Scouting Week 9 Lake County football games
Wauconda (8-0, 6-0) at Lakes (6-2, 5-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.; Lakes High School, Lake Villa
Last week: Wauconda 25, Antioch 20; Lakes 35, Grayslake North 0
Last year: Wauconda 40, Lakes 0
Outlook: Our Lake County Blue Plate Special of the Week. This one is for all the marbles, or at least part of the marbles, in the Northern Lake County Conference. If Wauconda wins, it takes the NLCC title outright at 7-0 and wins a conference title for the second year in a row (and 4 of the last 5 years either outright or shared). If Lakes wins, it secures a share of the title with Wauconda and possibly Antioch (6-2, 5-1), which has its hands full in Fox Lake Friday. Mason Crowley leads the Lakes rushing attack with 388 yards and 6 touchdowns, while averaging almost 7 yards per carry. Ean Ankney is now the all-time passing touchdowns leader in school history with 36, surpassing Jordan Mercure’s old mark. Jordan Mercure is the cousin of current Eagles player Will Mercure, who leads the team with 470 receiving yards. On defense, Dillan Davis leads with 74 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 8 sacks. Lakes coach Jason Ellerman noted Jayce Figueroa has “done a great job run and pass blocking,” he said. “He’s been very consistent all year.” Nick Waterman also has been a key player in numerous ways. “Nick has been playing iron-man football the last couple weeks due to injuries on the offensive line,” Ellerman said. “He rarely comes off the field.” Ellerman also praised the play of corner Ethan Gialo, who leads the team with 8 pass breakups. “Ethan has gotten better every week at cornerback,” he said. A Lakes win would also put it in the conversation for hosting a home playoff game next week. “I am really proud of how this group has overcome the adversity they have faced the last couple years,” Ellerman said. Lakes has its first winning record since the 2019 team went 6-4 and the last time the Eagles won more than 6 games was in 2018. Lakes also returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. According to IHSA records, Wauconda is looking for its second-ever undefeated regular season, joining the 2021 team that went 9-0 and split a pair of playoff games.
Antioch (6-2, 5-1) at Grant (6-2, 4-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.; Grant Community High School, Fox Lake
Last week: Wauconda 25, Antioch 20; Grant 54, Grayslake Central 20
Last year: Grant 56, Antioch 54
Scouting Antioch: The Sequoits need to win here and have Lakes beat Wauconda in Lake Villa Friday to secure a share of the Northern Lake County Conference title. Last week’s loss to Wauconda was only Antioch’s fifth ever in NLCC play since the conference formed in 2015. Sophomore running back Kelen Wilson since returning from injury “has been playing like an upperclassman,” Sequoits coach Brian Glashagel said. Wilson has run 42 times for 403 yards and 8 touchdowns. Glashagel also has been impressed by the long-term play of senior center Lucas Curry. “Lucas has been a starter for us since he was a sophomore,” he said. “He’s been rock-solid for us every game.” Glashagel also has liked how his team has responded to adversity this season. “Next man up,” he said. “We’ve had situations with starters being out and the next man in has done a remarkable job.”
Scouting Grant: The Bulldogs increase their chances at hosting a home playoff game with a win here at home in Week 9. “Our kids have played with great effort all year,” Grant coach Tim Norwood said. “We still have too many penalties at times which we need to clean up before the playoffs. We need to continue to take care of the ball on offense and create takeaways on defense.” Senior right guard Elijah Zerbe has been a difference-maker up front for Grant. “Elijah has been a 3-year starter and has been very consistent throughout his whole career,” Norwood said. “We have run the ball really well the last few weeks and Elijah has been a big part of that.” Junior corner Tyler Crutchfield has excelled matching up against the opponent’s top wideout. “Tyler had an interception in the end zone last week that led to us scoring a touchdown right before the half,” Norwood pointed out. Sophomore tailback Doltyn Longtin “has quietly had a nice sophomore season,” Norwood said. Longtin has run for 642 yards and 5 touchdowns and is averaging 8.6 yards per carry. Matthew Gipson has thrown for 1,682 yards and 21 touchdowns, while Tyler Zdon has run for 1,057 yards on 92 carries (1 fumble) and 15 touchdowns. Zdon averages 11.5 yards per carry. Max Hembrey has 39 catches for 1,005 yards and 14 scores (25.8 yards per catch). Logan Myers leads the Grant defense with 97 tackles and 8 tackles for loss.
