Week 6: Scouting the Mid-Suburban West
Barrington (5-0, 1-0) at Palatine (3-2, 1-0)
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Last year's result: Palatine 49, Barrington 31
Outlook: Barrington nearly got caught looking ahead last week before rallying to beat Fremd. Ray Niro rescued the Broncos, rushing for 133 yards and throwing for another 118 yards. Niro has been a huge force in the Bronco offense, accounting for 80 percent of the total yards gained. Barrington is what most experts have expected them to be thus far into the season. But now the Broncos meet Palatine, who has been Barrington's Achilles' heel. Palatine has won the last 4 meetings between the teams en route to the last 3 MSL West titles. Palatine also has won 9 of the last 11 meetings. The Pirates got a lift defensively last week when Cortez Hogans returned to the lineup. He is joined by Jake Moertl, Bryant Smith, Josh Danielson and Johhny O'Shea as they will concentrate on stopping Niro.
Fremd (0-5, 0-1) at Conant (1-4, 0-1)
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Last year's result: Fremd 42, Conant 7
Outlook: Just when things couldn't get much worse at Fremd they did when the Vikings lost top defensive player Matt McCabe with a broken leg. Elliot Kim has played well in the secondary and leads the area in interceptions. Conant has played well in all of its games and the Cougars look to get to the top of the mountain this week. But they have injury issues as well and may again have to turn to sophomore quarterback Ross Pedro if Matt Majer and Kevin Polaski are still sidelined.
Hoffman Estates (5-0, 1-0) at Schaumburg (3-2, 0-1)
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Last year's result: Hoffman Estates 35, Schaumburg 7
Outlook: Hoffman Estates can't afford to get caught looking ahead to its Week 7 showdown against Barrington. Hoffman faces a Schaumburg team that is as athletic as the Hawks are. Hoffman moved Jaylan Johnson to running back last week and he produced 109 yards. With Johnson in the backfield, Austin Coalson only threw for 82 yards and has 1,127 yards for the season. Schaumburg gave Palatine everything it could handle last week thanks to the play of Deontae Arnold, who is settling in quite nicely at quarterback. The Saxon offense also has weapons in Heze Trotter and Jordan Salgado.