Mark Comstock and Jack Golnick, each of whom registered a team-high 9 tackles last week.
The Golden Eagles seek their first 3-0 start since 2011 when they host Rock Island on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The schools signed a one-year contract to play this season. Next year the Fox Valley Conference shrinks to nine schools, so all FVC teams will play eight conference games and one against an Upstate Eight school.
The Rocks defeated Alton 34-6 in their season opener, but they turned the ball over four times last week in a 30-10 loss to visiting Edwardsville. They are led offensively by junior quarterback Alek Jacobs (5-11, 170), senior running back Tre Nimmers and all-purpose threat DeShaun Davis.
"Rock Island is a little like us," Mitz said. "They run the spread and they have a talented kid at quarterback who is dangerous on the run. (Davis) is the guy they want to throw to and (Nimmers) is 5-8, 190 pounds and a bruiser in the open field.
"Defensively, they float and run to the ball well, so we'll try to mix up our pass and run and attack. It's a good game for us. We just want to get better every day out here and take steps forward. We hope to take another good one this week."
Big bookends: Aurora Christian's budding offense is led by quarterback Drew Clippert, one of five sophomores starting on that side of the ball.
Clippert and the young Eagles (2-0) face their toughest test to date when they host Lake Forest Academy (0-2) in a Chicago Catholic League crossover on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Caxys (0-2) play a tough schedule. They lost their season opener 40-22 at perennial Class 4A playoff qualifier Rock Island Alleman, and they were defeated 48-0 last week by Class 8A power Libertyville, led by Northwestern-bound quarterback Riley Lees.
The Lake Forest Academy defense is keyed by its ends. Penn State recruit Daniel Joseph (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) was offered by most of the Big Ten and Stanford, among others.
Manning the other end is senior Thomas Schaffer, a 6-6, 250-pound Austrian with long arms made for slipping blocks and sacking quarterbacks. Schaffer announced on Twitter last month that he had narrowed his many college suitors to five and would take official visits this fall to Oregon, Stanford and Wisconsin.
"I think he has 21 Division-I offers," Aurora Christian coach David Beebe said of Schaffer. "It'll be one of our biggest challenges of the season."
The Eagles are up for the test.
"Offensively, I like our execution right now," Beebe added. "Drew Clippert is just a sophomore, but you'd swear he was 25-years-old the way he commands a huddle and makes audibles. He's an extremely coachable student of the game. He's a coach's dream."
Saturday night lights: Fans of St. Edward (2-0) have to wait an extra 24 hours to get their football fix this week.
Due to the ongoing construction of Riverside-Brookfield's new football stadium, the Metro Suburban Conference crossover between the Green Wave and the Bulldogs will be played at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The field is unavailable Friday night because Lyons hosts Proviso West. Saturday's game will be played in the evening due to ACT testing in the morning.
"I'm not crazy about the Saturday night game because we'd prefer to stay in our routine," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said, "but with the (Labor Day) holiday this week, it did leave us a day short of practice anyway.
"No matter the day we're just excited for another big challenge. Last year our team was able to rise to the occasion when significantly outmanned and outsized. Riverside-Brookfield is four times our size in enrollment and significantly larger than us on the field. But I like what we get here at St. Ed's: tough kids who like to take advantage of opportunities to see what they've got in the tank."
St. Edward defeated R-B last season in Elgin, 33-7.
The Green Wave roster of 23 was diminished to 22 this week with the loss of senior defensive end Joey Murray to a clavicle injury.
Bouncing back: How did Streamwood go from a Week 1 meltdown in a 35-0 loss to Hoffman Estates to an impressive 28-14 victory over Dundee-Crown in Week 2?
"We brought the guys together and put the goals they made for themselves back in their laps," first-year coach Don Guindon, 25, said. "We asked them if the way they performed against Hoffman is going to get them there. And we just harped on being one, unified group on Friday. We ran the football better and, up front, we played much better."
Guindon acknowledged the improved play of his offensive linemen: left tackle Matt Hoeffleur (5-11, 180), left guard Jordan Ryan (6-0, 240), center Junior Alvarez (6-2, 315), right guard Chance McCray (6-3, 352) and right tackle Connor Drwal (6-2, 225).
Defensively, the coach lauded the play of his linebackers: Jake Painter, Ka'Vari Allen, Tae Reetz, DaZwan Bowens and David McMahon.