The Week 6 expanded football Top 20

First and 10

1. Fremd (5-0) Next opponent: at Hoffman Estates

Comment: A marquee matchup of MSL West unbeatens awaits the Vikings this week. Both teams have outstanding quarterbacks — Northwestern recruit Johnny O’Brien for Fremd, and Austin Lezniak is coming off a 247-yard, 2-touchdown night against Schaumburg for the Hawks. O’Brien surpassed 6,500 career yards in last week’s win over Conant.

2. Maine South (4-1) Next opponent: At New Trier

Comment: The Hawks won their fourth straight last week, 33-0 over Evanston. New Trier enters at 3-2, and the only two losses for the Trevians came against two 5-0 teams, Fremd and Hoffman Estates. Maine South is 9-1 in this series dating back to 2016, including a 32-0 victory last year.

3. Glenbard West (5-0) Next opponent: Hinsdale South

Comment: The Hilltoppers turned to big plays last week to beat Lyons 24-17. Chase Cavan ran for a 65-yard touchdown and Jamarcus Kelly broke free for a 57-yard score as Glenbard West improved to 5-0 and continued its goal of beating every team it lost to a year ago. Kelly rushed for 147 yards on just 14 carries and scored two touchdowns last week.

4. St. Charles North (5-0) Next opponent: at St. Charles East

Comment: It’s going to be hard for any team anywhere to top the North Stars’ stunning comeback last week to beat Batavia, scoring 15 points in the final 42 seconds to turn a 42-28 deficit into a 43-42 victory. It took Aidan McClure recovering an onside kick, then QB JT Padron’s TD pass to EJ Mondesir and 2-point pass to Chris Akepede with .9 seconds left for an all-time classic win.

5. Downers Grove North (4-1) Next opponent: at Oak Park-River Forest

Comment: The Trojans bounced back from their first loss of the season in Week 4 by shutting out Proviso West 49-0. Now comes Oak Park-River Forest, 1-2 in the West Suburban Silver. After this, the schedule picks up again with back-to-back battles against York and Lyons Township.

6. Montini (5-0) Next opponent: At Carmel

Comment: It would be tough to find two better junior quarterbacks than the ones who will take the field Friday in Mundelein. While Nebraska-bound Trae Taylor has led the Corsairs to a 4-1 start, Izzy Abrams has Montini on a 15-game winning streak that includes last year’s 3A state title. Abrams went 18 of 26 for 250 yards and 2 TDs last week against Marmion.

7. Batavia (3-2) Next opponent: at Geneva

Comment: It’s probably a good thing the Bulldogs jump right back into their long-time rivalry game with their neighbors to the north after last week’s ending. This is the 106th meeting dating back to 1913 with Geneva leaving 52-49-5. The Vikings’ 30-7 win last year was the first since Dennis Piron became Batavia coach in 2011, snapping a 13-game losing streak.

8. Prospect (4-1) Next opponent: Wheeling

Comment: The Knights have been dominating lately, winning 60-7, 56-8 and 56-7 the last three weeks, and it could be more of the same vs. 1-4 Wheeling this week before getting Rolling Meadows and Hersey on the schedule in weeks 7 and 8. Quarterback Jackson Cacini followed up 5 touchdown passes in Week 4 with 6 touchdowns last week.

9. Barrington (4-1) Next opponent: at Conant

Comment: The Broncos used a little trickery in a 42-21 homecoming win over Palatine last week. Owen Cook’s completion on a fake punt led to a touchdown just before halftime, helping the Broncos turn a 14-14 tie into a 21-point win. They ran the ball well against the Pirates and will try to again Friday as they get ready for an MSL showdown in Week 7 vs. Fremd.

10. Warren (4-1) Next opponent: Mundelein

Comment: It’s homecoming for the Blue Devils who will recognize coach Mike Kunkle and team members of the 1974 squad that was the first Warren team to make the playoffs in the inaugural year of the statewide playoffs. Those returning players will see a Warren team off to a 3-0 start in the NSC with key games coming up vs. Stevenson and Lake Zurich the next two weeks.

Second and 10

11. St. Francis 4-1Beat Providence 47-35 / IC Catholic Prep

12. York 4-1Beat Oak Park 34-11 / at Hinsdale Central

13. Hinsdale Central 4-1 Beat Downers Grove South 52-40 / York

14. Carmel 4-1Beat Marian 70-7 / Montini

15. Stevenson 4-1Beat Waukegan 45-12 / at Lake Forest

16. Hersey 3-2Beat Wheeling 62-0 / Elk Grove

17. Hoffman Estates 5-0Beat Schaumburg 28-7 / Fremd

18. Lake Zurich 4-1Beat Lake Forest 28-7 / at Zion-Benton

19. Geneva 3-2Beat Lake Park 35-17 / Batavia

20. Palatine 2-3Lost to Barrington 42-21 / Schaumburg