The Expanded Football Top 20
First and 10
1. Downers Grove North (3-0) Next opponent: at Glenbard West
Comment: With Minnesota-bound QB Owen Lansu out with a left arm injury, the Trojans dug deep for a 9-7 win over a tough Hinsdale Central squad. Senior Will Vala, an Illinois recruit, made two huge plays late — first catching a 26-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 remaining on a 4th-and-9 play, then coming up with a key sack on the Red Devils’ last possession.
2. Fremd (3-0) Next opponent: at New Trier
Comment: Senior wide receiver Marquan Brewster had another big game in last week’s 34-7 victory over Evanston, catching 8 passes for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. Now comes one last nonconference test before MSL West play begins. New Trier enters at 2-1 including an impressive road win in Week 1 over Naperville North.
3. Maine South (2-1) Next opponent: at Barrington
Comment: What a swing of emotions for the Hawks the first few weeks. Following a 40-0 loss to power Lincoln-Way East to open the season, Maine South has responded with two blowouts of its own — 42-14 over Warren and last week’s 52-6 rout of Palatine. The Hawks will be looking for revenge after losing 42-35 to Barrington last year.
4. St. Charles North (3-0) Next opponent: at Wheaton North
Comment: JT Padron, the North Stars’ first-year starting QB, knows where to go with the ball. He completed 16 passes in last week’s hard-fought 10-7 win over Geneva — and 11 of them went to Northwestern recruit Keaton Reinke. The Falcons enter at 2-1 and have also played a 10-7 game this season — their only loss, in Week 2, to Stevenson.
5. Glenbard West (3-0) Next opponent: Downers Grove North
Comment: The Hilltoppers can match last season’s win total by knocking off the Trojans. They are coming off a 26-7 win over Oak Park-River Forest despite starting quarterback AJ Rayford missing his second consecutive game, with this test against the second-ranked team in Class 7A quickly followed by the seventh-ranked team in Class 8A, Lyons, next week. Ah, life in the West Suburban Silver.
6. Batavia (2-1) Next opponent: at Lake Park
Comment: The Bulldogs had plenty of standouts last week vs. Glenbard North, rushing for 240 yards led by Henry Hahn with 3 TDs and 90 yards and Preston Brummel running for 103 yards. Junior QB Michael Vander Luitgaren completed 14 of his 20 passes for 165 yards and two scores. Lake Park is 2-1 after losing its first game last week, 30-20 to Wheaton North.
7. Montini (3-0) Next opponent: Fenwick
Comment: This is a big one in the CCL/ESCC White — a conference whose four teams are a combined 11-1 right now. The Broncos beat Marist 28-21 last week to get to 3-0 while Fenwick also is 3-0 after dropping Joliet Cathoilc to 0-3 with a 43-26 victory last week.
8. Barrington (3-0) Next opponent: Maine South
Comment: A pair of Top 10 teams in the state rankings meet in Barrington on Friday, the No. 8 Broncos hosting the sixth-ranked Hawks. It didn’t look good early last week for Barrington, falling behind by two touchdowns to Glenbrook South. But QB Luke Tepas led quite a rally, finishing with 268 passing yards and six touchdowns in a 51-31 win.
9. Prospect (2-1) Next opponent: at Buffalo Grove
Comment: The Knights are an overtime loss away from a perfect start. They rebounded nicely last week from their only loss, beating Niles West 60-7 behind a defense that forced three turnovers, QB Jackson Cacini throwing for 282 yards on only 11 completions, and Matthew Donnelly rushing for 110 yards with a rushing and receiving TD.
10. Warren (2-1) Next opponent: at Waukegan
Comment: Is there anyone who wakes up Saturday mornings more tired than Warren’s Aaron Stewart? The old school workhorse running back carried the ball 39 more times last week in a 22-6 win over Lake Forest. He did plenty of damage with all those carries, rushing for 210 yards and 3 TDs — bringing his season totals to 786 and 10, on pace to blow past last year’s state-best 2,465 rushing yards.
Second and 10
11. Palatine 2-1 Lost to Maine South 52-6 / at Glenbrook S.
12. St. Francis 2-1 Lost to Loyola 47-25 / at St. Rita
13. York 2-1 Beat Proviso West 49-14 / Proviso West
14. WW South 2-1 Beat St. Charles East 37-12 / at Geneva
15. Carmel 2-1 Lost to Providence 35-28 / at St. Laurence
16. Hinsdale Central 2-1 Lost to Downers N. 9-7 / at Lyons T.
17. Burlington C. 3-0 Beat Jacobs 21-12 / Prairie Ridge
18. Stevenson 2-1 Beat Libertyville 31-6 / Mundelein
19. Naperville North 2-1 Beat Metea V. 35-14 / at Homewood F.
20. Hersey 1-2 Beat Maine West 48-0 / Niles West