Round Lake (1-7, 0-6) at Grayslake Central (3-5, 2-4)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: North Chicago 55, Round Lake 7; Grant 54, Grayslake Central 20
Last year: Grayslake Central 22, Round Lake 12
Outlook: Central coach Brent Pearlman said Riley McNiece has led the defense throughout the season both statistically and in attitude. Karl McDonald leads the defense with 5 interceptions. Kneye Pendleton missed last week’s game but still leads the Rams with 669 yards on 79 carries. Pearlman added that Justin Pappin has provided a huge boost to the Central offense after his return 2 weeks ago, providing more than 500 yards of total offense. Bryce Carlson leads the Rams in receiving yards with 393 on 24 catches. Eli Gillette, who has played multiple positions this season, led Central in receiving last week with 7 catches for 83 yards. Another key contributor has been 3-year offensive line starter Sam Ullrich. “Sam does a great job of leading us on and off the field,” Pearlman said. Fellow senior offensive lineman Nolan Marcelain “has improved tremendously and has been highly effective this year,” Pearlman added. Pearlman thought Arthur Kimble came into last week’s game and did a nice job running the ball. “Arthur is one of those guys who is not getting a huge amount of publicity on Friday nights, but he makes our team better every day by sacrificing and giving incredible effort,” he said.
Libertyville (5-3, 4-2) at Warren Township (7-1, 6-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.; Warren Township O’Plaine Campus, Gurnee
Last week: Libertyville 31, Lake Forest 6; Warren 27, Lake Zurich 17
Last year: Libertyville 35, Warren 28
Scouting Libertyville: The Wildcats are already playoff eligible and can earn an automatic bid with a win in Gurnee. “We are on a good trajectory on both sides of the ball,” Libertyville coach Tim Budge said. “I think we are finding our identity. On offense, we have run the ball well, which has set up our intermediate pass game, which in turn helps us set up some shots down the field. We have continued to get better at the fundamentals and it has shown in our play. We have been solid on special teams.” Speaking of special teams, Budge said kicker Jack Zaban “has had one of the best all-around years as a kicker that I have seen in 25 years at Libertyville,” he said. Up front offensively, Budge said it’s hard to pick one standout, but Carson Holmes, Myles Batesky and Sawyer Kopala “have been playing great the whole year,” he said. “These three guys are really special and have been the leaders on the offensive line, which is the big reason behind our success as of late with running the football.” Brock Williams had 3 receiving touchdowns last week “and has been a force not only on offense, but also has a kickoff and punt returner scoring touchdowns,” Budge said. Budge calls Aidan Weaver and Gavin Dickson a “great 1-2 punch in the running game,” he said. Trevor Wallace has thrown for 1,012 yards and 14 touchdowns (1 pick). Weaver has run for 414 yards, while Williams has 33 catches for 510 yards and 9 touchdowns. On defense, Libertyville has 50.5 tackles for loss as a team with Kaden Butt (8), Jacob Syc (7) and Erich Walldorff (6.5) leading the way. Logan Tayfel has 3 sacks and 8 quarterback hurries, while Syc leads the team with 12 hurries. Nick Ori has 3 interceptions.
Scouting Warren: A Blue Devils win secures the North Suburban Conference title outright at 7-0, while a loss creates a sharing situation with either Lake Zurich or Stevenson, both 5-1 and playing each other in Lincolnshire Friday. “I love our team’s resiliency and competitiveness,” Warren coach Bryan McNulty said. “They are never out until they are out. They keep fighting and competing and that is contagious.” University of Illinois commit Aaron Stewart is up to 2,229 rushing yards on 242 carries to go with 36 touchdowns. At this time last year through 8 weeks, Stewart had run for 1,505 yards on 198 carries with 20 touchdowns. All take a collective gasp now. Also of note, Stewart has not fumbled this season (242 carries). Zion Vines has 55 tackles and 2 picks on defense. McNulty said senior right tackle Adrian Abrego “has been really consistent,” he said. “He is quiet, but extremely effective.” Senior wideout Corvell Hodges and senior wideout-defensive back Simon Castillo also have been impressive of late. “Corvell provides a spark to our throw game and is an outstanding leader,” McNulty noted. “Simon is the glue that holds our team together. He’s a great player and an even better person.”
