Scouting Week 3 Cook County football games
Hersey (0-2) at Maine West (1-1)
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Last week: Barrington 35, Hersey 21; Wauconda 35, Maine West 14
Last year: Did not play
Outlook: Hersey has had two difficult opening games, dropping both to Warren and Barrington, who are both 8A teams. The Huskies, who play in 7A, showed that they could compete with both of those teams. Quarterback Jake Nawrot continues to impress, throwing for 666 yards, which is second in the state, and four touchdowns. Running back Brandon Jenkins has 157 yards on the season. Maine West continues a difficult stretch of games where they will face Prospect next week. Nathan Abede has rushed for 104 yards in each of the Warriors’ first two games. He faces a Hersey defense that has allowed over 700 rushing yards in its first two games.
Schaumburg (1-1) at Highland Park (2-0)
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Last week: Schaumburg 40, Elk Grove 14; Highland Park 28, Deerfield 21
Last year: Did not play
Outlook: The Saxons are very close to being unbeaten. That’s in part to an offense that has been able to strike from both the ground and the air. The Saxons have gained 347 yards on the ground and 297 yards in the air. Vince Heydecker leads the running game with 167 yards this season and a pair of touchdowns while Xavier Tudela has 90 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Ray Black 79 yards and a touchdown. Black, who has accounted for all the passing yards, has thrown 3 touchdowns. Highland Park is coming off its first win over Deerfield in 9 seasons.
Prospect (1-1) at Niles West (0-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Palatine 37, Prospect 34 (OT); Mundelein 18, Niles West 14
Last year: Did Not Play
Outlook: Prospect had a pair of tough opponents to open the season. The Knights travel to Skokie to take on a Niles West team that has dropped its first two games. Prospect appeared to be on the verge of a 2-0 start, but the Knights couldn’t hang on and lost in overtime. The Knights got another solid performance from their junior backfield Jackson Cacini continues his rise at quarterback for Prospect and has now thrown for 286 yards thus far. Running back Matthew Donnelly is coming off a 160-yard game and has 223 yards this year.
Elk Grove (0-2) at Glenbrook North (1-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Schaumburg 40, Elk Grove 14; Grant 40, Glenbrook North 20
Last year: Did not play
Outlook: Elk Grove is looking for a bounce back win in the worst way. The Grenadiers came into the season with high hopes after just missing the playoffs with a 4-5 mark last year. The Grens are just 22% (4-of-18) on third down and have turned the ball over four times. Elk Grove has allowed its opponents to have a 55% (12-of-22) efficiency on third down and have not forced a turnover. Ran Tanner has 154 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the Grens.
Rolling Meadows (1-1) at Niles North (0-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Rolling Meadows 44, Conant 8; Leyden 35, Niles North 12
Last year: Did Not Play
Outlook: The Mustangs have played very well in the first two games under new head coach Devonte Adams. Mustangs quarterback Joe Brigham is coming off his best game of his career, throwing for 247 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for two others. Naval Academy commit Sean Kerr has been a beast on both sides of the ball. The tight end caught three touchdown passes last week and had 109 receiving yards. He also keyed a defense that allowed just 8 points. That defense will face a Niles North offense that has scored just 18 points this season.
Buffalo Grove (0-2) at Deerfield (0-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Fremd 55, Buffalo Grove 6; Highland Park 28, Deerfield 21
Last year: Deerfield 28, Buffalo Grove 7
Outlook: Buffalo Grove is hoping to turn things around after a difficult first two games where the Bison surrendered 55 points in each contest. Buffalo Grove is also hoping to get its offense in gear after being stymied last week, gaining just 98 yards. Highland Park has lost both its games by a touchdown or less.
Conant (0-2) at Vernon Hills (1-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Rolling Meadows 44, Conant 8; Lakes 49, Vernon Hills 6
Last year: Did not play
Outlook: Conant is off to a rough start as the Cougars are mired in a 15-game losing streak. Conant has run the ball well, gaining 370 yards on the ground behind Jackson Spizzirri, Nathan Kutella and Abhimanyu Sarma. The Conant defense will have to stop a Vernon Hills offense that tallied 17 points in its opener before scoring just six points last week.
