Football notes: We’re passing the season’s halfway point, and here’s a look at where Cook County teams stand
It is going so fast.
Area football teams will pass the halfway point of the regular season this weekend as Mid-Suburban League teams and Central Suburban League teams begin conference play. Here is a brief look at where each team stands.
MSL East
Buffalo Grove (2-2): After being blown out in their first two games, the Bison have come roaring back. Running back Matthew Kaput has been on fire for Buffalo Grove. The junior has rushed for 406 yards of his 501 yards in his last two games. He also has 10 touchdowns in the last two games with a pick-six and a receiving touchdown. He has 12 touchdowns for the season.
Elk Grove (1-3): The Grenadiers picked up their first win last week. Ryan Tanner has been a huge threat on the receiving end with 25 catches for 343 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jacob Brunford has run the ball quite well with 257 yards. Luke Maher and Nathan Dean have combined for 701 passing yards and 7 touchdowns.
Hersey (2-2): After losing their first two games and allowing 78 points in those games, the Huskies defense has improved by shutting out their opponents the last two games. Meanwhile, the offense continues to operate at high speed, averaging 40 points per game. Jake Nawrot, who is a junior, continues to shine, throwing for 1,074 yards and 13 touchdowns. Tyler Wentink has accounted for 362 of those yards while Josh Riggs has 352 yards. Running back Brandon Jenkins has piled up 570 total yards with 463 rushing and 107 receiving.
Prospect (3-1): The Knights are playing like the team to beat in the East. Their only loss was to Palatine and that was in overtime. Jackson Cacinni has got better each week and 754 passing yards and 9 touchdowns. Matthew Donnelly has been a huge complement in the backfield with 446 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. Harvard commit Nate Cichy leads a plethora of receivers with 364 yards and four touchdowns.
Rolling Meadows (3-1): The Mustangs have answered questions about its abilities very quickly. Meadows, which is averaging 48 points per game, will be looking to build momentum as the regular season ends with matchups with Prospect and Hersey in two of the final three weeks of the season. Quarterback Joe Bingham, running back Luke Harvey, wide receivers Shea Wells, Jack Andersen, Arman Lepuzanovic and Donvan Hunter along with tight end Sean Kerr have has a huge impact on the offense.
Wheeling (1-3): Christian Campos has been leading the resurgence in the Wheeling offense. The senior quarterback has scored five of his six rushing touchdowns in the last two weeks. He has 474 rushing yards, with 235 of those coming last week.
MSL West:
Barrington (3-1): The Broncos head into their traditional Saturday afternoon homecoming game after having their three-game winning streak broken by Maine South. Luke Tepas leads the area with 1,091 yards passing and 11 touchdowns. Junior Austin Coles leads the Broncos in receiving with 475 yards on 22 receptions while Owen Cook has 20 catches for 339 yards. Sophomore Lamar Osterhues rushed for 478 yards and 7 touchdowns while Cameron Massillo has 207 yards and four touchdowns.
Conant (2-2): The Cougars have run their way back to success. They recently broke a 15-game losing streak thanks to potent running game that posted 1,088 yards. Conant has a pair of rushers that have already topped 400 yards in Nathan Kutella, who has rushed for 429 yards and four touchdowns, and Jackson Spizzirri, who has 405 yards and five touchdowns. Abhimanyu Sarma has added 152 yards.
Fremd (4-0): The Vikings are off the start they had hoped for. Johnny O’Brien has picked up where he left off last season with 949 yards and 12 touchdowns. Maquan Brewster has been his main target with 24 catches for 470 yards and 6 touchdowns. Three other players have double digit receptions: Carter McDonald (15 receptions, 147 yards), Ben Riddle (11 receptions, 155 yards) and Jaydan Faulkner (11 reception, 120 yards). Faulkner has also piled up 191 rushing yards while Jason Hardy checks in with 121 rushing yards.
