Scouting Week 6 Cook County football games

Maine West (4-1, 1-0) at Maine East (2-3, 0-1)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Last week: Maine West beat Highland Park 37-12; Maine East lost to Vernon Hills 36-12

Last year: Maine West 42, Maine East 0

Outlook: The annual district meeting between these teams should be a lot more competitive than it has been in recent years. Maine West bounced back last week after losing in Week 4 to Rolling Meadows. Tely Litas and Dante Hicks have become a formidable duo that should carry Maine West through the remainder of the season. Maks Makota continues to be a force on the ground for the Warriors. That could make things difficult to Maine East, which surrendered over 400 rushing yards last week. The Blue Demons, who have now lost three in a row, have been led by quarterback Tryfon Giolas and wide receiver Jaiden Whitehead.

DePaul (4-1, 1-0) at St. Viator (3-2, 0-1)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Last week: Loyola 35, DePaul 7; St. Viator lost to St. Ignatius 36-13

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: After winning their first three games, Viator stepped up in class to play tougher opponents the last two weeks and fell in both contests. In both of those losses, the Lions gave up a combined 59 points compared to the first three games when they allowed just 13 points. They face a DePaul team that scored an average of 33 points. If Viator can get Copper Kmet and Dayvion Ellis going early, the Lions should have a solid opportunity to turn things around.

Buffalo Grove (1-4, 0-1) at Hersey (3-2, 1-0)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Last week: Buffalo Grove lost to Rolling Meadows 28-13; Hersey beat Elk Grove 55-7

Last year: Hersey 35, Buffalo Grove 0

Outlook: Buffalo Grove put together a solid effort last week but just fell short of their second win a row. The Bison have attacked well with Dylan Spedale, Jacob Hensley and sophomore Matthew Kaput leading the offensive charge. Hersey looks to have figured things out after their 0-2 start. Since then, the Huskies have outscored their opponents 108-54 while winning their last three. Colton Gumino is coming off a 6-touchdown performance, running for 4 and throwing for 2. Gumino has now thrown 10 touchdown passes and ran for 6 others. Brandon Jenkins has run for 6 touchdowns and returned a kickoff last week for a touchdown.

Barrington (5-1, 1-0) at Fremd (5-0, 1-0)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Barrington beat Conant 55-14; Fremd beat Hoffman Estates 37-6

Last year: Barrington 13, Fremd 7

Outlook: If you love great quarterback play, this is the place to be on Friday. The game features two of the area’s best quarterbacks in Barrington’s Nick Peipert and Fremd’s Johnny O’Brien. Both are D-1 commits with Peipert, who is a senior, committed to St. Thomas in Minnesota and O’ Brien, who is a junior, committed to Northwestern. Peipert has thrown for 1,217 yards and 14 touchdowns while O’Brien has thrown for 1,373 yards and 16 touchdowns. Both teams have a solid core of wide receivers for their quarterbacks to target. Barrington has Matt Kania, Ian Tepas and sophomore Austin Coles. Fremd counters with Brennan Saxe, Marquan Brewster and Davyn Kuhl.

Hoffman Estates (4-1, 0-1) at Palatine (4-1, 1-0)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Hoffman Estates lost to Fremd 37-6; Palatine beat Schaumburg 35-0

Last year: Palatine 49, Hoffman Estates 34

Outlook: Hoffman Estates had a rough night last Friday. But the Hawks feel they can turn things around. The Hawks will lean heavily on Nate Cleveland to lead his team back. Torey Baskin and Liam Patrick should be strong at wide receiver. The Hawks can change things up and switch Cleveland to a wide receiver spot and bring in Austin Lesniak to play quarterback. Palatine appears to have recovered from its opening game, last-second loss. The Pirates have shored up their defense and are led by Michigan-commit Jaylen Williams, Rufus Clark, Trey Widlowsk, Jackson Brown and D’Mitry Smith. They have allowed just 31 points in their last four games. Quarterback Will Santiago is developing into a dual threat.

Prospect (3-2, 1-0) at Rolling Meadows (4-1, 1-0)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Prospect beat Wheeling 42-0; Rolling Meadows beat Buffalo Grove 28-13

Last year: Prospect 51, Rolling Meadows 7

Outlook: Prospect looks to have regained its form from previous seasons. The Knights, who dropped their opening two games, have now won three straight. In those victories, Prospect has averaged 45 points. Jack Skoog, Noah Easter, Nate Cichy, Nick Carlucci and Lucas Deines have the Knights’ offense doing lots of damage. This will be the biggest test to date for Rolling Meadows, which has won four in a row. The Mustangs have shaken off injuries and had players step up to get to them to this point. Quincy Johnson, Sean Kerr, Arman Lepuzanovic and Jake Ganatos are just some of the players who have kept the Mustangs ahead of the pack.

Elk Grove (1-4, 0-1) at Wheeling (2-3, 0-1)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Elk Grove lost to Hersey 55-7; Wheeling lost to Prospect 42-0

Last year: Elk Grove 35, Wheeling 6

Outlook: Both teams took a step backwards after posting victories in the previous week. Elk Grove will be looking to get back on track after turning the ball over three times last week. The Grenadiers did have some success offensively. Daniel Pasterski threw a touchdown pass to Daryl Hunt while Dylan Berkowitz ran well again. After a pair of consecutive victories, Wheeling met its match last week with Prospect. Grant Scheuerman had his three-game touchdown streak broken as the Wildcats were blanked.

Glenbrook North (2-3, 0-1) at Maine South (2-3, 0-1)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Last week: Glenbrook North lost to Deerfield 49-7; Maine South beat New Trier 32-0

Last year: Maine South 54, Glenbrook North 15

Outlook: After a brutal nonconference schedule, Maine South went back to the CSL South, where the Hawks have dominated for over 30 years. They did it again last week in their conference opener with 406 yards of offense. Michael Dellumo found room to run and catch with 212 yards and two touchdowns. Jameson Purcell is getting more and more comfortable at quarterback. The main key was the Maine South defense. Led by Dellumo, Gavin Smith, Tyler Fortis and Jake Cantal, the Hawks pitched their first shutout of the season.

Schaumburg (4-1, 0-1) at Conant (0-5, 0-1)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Last week: Schaumburg lost to Palatine 35-0; Conant lost to Barrington 55-14

Last year: Conant 16, Schaumburg 12

Outlook: Conant’s last win came against Schaumburg as the Cougars have lost 9 in a row. Conant has had moments when they can play with anyone, like the first quarter of last week’s game against Barrington. But they need to guard against the moments when the wheels come off and they surrender six consecutive touchdowns in a 14- minute stretch. Schaumburg suffered its first loss of the season last week. The Saxons were shut out despite racking up 301 yards of offense. Ray Black continues to be the focal point of the offense and is coming off a game where he threw for 195 yards while running for 19. Javonte McCoy and Alex Christian have also been solid receivers for Black.

Morton (2-3, 1-1) at Leyden (3-2, 1-1)

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

Last week: Morton lost to Downers Grove South 48-0; Leyden lost to Glenbard West 63-0

Last year: Leyden 7, Morton 6

Outlook: Both teams failed to score last week, and Morton hasn’t scored in two weeks. Leyden gave up a program-record 63 points last week to Glenbard West. Despite that, Leyden is still in the playoff hunt. The Eagles desperately need a win this week in Leyden’s homecoming game. The Eagles would then need to pick up another victory in their final three games to become playoff eligible.