Scouting Tri-Cities Week 7 games

By Dave Oberhelman

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Aurora Christian (4-2, 1-1)

at St. Laurence (2-4, 1-1)

Chicago Catholic League White

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: St. Rita 35, Aurora Christian 21; St. Francis 36, St. Laurence 0.

Outlook: Perhaps with Aurora Christian's pedigree its 14-14 halftime tie with St. Rita shouldn't have surprised, but it did. What really pleased Eagles coach David Beebe was the ability to run the ball. Nick Edlund ran for 158 yards behind tackles Brock Whelan and Sean Kuhn, center Jake Smith and guards Matt Ward, Joe Betterman and Ross Krantz. Beebe praised offensive line coach Mike Tosaw for getting his boys to adjust on the fly against multiple fronts. "The technique he teaches these kids is fantastic, and they're very smart," Beebe said. Tosaw was a guard for the Buffalo Bills; St. Laurence coach Harold Blackmon played defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks. St. Francis held St. Laurence's no-huddle set to 102 yards despite the abilities of running back Fayezon Smart. Aurora Christian quarterback Austin Bray twisted an ankle against St. Rita and Ben Weerts took over, but Beebe said Bray will start this week.

Next week: Marmion (4-2) at Aurora Christian, Oct. 17; Leo (4-2, 1-1) at St. Laurence, Oct. 17.

Batavia (5-1, 4-0)

at Elgin (0-6, 0-4)

Upstate Eight River

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Batavia 62, Elgin 14.

Last week: Batavia 49, West Chicago 0; Streamwood 28, Elgin 18.

Outlook: In the last five seasons the Bulldogs are 5-0 against the Maroons with a total 250-47 margin of victory. There are two things good about this game as far as Batavia's concerned. It potentially gives banged-up players such as tight end Brandon Nutley, defensive lineman Johnny Robinson, quarterback Kyle Niemiec and running back Blake Crowder more rest before next week's blowout against Geneva. Elgin also runs some similar defensive looks (four-man fronts) to Geneva, so the Bulldogs get a look at that. Elgin coach Kyle Rohde runs the option, so Batavia defensive ends Josh Leonhard and Noah Frazier, tackles Jake Birkhaug, Jon Wall, Tristan Kennedy and Ross Berggren and linebackers Colin Thurston, Jake Hlava and Joe Gross can draw on that experience when they face the likes of Cary-Grove or Lake Zurich in the playoffs. The Bulldogs will not disrespect Elgin. "They don't look like their record," coach Dennis Piron said.

Next week: Geneva (6-0, 4-0) at Batavia, Oct. 17; Elgin at Larkin (0-6, 0-4), Oct. 17.

De La Salle (1-5, 0-2)

at Marmion (4-2, 1-1)

Chicago Catholic League Green

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Fenwick 49, Marmion 13; Lake Forest Academy 43, De La Salle 37.

Outlook: Based last week's score, De La Salle's 29-point average and closing the regular season against Aurora Christian and Montini, Marmion is in no position to look past this 1-5 opponent. "Some teams we played in the past you could not execute and still be victorious by the end of the game," said coach Dan Thorpe, his offense held to field goals twice inside the 25-yard line. "Unfortunately or fortunately we have the same opportunity this Friday night with De La Salle." Thorpe said De La Salle quarterback Tom Duddleston is deadly accurate, but after failing to break 20 points since Week 2 his focus is on offense. A goal last week was to get running back Jordan Glasgow 20 touches but due to lack of execution that didn't happen. That'll be a goal again as well as pounding Lucas Warren inside. "We have to get the internal game going to get the outside game going, whether the outside game is a run or passing on the flank," Thorpe said.

Next week: St. Francis (4-2, 0-1) at De La Salle, Oct. 17; Marmion at Aurora Christian (4-2), Oct. 17.