Hoffman Estates (4-0): The Hawks head into conference play soaring. Hoffman has used a balanced attack and are the highest scoring MSL West team with 170 points. Landon Ford leads all running backs, rushing for 339 yards of Hoffman’s 622 rushing yards. Austin Lezniak has done a great job of taking over at quarterback, throwing for 664 yads and 11 touchdowns. Baskins has 321 receiving yards and four touchdowns while TJ Bond also has four touchdown catches to go with his 172 receiving yards.
Palatine (2-2): Palatine has fallen on hard times, losing its last two games. The Pirates are allowing 34 points per game. The Pirates offense is led by quarterback Will Santiago who has been running and throwing to keep opponents off balance. Ray Gaspard and Jayden Evans have also been keys to the offense at running back. Kole Fager was injured in Week 3 and has not played since halftime of that game.
Schaumburg (3-1): After losing their season opener, the Saxons have been fighting their way back. The Saxons have employed a three-head rushing attack with Vince Heydecker (367 yards, 5 touchdowns), Ray Black (317 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Xavier Tudela (274 yards, 4 touchdowns). Black has also thrown for 435 yards and 3 touchdowns.
ESCC Purple:
St. Viator (1-3,0-1): The Lions opened their season with an impressive win but have fallen the past three weekend. Wynn Phillipi and Colton Schneider lead the team with 24 tackles with Phillipi having 6.5 tackles for loss including 4 sacks. Dylan Bergt is right behind them with 23 tackles.
West Suburban Gold
Leyden (1-3, 0-1): The Eagles got hit with a 1-2 punch the last two weeks. First, they lost Lucas Lattimer, who was their leading rusher the first two weeks, to an ankle sprain. Then, with the inability to control the clock, Leyden fell hard to playoff contenders Willowbrook and York. Lattiker could return this week against Proviso East.
Central Suburban North
Maine East (0-4): The Blue Demons have struggled offensively. They have not scored a point since week one when they put up 22. Maine East is hoping that conference play with bring with it a change to its fortunes.
Maine West (1-3): Maine West ratcheted up its schedule this year. But the Warriors defense has struggled against those top programs, allowing 139 points in the last three games. But a return to the CSL North could mean success for the two-time defending conference champs. Maine West’s running game had kept it in games early with Louis Avalos rushing for 237 yards, Nathan Abede 224 and Dayvon Tate 128 yards as Maine West has run for 674 yards. Caden Nelson guided the passing game with 355 yards.
Central Suburban South
Maine South (3-1): That chip on their shoulder after their opening game loss to Lincoln-Way East must be very large for Maine South. The Hawks have been dominating since, outscoring Class 8A powers Warren, Palatine and Barrington 135-41. Jameson Purcell has thrown for 998 yards and 8 touchdowns while running back Niko Kokosioulis has accounted for 608 yards of offense, rushing for 479 yards and adding 179 receiving yards. He also has scored 7 touchdowns. Finn Haugh has 256 receiving yards while Logan Ide has 194.
MSL-CSL series
The Mid-Suburban League continued its dominance over their Central Suburban League counterparts. The MSL went 10-2 in Week 3 and 9-3 in Week 4. Since the series premiered in 2019, the MSL leads 94-33.
Hoffman Estates, the smallest enrollment school in the MSL West, beat both New Trier and Evanston, the largest CSL schools. Maine South was the only CSL team to win both of its games with wins over Palatine and Barrington.
There are questions on whether the series will continue next season. It may return to its current format of two games.
There is also talk of cutting it to just one game with the CSL going to a crossover game between North and South divisions. That would most likely have the MSL increase its crossover games from one to two.
If that increase does occur, this is just a friendly reminder to the schedule makers.
In the spring season of 2020-21, the final games of the regular season were all crossover games between East and West teams. Standings were determined as each team played a full divisional schedule. The final week was a week of crossover games with a schedule based upon 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, etc.
When those games were played, five of those six games were decided by a touchdown or less, with two of those coming down to the last play.
It may be a great way to close out a season with an MSL championship game again.