Lake Zurich (6-2, 5-1) at Stevenson (6-2, 5-1)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
Last week: Warren 27, Lake Zurich 17; Stevenson 40, Zion 21
Last year: Stevenson 20, Lake Zurich 17
Scouting Lake Zurich: Two important scenarios in play. The winner puts itself in a position to share the conference title if Warren loses at home to Libertyville. The winner also increases its odds of staying home next week in the first round of the state playoffs. “We are a very good team when we don’t make mental mistakes or turn the ball over,” Bears coach Ron Planz said. “I do love the resiliency of this team. They don’t dwell on those mistakes and keep playing hard no matter what. I am excited that we will get a chance to play some more football after this week.” Planz noted Lake Zurich’s offensive line has been “pretty consistent upfront all year,” he said. “We’ve weathered the injury storm and have kept running the ball and protecting the QB.” Planz said Jack Pacini and Olie Goodman have been the most consistent offensive linemen with Logan Griglione, Andy Marmol, Rocco Dicanio and Mathew Musso also being solid all year. “They communicate well and play relentlessly,” Planz said. Planz noted Reid Pfeifer has done a great job at quarterback. “Reid has gotten better every week,” he said. “He has shown a great understanding of the game and I think we have a good chemistry with me as the play caller and him as the field general. He understands why we have what we have in the game plan and why I might be calling that during the game.” Planz added he has been proud of Nick Gast and his versatility and toughness. “Nick has started at corner, played wide receiver and taken handoffs,” Planz said. “He also runs down on our kickoff team and has been a kick returner. I love the selflessness he brings to the team.” Lake Zurich is plus-3 in the turnover battle and has 10 sacks and has only allowed 1 sack. Pfeifer (276 yards on 31 completions against Warren last week) has thrown for 1,152 yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 67.9% of his passes. Kaden Abrantes has run 112 times for 715 yards and 7 scores (6.4 yards per rush). Chris Chang has 38 catches for 616 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Evan Peterson has 24 catches for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Bears as a team have 8 interceptions, 10 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. Jackson Lewandowski has 5 sacks and 6 tackles for loss, while Arturo Zarinana leas the defense with 70 tackles.
Scouting Stevenson: In the Week 8 win against Zion-Benton , Aidan Crawley passed for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran 6 times for 78 yards and a score. Zach Becker had 3 catches for 46 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Aiden Elliott ran 14 times for 71 yards and a touchdown. Daniel Lentz had 4 carries for 21 yards and a score, while Brandon Hersh had 3 catches for 95 yards. Dangelo Washington led the way on defense with 13 tackles, while Frank Concialdi had 12 tackles.
Niles North (3-5, 2-2) at Vernon Hills (4-4, 3-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Niles North 51, Maine East 6; Vernon Hills 14, Maine West 7
Last year: Niles North 24, Vernon Hills 14
Outlook: A doubly important game for the Cougars. A Vernon Hills win makes it playoff eligible and puts it in a position to tie for the Central Suburban Conference North Division title if league unbeaten Highland Park (6-2, 4-0) should falter against winless Maine East (0-8, 0-4) Friday in Park Ridge. After a 1-4 start, Vernon Hills has won three in a row. Niles North has only played 2 teams with a winning record, losing 55-0 to Rolling Meadows and 38-13 on the road to North Division front-runner Highland Park. Vernon Hills lost 35-7 to Highland at home.
Fenwick (6-2, 1-1) at Carmel (6-2, 1-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Scouting Fenwick: It wasn’t a win, but Fenwick perhaps opened eyes with its 35-28 loss to Mount Carmel last week — the Caravan’s closest margin against an in-state opponent this season. Mike Murphy’s pick-six had Fenwick tied with the Caravan in the fourth quarter, but Mount Carmel scored a TD with just over two minutes left. Fenwick’s only losses have come to CCL/ESCC unbeatens Montini and Mount Carmel by a combined nine points. Jamen Williams, who threw for two TDs last week, had completed nearly 70% of his passes through seven games for 1,414 yards and 16 TDs to eight different receivers with just two interceptions. Tommy Thies had a TD run and Jake Thies a TD catch against Mount Carmel. Fenwick beat Carmel 36-12 last year.
Scouting Carmel: Carmel, after missing the playoffs last season, clinched a return bid in resounding fashion last week, blowing out defending Class 8A champion Loyola 42-14 in a game that might knock the Ramblers out of postseason contention. Junior QB Trae Taylor, a Nebraska commit, was spectacular once again with 384 yards and five TDs. Through eight games, Taylor has amassed 2,478 passing yards and 39 total touchdowns while committing only two turnovers. Four different receivers had at least six catches against Loyola, with UMass commit Kai Owens accounting for seven catches for 117 yards.
Other Lake County Friday Night Football Games
Grayslake North (1-7, 1-5) at North Chicago (2-6, 1-5), 7 p.m.
Mundelein (2-6, 1-5) at Lake Forest (3-5, 2-4), 7 p.m.