High Five: The reasons we’re looking forward to Week 1 of the prep football season

Nearly 300 prep football games will be played between Thursday and Saturday, officially kicking off the IHSA season.

Trying to narrow the wave of excitement to a handful of paragraphs isn’t easy, not even by shrinking the map to the 80-plus schools in the Daily Herald coverage area.

But this edition of the High Five takes a shot by breaking down what we’re looking forward to in Week 1 of the season.

5. Quarterback crazy

So much attention has been focused on this season’s crop of area quarterbacks, and with good reason. Montini’s Israel Abrams (Miami, Fla.), Hersey’s Jake Nawrot (Kentucky) and Maine South’s Jameson Purcell (Indiana) headline a remarkable class of senior signal-callers.

When talent like this hits the field, it’s must-see football. Expect to see not just family, friends and fans at their games. Average football followers with no connection to the players will be in attendance just to gauge the hype.

College fan sites will monitor how the quarterbacks perform in anticipation of their potential impact at the next level. By the end of this weekend, segments of the entire country will be analyzing their stats and film.

So much attention will be on the openers, especially with this trio of QBs.

4. Running wild

Season after season, we anxiously await the opening performances of our high-profile running backs. The last two years in particular, we had the joy of watching Warren’s Aaron Stewart.

In last year’s opener, he rushed for 438 yards and all six of his team’s touchdowns in a wild win over Hersey. As a junior, he had 363 rushing yards and five scores in another win over Hersey.

Who will it be this weekend? Barrington’s Lamar Osterhues or Glenbard South’s Elijah Donahue? Antioch’s Logan Lennon or Glenbard West’s Bryce Ellens?

As much as we’ve talked about the quarterbacks, expect to see big numbers from some, if not all, of the above running backs.

3. Homecoming

Congrats to the Larkin High School community on its new stadium at Ray Haley Field, named after the program’s first head football coach. The stadium is part of the $11.8 million project at the school’s Royals Athletic Complex.

Larkin actually opens the season with two road games (at Round Lake and Johnsburg), but it’s worth a few lines now to celebrate their debut home game — South Elgin on Sept. 4.

For more than 60 years, Larkin competed without a true home-field advantage. Playing at nearby Elgin High School’s Memorial Field just wasn’t the same.

The Royals finally have a place to call their own.

2. Fantastic finishes

You know they’re coming, but from where?

A quick look at last year’s Week 1 schedule demonstrates what’s likely on tap this weekend. St. Francis, for example, beat Kenwood by two points. Glenbard West topped Batavia by three points, St. Charles North edged Minooka by a point and so on.

The drive for five wins and a playoff berth doesn’t matter anymore because of the expanded playoff field. But that won’t matter once the lights are glowing.

In the waning moments of a close game, everyone wants that win.

1. Expect the unexpected

The unknown defines the thrill of season openers.

Someone whose name you’ve never heard will make a game-changing play or put in an eye-opening performance. An upset brews somewhere, maybe a handful.

And, who knows, maybe it won’t rain.

kschmit@dailyherald.com