Barrington (2-0) at Glenbrook South (2-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Barrington 35, Hersey 21; Glenbrook South 47, Taft 0
Last year: Barrington 51, Glenbrook South 21
Outlook: Barrington’s offense has been operating in high gear with the Broncos scoring 83 points. Sophomore running back Lamar Osterhues has been a huge part of that success, rushing for 292 yards and five touchdowns while Cameron Massillo has 157 yards and four touchdowns. Luke Tepas has thrown for 522 yards and three touchdowns with 293 of those yards going to Austin Coles. Glenbrook South won its opener over defending 8A runner-up York and then rolled over Taft. Barrington has beaten Glenbrook South in their last two meetings and five of their last six meetings.
Evanston (1-1) at Fremd (2-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: St. Laurence 37, Evanston 21; Fremd 55, Buffalo Grove 6
Last year: Did not play
Outlook: Fremd has been magnificent on both sides of the ball in their first two games. The Vikings, led by Johnny O’Brien who has over 500 passing yards and 7 touchdown passes, have scored 90 points in their first two. Not to be undone, the Fremd defense has smothered its opponents, allowing just 9 points. Evanston head coach Miles Osei, who played at Prospect and was the former head coach at Elk Grove, returns to the Northwest suburbs as the head coach of the Wildcats.
Leyden (1-1, 0-0) at Willowbrook (0-2, 0-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last week: Leyden 35, Nile North 12; Oswego East 24, Willowbrook 7
Last year: Willowbrook 44, Leyden 6
Outlook: Leyden hasn’t beaten Willowbrook since 2016. But this could be the year that Leyden breaks that string. The Eagles have been getting great running from Lucas Lattiker, who has rushed for 354 yards and five touchdowns. Matthew Aquirre has done a very good job of managing the offense, throwing for 297 yards and two touchdowns. Willowbrook allowed a 200-yard rusher last week and has allowed 52 points this season.
Marmion Academy (1-1) at St. Viator (1-1)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Marmion 55, North Lawndale 0; Kenwood 27, St. Viator 7
Last year: St. Viator 34, Marmion 7
Outlook: Both teams played CPS schools last week. The major difference is that Kenwood is a top contender in 5A, and North Lawndale is not. Viator played a good first half, tied at 7-7. But the Lions had difficulty with Kenwood’s speed. The Lions will look to regroup this week behind Wynn Phillipi, who had 10 tackles with 3 sacks and 3 tackles for loss last week.
New Trier (2-0) at Hoffman Estates (2-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: New Trier 24, Waubonsie Valley 14; Hoffman Estates 63. Wheeling 6
Last year: Did not play
Outlook: Hoffman, which has the smallest enrollment in the MSL West, will begin a two-week string of games where the Hawks will play the two largest schools in the Central Suburban League. Hoffman comes into the first of those games scoring at will in the first two weeks of the season with the Hawks piling up 118 points. Landon Ford has been very solid when he touches the ball in the backfield while Torey Baskin has been dangerous at wide receiver and has been torching secondaries. They will face a New Trier defense that has allowed 14 points per game.
Palatine (2-0) at Maine South (1-1)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Palatine 37, Prospect 34 (OT); Maine South 42, Warren 14
Last year: Did not play
Outlook: This should be a great one in Park Ridge. Palatine pulled off a Lazarus-type performance last week to remain unbeaten. Princeton-bound Kole Fager continues to be a name to watch as the senior is dangerous every time he touches the ball. After losing badly to Lincoln-Way East in the opening week, many were ready to write off Maine South. The Hawks then showed why they are still one of the top programs in the state as they manhandled a very good Warren team. QB Jameson Purcell will be looking to replicate his 23-of-32, 256-yard, three-touchdowns passing and two-touchdowns rushing performance.
Wheeling (0-2) at Maine East (0-2)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Hoffman Estates 63. Wheeling 6; Round Lake 41, Maine East 0
Last year: Wheeling 17, Maine East 14
Outlook: Both teams have had difficulty scoring and stopping their opponents. Wheeling has allowed 115 points while scoring just 6. Maine East has surrendered 82 points and scored 21. Wheeling’s Christian Campos has the Wildcats excited with his play. He had a 71-yard touchdown run on the second offensive play of the game and finished with 7 carries for 96 yards. Maine East finished with just 76 yards of offense last week with 3 turnovers.