Counting down to 2025 kickoff: Scouting the MSL West

Barrington

Last season: 8-3

Coach: Joe Sanchez

Worth noting: Most teams would worry if they had just 7 starters returning. But the Broncos have proven time and again they are not most teams, with nearly 100 players on their roster. … Barrington has qualified for the playoffs in nine of the last 10 playoff seasons. This season has strong possibilities again with several players drawing college interest. …Luke Tepas, who made four appearances last season as a junior and threw three touchdown passes, will be at quarterback. He is already garnering some college interest. As is sophomore running back Lamar Osterhues, who played three games late in the season and rushed for 229 yards and four touchdowns. Cameron Massillowill also will be in the mix at RB. …Wide receiver Austin Coles, who as a sophomore last season had 43 receptions for 892 yards and six touchdowns, has five Division I offers, including Illinois. He will be joined on the outside by Charlie Schutte, Zeeshan Roshnalli, Ollie Rosenzweig and Owen Cook along with tight ends Jackson Harris and Thomas Piatek. …Northwestern-commit Owen Fors and Ben Knuth lead the offensive line. They will be joined by Nick Rivera, Malcom George, Jack Kavanagh, Jack Neton and AJ Haley. …Linebacker Jett Kohanzo has an offer from St. Thomas and will have Jaxson Werner and Jackson Taylor joining him. …The defensive line will be made up of Clarence Jackson, who returns from last year, along with Charlie Ploder, Kane Switski and Cameron Shields. Brooks Howard and Duke Matiyow return in the secondary and will be joined by Jonathan Steiner, Nate Kania and Nick Marin.

Conant

Last season: 0-9

Coach: Anthony Donatucci

Worth noting: Conant played the long game a year ago. The Cougars started a plethora of sophomores and juniors with hopes that this season will be a successful one. And with 17 returning starters, the Cougars are looking to erase memories from their winless season last year. …Defense will be the primary beneficiary of those returnees with 10 of the 11 starting positions accounted for. …Yash Patel, Nicolas Portilla, Christopher Ramos, Ryan Ramos and Jaiden Thorney are all back to the defensive front. In addition, the entire defensive backfield of Evan Kirk, Nathen Kutella, Abhimanyu Sarma and Caden Spizzirri also returns. Jacob Barnett and Jackson Spizzirri return at linebacker with Aidan Underdown the lone newcomer to the defense. …On offense, the Cougars bring back a complete unit on the offensive line. Tyler Alson, Luke Hernandez, Evan Muller, Patel and Portilla all played together last season. …Tyler Marchese returns at quarterback to give the offense consistency there as well. WR Chase Garcia and TE Dylan Kelley both are back to give Marchese some familiar people to throw to. Maxwell Tutt and Ivan Haralanov will be the other wide receivers. Jackson Spizzirri will be at running back to add to his linebacking duties.

Fremd

Last season: 9-2

Coach: Lou Sponsel

Worth noting: The Vikings are coming off of their first playoff appearance in five playoff seasons and their best record since 2009. And Fremd still has plenty left in the tank. …That’s because Daily Herald Cook All-Area captain Johnny O’Brien will be back at the helm for the Vikings. The Northwestern-commit is coming off a season where he set 13 individual season school records including 3,288 passing yards and 39 touchdown passes. …Marquis Brewster, who was one of O’Brien’s top targets, returns. Amann Parikh, Jayden Box and Ben Riddle will also be targets from the wide receiver spots. With all the eyes on O’Brien’s passing this season, opponents will want to make sure they focus on the running game. Junior RB Jayden Faulkner can be dangerous as a runner and a receiver out of the backfield. …The offense will be led by a solid offensive line highlighted by Northwestern-commit Owen Jakubczak (6-foot-4, 271 pounds). Stathi Regapolous (5-10, 225), who started last season, along with Danny Saracco (6-0, 238), Gio Nikolic (6-2, 261) and Trey Reeves (5-10, 195) will make up the rest of the offensive line. …The Vikings defense, which allowed 15 points per game last season, returns six starters. … Anthony D’Ambrosio, is the lone returning starter on the defensive line. Niko Ahlman, Matt Klimas and George Kalkounos will be up front with Jakubczak spotting in at times. Troy Pepe and Tom O’Brien return at linebacker with Jason Hardy moving from defensive back to linebacker. Michael Murray, Joe Gump, RJ Davis and Brewster will be at defensive back.

