Scouting Week 5 Cook County football
St. Ignatius (2-2) vs. St. Viator (3-1) at Forest View
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Mt. Carmel 45, St. Ignatius 24; Benet 23, St. Viator 16
Last year: St. Ignatius 46, St. Viator 14
Outlook: Viator dropped their first game of the season last week. They were down 23-0 at the half and rallied, but just came up a bit short. Cooper Kmet has thrown 10 touchdown passes while Dayvion Ellis has scored 6 touchdowns this year. The Lions will need to shut down Ignatius’ running attack, which was able to move the ball effectively on the ground against Mt. Carmel.
Highland Park (0-4, 0-0) at Maine West (3-1, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Highland Park lost to Buffalo Grove 22-0; Maine West lost to Rolling Meadows 38-7
Last year: Maine West 20, Highland Park 19
Outlook: Maine West had its 14-game regular season winning streak snapped last week. The Warriors look to start a new one against a Highland Park team that has been shut out in two of its last three games and the Giants have scored just 7 points during that span. Maine West will look to get its offense back in gear after scoring just 7 points last week. Look for quarterback Tel Litas, wide receiver Dante Hicks and running back Maks Makota to lead Maine West back this week.
Hoffman Estates (4-0, 0-0) at Fremd (4-0, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Hoffman Estates beat Vernon Hills 56-21; Fremd beat Deerfield 28-20
Last year: Hoffman Estates 33, Fremd 27
Outlook: Both teams have rolled past relatively easy competition thus far, so this will be a huge step up in class for both. Hoffman has tremendous team speed led by QB/LB Nate Cleveland. Landon Ford has stepped up for the Hawks and rushed for 452 yards. Austin Wisely, Will Carlson, Ford and Cleveland lead a defense which has been sound. Fremd quarterback Johhny O’Brien will challenge that Hoffman Estates’ secondary. O’Brien is an eye-popping 80-of-109 for 1,144 yards and 14 touchdowns. O’Brien will be looking to connect with Brennan Saxe, who has 34 catches for 474 yards and 7 touchdowns and MarQuan Brewster, who has 21 receptions for 362 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Palatine (3-1, 0-0) at Schaumburg (4-0, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Palatine beat New Trier 27-3; Schaumburg beat Niles West 21-14
Last year: Palatine 42, Schaumburg 14
Outlook: Both teams come in with a winning streak on the line. Palatine has won three in a row after their last-second opening game loss to St. Charles North. The Pirates have tightened up their defense since then and are led by Michigan commit Jaylen Williams, Jackson Browm, Jett Greiwe, D’Mitry Smith and Trey Widlowski. They have allowed just 31 points in the last three games. Schaumburg hasn’t been 4-0 since 2013. The Saxons have leaned heavily on QB Ray Black, whose running and passing has sparked Schaumburg. Javonte McCoy has been solid on both sides of the ball for the Saxons while Vince Heydecker, who returned last week from an injury, has run well.
Hersey (2-2, 0-0) at Elk Grove (1-3, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Hersey beat Glenbrook South 30-24; Elk Grove beat Niles North 28-14
Last year: Hersey 63, Elk Grove 7
Outlook: Hersey opted to beef up their schedule this year and the Huskies have finally adjusted to the extra workload, winning their last two games. Colton Gumino has tossed 8 touchdown passes and thrown for 825 yards. But it has been the running of Brandon Jenkins that has been a key to the resurgence. The junior has piled up 589 yards and 5 touchdowns this season, with most of it coming in the last two games. Elk Grove picked up its first win of the season last week. Daniel Pasterski and the offense recovered from their shutout loss in week 3 as the Grenadiers had 415 yards of offense. Myles Schwartz and Dylan Berkowitz have been huge cogs in the offense.
Prospect (2-2, 0-0) at Wheeling (2-2, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Prospect beat Evanston 49-29; Wheeling beat Maine East 17-24
Last year: Prospect 44, Wheeling 7
Outlook: Prospect’s offense has woken up in a big way the last two weeks. The Knights scored a total of just 30 points in their first two games. In their last two games, they have exploded for 43 and 49 points, respectively, with Jack Skoog, Noah Easter, Nate Cichy, Nick Carlucci and Lucas Deines combining to rack up the yards and the points. Wheeling has won two games in a row and the Wildcats are hoping to keep the momentum going. Grant Scheuerman scored in three consecutive games for Wheeling while Nick Montensinos has run the ball very well which has helped in the passing game for Justin Ghibea.