Glenbard South (4-2, 2-0)

at Aurora Central Catholic (5-1, 1-1)

Metro Suburban West

Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Glenbard South 36, Wheaton Academy 7; Aurora Central Catholic 35, Fenton 13.

Outlook: Aurora Central Catholic coach Brian Casey could sense the seriousness in practices preparing for the conference favorite. "It's a challenge, it's great," Casey said. "I think the kids are excited for it, and we get to play the defending conference champion at our place." Glenbard South lost quarterback Jack Curtis early to injury. Now with Kyle Carli at quarterback Curtis has return at receiver and running back and perhaps their top defensive player. Last week another back, Sean Cooke, ran for 120 yards and 3 touchdowns. In support of tailback Roman Padilla, receiver Brandon Babler and quarterback Matt Rahn, Casey is looking for one of his tall receivers to step up. Last week 6-foot-7 Mario May did with 4 catches for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns. With May, Colin Baillie and Jake Staudacher all 6-4 and up, that's a tall order for Raiders defensive backs like Andrew Wrona and Jimmy Ebbole. The Chargers also hope to make Glenbard South's 3-5 defense pay for being overly aggressive, and Casey suggested a track meet contest may be in order. "I think in the first half we've got to give them a little bit of doubt," he said.

Next week: IC Catholic (2-4, 1-1) at Glenbard South, Oct. 17; Aurora Central Catholic at Riverside-Brookfield (4-2, 2-0), Oct. 17.

Larkin (0-6, 0-4)

at St. Charles East (2-4, 2-2)

Upstate Eight River

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last year: St. Charles East 55, Larkin 12.

Last week: St. Charles North 56, Larkin 7; Geneva 40, St. Charles East 7.

Outlook: Let's just throw this out there as a prediction: Larkin will not get off 82 offensive plays against St. Charles East as Geneva did last week. A refrain Saints coach Bryce Farquhar has repeated all season is "putting a whole game together." St. Charles East stands a good chance of doing that, though it will have to batten down on Larkin running back Cameron Tomlin and the longball threat of quarterback David Hibbler to receiver A.J. Hunter. On the other hand, Farquhar has liked what he's seen of safeties Mo Flanigan and Jack Russell limiting big plays. The coach also would like to get more offense through the air to Flanigan and Justin Galantes after Jake Asquini and Nick Candre have paced the receivers all year. The passing game is an option against Larkin. After St. Charles North ran for 390 yards against the Royals the ground game is another option even with Saints left guard Brennan Bosch questionable due to injury; Jake Rosenfeldt will l step in as he has in the past.

Next week: Elgin (0-6, 0-4) at Larkin, Oct. 17; St. Charles East at St. Charles North (4-2, 2-2), Oct. 17.

Morris (2-4, 0-2)

at Kaneland (2-4, 0-3)

Northern Illinois Big XII East

Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Kaneland 49, Morris 14.

Last week: Sycamore 14, Kaneland 7; DeKalb 42, Morris 0.

Outlook: Holy cats, one of these usual state powers is going to be knocked out of the playoffs. Morris, which trails the conference in both points scored and points allowed, has lost three straight games and Kaneland four. Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly is expecting the usual hard-fought game against Morris. "I'm not expecting anything else," he said. Led by quarterback and leading rusher Griffin Sobol, Morris has a 2-to-1 ratio of run to pass both in attempts and yardage. Defense was not much of an issue last week against Sycamore, as Kaneland mainly held running back Dion Hooker in check and outgained the Spartans 225 yards to 198. The focus Friday is to reinstate the passing game, which one week after receiver Connor Fedderly gained 294 yards himself the Knights mustered 82 yards as a team. Forty-one of them came from Mitch Groen, who added an interception on defense. "We lost the battle of turnovers, is what it came down to," Tom Fedderly said. "That's usually the (biggest) statistic there is."

Next week: Sycamore (4-2, 1-1) at Morris, Oct. 17; Kaneland at LaSalle-Peru (0-6), Oct. 17.