Hoffman Estates

Last season: 7-4

Coach: Tim Heyse

Worth noting: The Hawks are looking to continue their streak of four consecutive playoff appearances and seven in the last eight playoff seasons. Hoffman again will rely heavily on its traditional strength which has been its skill players. …Leading the way will be WR Torey Baskins, who is coming off a season where he had 42 receptions for 690 yards and 7 touchdowns. TJ Bond, who played in both Hawks’ playoff games, along with Dunmi Oginini, Chris Mobley and Kenley Joseph, will make this unit a formidable one again. ...Hoffman will also have strength in its running game with the return of Landon Ford (98 carries, 632 yards, 6 TDs). Jaquan Fields (55 carries, 347 yards, 5 TDs) and Jmari Jackson (46 carries, 444 yards and 7 TDs) will also be key factors. …Austin Lezniak, who did see some time last season, will be at quarterback. Lezniak will also have Gaven Palozzolo and Vince Luzwick at tight end. … Isiah Luellen (6-5, 295), who started last season, is the only returnee on the line. Jerrion Glover (6-2, 250), Connor Manley (5-10, 195), Joe Aguilar (5-10, 185), Stoyan Hristov (6-0, 185), Ethan Barnes (6-4, 245) and RJ Russell (6-1, 250) make up the rest of the offensive line. …The defensive front will be on the small side, but they will be quick and experienced. Jaquan Fields and Austin Van Hoose played last season on the defensive line while Tony Carlson is moving from offensive center to the defensive line. … Oginni, who started 10 games at linebacker, is back along with Riley Lennert, Mason Walker and Marcus Gross. Alex Wisely, who started every game as a linebacker last season, will rotate between linebacker and safety. JMari Williams is back at safety and will have Brandon Smith joining him when Wisley moves to linebacker. Bryson Baldwin returns at corner and will be joined by Chase Williams, Avante Hayes and Cordaro Little.

Palatine

Last season: 8-2

Coach: Corey Olson

Worth noting: The Pirates are coming off of last season as defending MSL West champions. They also qualified for the state playoffs for the fourth year in a row. But first round exits the past two seasons have left a bad taste in their mouths and a senior class with a chip on its shoulder. …While many schools would hope for one Division I lineman, Palatine has a pair in Illinois-commit Tony Balanganayi (6-foot-4, 280) and Ball State-commit Evan Downer (6-4, 280) who will both play tackle. Interior on the line will be Jacari Travis (6-0, 275), Harrison Orth (6-0, 260), Favour Akinyele (6-0, 250) and Jaylen Maiden (6-0, 275). …Will Santiago, who started last season at quarterback, returns and has just recently committed to St. Thomas. He will throw to Princeton-commit Kole Fager, Jaden Evens, Jett Greiwe, Tim Bello, Jake McVeigh and Brennan Wright. Ray Gaspard, who as a sophomore had a solid season last year, also returned and could be a huge factor in the offense. …Balanganayi will be a major piece of the defense as he could bounce all over the defensive line. Kam Bickel (6-0, 235), Travis, Downer and Maiden will make up the rest of the Pirates’ 3-man front. …The linebacking corps will be new in Michael Adeboye, Joe Reiswig, Vince Bowling, Bowie Roth, Gus Tashima, Kaden Branch and Eliaz Egbe. Evans and Greiwe return to the secondary which will include Ben Thrall, Jayden Gaspard, Fager, Anthony Kurey and Makaio Halbert.

Schaumburg

Last season: 5-5

Coach: Mark Stilling

Worth noting: The Saxons are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2017. And with 10 individuals covering 14 positions on both sides of the ball back, Schaumburg feels it can make another strong run this year. …The Saxons are most excited about a quartet of players who will be three-year starters. Leading the way will be QB/DB Ray Black, whose multipurpose style makes him dangerous for opponents. Rafael Medeiros (DB/WR), Kile Gough (LB/WR) and Mathias Zubcek (OL) also will key factors. …Vince Heydecker, who ran well as a sophomore last season, returns at running back as well as defensive back. Nate Chwastek, Tony Horton, Mason Heydecker, Cole Felgenhauer and Jack Baker join Medeiros and Gough at the receiver position. …Medeiros, Cam Anderson, Vince Heydecker, Ray Black, Gavin Salas, Jack Baker and Tony Horton make up a solid secondary. Gough, Matt Carver, Dom Augustyniak, James McGreal and James Hilton will be in at linebacker while Dylan Mayer, Alden Rojas-Castillo, Amiryon Smith and Tony Skukan will be the defensive front.

Five players to watch:

Tony Balanganayi, Palatine, OT/DL, Sr. — Committed to Illinois

Evan Downer, Palatine, OT/DL, Sr. — Committed to Ball State

Owen Fors, Barrington, OT, Sr. — Committed to Northwestern

Owen Jakubczak, Fremd, OT, Sr. — Committed to Northwestern

Johnny O’Brien, Fremd, QB, Sr. — Committed to Northwestern

Five games worth seeing: Week 2: Prospect at Palatine, Week 5: Hoffman Estates at Schaumburg, Palatine at Barrington (Sat.) Week 7: Fremd at Barrington. Week 8: Palatine at Fremd