Rolling Meadows (3-1, 0-0) at Buffalo Grove (1-3, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Rolling Meadows beat Maine West 38-7; Buffalo Grove beat Highland Park 22-0
Last year: Buffalo Grove 42, Rolling Meadows 20
Outlook: Rolling Meadows has won three in a row, which is more wins than they had all of last season. Arman Lepuzanovic is coming off a three-touchdown performance at wide receiver last week and had 4 touchdowns on the season and 247 receiving yards. Quincy Johnson continues to impress at quarterback with 547 passing yards and 8 touchdowns while Luke Harvey, Vinny Piccolo and Keeling Murray have combined for 623 rushing yards. Buffalo Grove is hoping that their first victory of this season last week will propel them in their final five games. The Bison are coming off their best game of the season where they had 361 yards of offense with Matthew Kaput and Jacob Hensley combining for 200 rushing yards. The Bison defense, led by Drew Carrison, David Graham, Alex Branas and Owen Erickson, forced three turnovers and limited Highland Park to 70 yards.
New Trier (1-3, 0-0) at Maine South (1-3, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: New Trier lost to Palatine 27-3; Maine South lost to Barrington 42-35
Last year: Maine South 50, New Trier 3
Outlook: The Jameson Purcell era began in earnest last week at Maine South. The highly touted sophomore started his first game and threw for 470 yards. Purcell rallied the Hawks from a two-touchdown deficit. After playing arguably the toughest preseason schedule in the area, Maine South now gets to begin Central Suburban South conference play where the Hawks have been dominant for decades. The Maine South defense, which has struggled at times, now faces a New Trier offense that has scored just three points in its last two games.
Maine East (2-2, 0-0) at Vernon Hills (0-4, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Maine East lost to Wheeling 17-14; Vernon Hills lost to Hoffman Estates 56-21
Last year: Vernon Hills 24, Maine East 6
Outlook: After a fantastic start, Maine East has dropped two in a row. The Blue Demons came close last week in their loss to Wheeling. Okiki Olurotimi and Victor Nitchev have been stalwarts on defense for Maine East. Tryfon Giolas, Allen Vujic, Jaiden Whitehead and Shah Jan will be looking to get the offense in gear against a Vernon Hills team that has allowed 37 points per game.
Conant (0-4, 0-0) at Barrington (4-0, 0-0)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Last week: Conant lost to Glenbrook North 30-7; Barrington beat Maine South 42-35
Last year: Barrington 45, Conant 19
Outlook: This is the traditional Saturday homecoming game at Barrington where the Broncos will be celebrating 100 years of Barrington football. Barrington has celebrated a great start to the 2024 campaign with an offense that is averaging nearly 50 points per game. Nick Peipert has already thrown for 1,140 yards and 13 touchdowns with A Coles (15 receptions, 404 yards), Matt Kania (15 receptions, 309 yards) and Ian Tepas (12 receptions, 180 yards) the main targets. Meanwhile, Calvin Jackson has rushed for 589 yards and 13 touchdowns. Conant is coming off a disappointing loss last week. The Cougars have played a tough schedule thus far and it doesn’t look to get much easier as they begin conference play against their five MSL opponents who have a combined record of 19-1.
Leyden (2-2) at Glenbard West (0-4)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Last week: Leyden beat Proviso East 41-12, Glenbard West lost to Lyons 24-7
Last year: Glenbard West 55, Leyden 13
Outlook: Leyden exploded last week. The Eagles, who were shut out the previous week, saw Lucas Latiker rush for 119 yards and two touchdowns while Ayden Gonzalez ran for a trio of touchdowns. Leyden will face a Glenbard West team that has struggled and the record is not a misprint. Glenbard West is 0-4 and the Hilltoppers have scored just 41 points. They have also lost to Batavia, Loyola, Downers Grove North and Lyons.