Scouting: Waubonsie Valley @ St. Charles North

Waubonsie Valley (2-1, 1-0) at St. Charles North (3-0, 1-0)

Upstate Eight Conference

Game time 7:30 p.m. today.

Last year Did not play.

Last week Waubonsie Valley 21, Bartlett 14; St. Charles North 55, East Aurora 6.

Outlook: It's not too soon to say this game could decide the Upstate Eight. These teams haven't met during Paul Murphy's tenure at Waubonsie, since St. Charles North's 21-14 victory in 2002 that launched its streak of seven straight playoff seasons. "It's going to be a chess match early until we find out what they're going to do," Murphy said. Aside from fixing a turnover problem - 13 in three games - he hopes the Warriors continue to establish quarterback Kenny Clay as a running threat along with tailback Tre Clark. Clay carried 11 times for 116 yards last week with touchdown runs of 12 and 75 yards to rally Waubonsie from a 14-7 halftime deficit. Clay also threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Buckner. All-Area receiver Scott Kuehn will look for an upswing after catching 1 pass for 8 yards against Bartlett. Warriors linebackers Owen Saldana, David Greenspan and Cory Connolly counter a North Stars squad, fronted by linemen Matt Mautone and Ryan Brown, that last week scored the second-most points in program history. Senior tailback Jordan Huxtable, who ran for 892 yards in 2008, returned from an ankle injury to break his first carry 33 yards for a touchdown. "We've got to shut down their running game," Murphy said. "If we don't it's going to be a long night for us."

Next week Neuqua Valley vs. Waubonsie Valley at North Central College; Larkin at St. Charles North.