St. Charles North (4-2, 2-2)

at Streamwood (2-4, 2-2)

Upstate Eight River

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last year: St. Charles North 55, Streamwood 6.

Last week: St. Charles North 56, Larkin 7; Streamwood 28, Elgin 18.

Outlook: St. Charles North looks to put the hammer down on the last third of the season, one game at a time. "We can't get to six wins before we get to five," said North Stars coach Rob Pomazak. Among a mess of nice things last week - 517 yards of offense; interceptions by Tyler Bell, Jake Spaniol, Zach Woeste, Jack Chantos and Chris Lanciloti; emptying the bench - was 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior Dom Sidari back from injury after a month, running for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sidari and sophomore Eric Lins are a solid inside-outside punch. Against Streamwood, Jordan Bergren, Dalton Young, Jack Glavin and Quinn Calcagno look to pressure Sabres quarterback Max Draper, who has a great connection to receiver Noah Polich. Running back Tae Reetz is an athlete - he sacked Elgin 4 times - Streamwood goes nearly 3-to-1 pass to run. It'll need it all. "We haven't played our best game yet and we're getting healthy, and we're kind of excited to see how things go," Pomazak said.

Next week: St. Charles East (2-4, 2-2) at St. Charles North, Oct. 17; West Chicago (3-3, 2-2) at Streamwood, Oct. 18.

West Aurora (1-5, 1-3)

at Waubonsie Valley (6-0, 4-0)

Upstate Eight Valley

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Neuqua Valley 48, West Aurora 35; Waubonsie Valley 38, Metea Valley 37.

Outlook: Scoring 35 points against Neuqua Valley is an achievement, but West Aurora's playoff hopes were dashed. As Blackhawks coach Nate Eimer said, they've been here before. For his first class of four-year players, his goal is to "make a mark," he said. "We're getting better, but the hard part is I think Waubonsie Valley's the best team on our schedule." The option combo of quarterback Jake Bennema and running back Tony Durns has generated 1,356 yards and 19 touchdowns. With Blackhawks lineman Zack Vacca out injured it'll put pressure on defensive end Jovontte Bolden as well as linebackers Dylan Matrisciano, Fabian Guerrero, Joe Griffin, DaQuan Dross and Drake Spears. Offensively West Aurora looks to continue quarterback Johnathon Doyle's big 200-yard passing game against Neuqua. "We've got to create turnovers, we've got to make big plays and if we can hang around with them you never know," Eimer said.

Next week: West Aurora at East Aurora (0-6, 0-4), Oct. 17; Waubonsie Valley at Neuqua Valley (4-2, 4-0), Oct. 17.

West Chicago (3-3, 2-2)

at Geneva (6-0, 4-0)

Upstate Eight River

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Batavia 49, West Chicago 0; Geneva 40, St. Charles East 7.

Outlook: The West Chicago-Batavia score may be deceiving. West Chicago quarterback Peyton Seidler was unavailable and his passes to primarily Alex Mitchell are key to the Wildcats offense. Without Seidler, back Danny Lazzerini was easy to target. Seidler should be back against Geneva, which ran an astounding 82 plays last week, going 6-for-6 on fourth-down conversions and 14-of-20 on third- and fourth-down. "When I'm on third down I'm really on second down," explained coach Rob Wicinski, who finds the Vikings moving the chains via the pass. Why not, with quarterback Daniel Santacaterina. The senior threw for 293 yards and 3 touchdowns, getting both Pace Temple and, in a breakout, Mike Landi over 100 yards. Watch the skirmish between Geneva center John Boenzi and West Chicago's 300-pound Bryan Smith, anchoring a 5-man front. Wicinski respects West Chicago coach Ted Monken's plan: "He's got our attention." Next week: West Chicago at Streamwood (2-4, 2-2), Oct. 18; Geneva at Batavia (5-1, 4-0), Oct. 17.