Scouting Cook County second round playoff football games

Class 8A

No. 11 Belleville East (8-2) at No. 6 Maine South (9-1)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Last week: Belleville East 70, East Aurora 0; Maine South 35, Lockport 0

Last meeting: First meeting

Advancement: Winner plays winner of No. 14 Naperville Central vs. No. 3 Barrington

Outlook: Belleville East is in the midst of its best season since 2010 when the Lancers went to the state semifinals. They have been scoring points in droves all season, averaging 40 points per game. That includes one of their two losses when they were shut out by East St. Louis. The Lancers have many weapons including quarterback Armon Vinson, running backs Brandon Coelman and Chase Boyd along with wide receiver Marlon Fluker. Maine South has weapons of its own. The Hawks are led by Constantine Coines, who has thrown for 2,197 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 752 yards and 13 touchdowns. Justin Turner is the leading receiver with 776 yards on 44 receptions while Evan Agosto has 39 catches for 723 yards and 10 touchdowns. Michael Dellumo has 575 rushing yards along with 328 receiving yards and has scored 14 touchdowns. Maine South is playoff tested. That, and not having a 4-1/2-hour bus ride before the start of the game, should give the Hawks a definitive advantage.

No. 14 Naperville Central (8-2) at No. 3 Barrington (10-0)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Last week: Naperville Central 31, Downers Grove South 22; Barrington 42, Glenbrook South 18

Last meeting: 1st meeting

Advancement: Winner plays winner of No. 11 Belleville East vs. No. 6 Maine South

Outlook: Naperville Central will bring its strong running attack up to Barrington. The Redhawks had that attack on full display last week in their playoff opener. Aidan Clark ran for 248 yards and four touchdowns to help power his team to a win. Naperville Central's offense, which is averaging 25 points per game, will be pitted against a staunch Barrington defense that has been tough to run on this season. Last week the Broncos, led by Devan Van Ness, Soren Leahy, Josh Piepert, Jack Burzinski and Ian Maderosian, stuffed Glenbrook South. They held Titans running back Nick Canning, who came into the game with 1,737 yards, to just 30 yards rushing. The Broncos offense has tremendous balance with Dillon Fitzpatrick, who has rushed for 1,306 yards and 20 touchdowns, and quarterback Nick Peipert, who has thrown for 2,180 yards and 29 touchdowns. Matt Marusich has 658 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns while Will Nahza has 632 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Class 7A

No. 11 Prospect (8-2) at No. 6 Mt. Carmel (9-1)

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Last week: Prospect 46, Buffalo Grove 20; Mt. Carmel 39, St. Rita 10

Last meeting: 2005 7A state championship: Prospect 20, Mt. Carmel 14

Advancement: Winner plays winner of No. 3 Quincy vs. No. 19 Wheaton North

Outlook: Prospect hopes to sneak down to 66th and Dante and come away with a win over one of the state powerhouses. Not many observers are giving the Knights any chance of doing that. But those are many of the same observers who didn't give Prospect a chance against Mt. Carmel in 2005 and look how that turned out. Prospect will need to play nearly a flawless game to pull the game out. Fortunately for Prospect, they are playing their best football right now. The Knights offensive line of James Tsagalis, Malachi Tolliver, Thomas Johl, Vincent Salerno and Aaron Murray have been an instrumental factor in the success. Quarterback Jake Skoog and wide receivers Nick Carlucci and Nathan Cichy look again to get the passing game going. Noah Easter, who rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown last week, is the main cog in the ground game. Mt. Carmel is the defending 7A state champion. The Caravan is led by running back Darrion Dupree, who is committed to Wisconsin, and linebacker Parker Startz, who is committed to Ohio.

No. 13 Downers Grove North (8-2) at No. 4 Hersey (10-0)

When: Saturday, 6 p.m.

Last week: Downers Grove N. 42, Kenwood 13; Hersey 28, Wheaton Warrenville South 19

Last meeting: 1st meeting

Advancement: Winner plays winner of No. 28 Collinsville vs. No. 12 Lincoln-Way West

Outlook: Downers North opened the season with five consecutive wins before losing two in a row to York and Lyons. In those losses, RB/LB Noah Battle was out with injuries. He has returned and that has buoyed the Trojans. QB Owen Lansu is also a force for Downers North. Hersey has many forces that have helped the Huskies to a 10-0 start. They were at this same point last season but lost in this game in overtime at Batavia. It has been a memory that all the Hersey players are looking to erase. WR/DB Carson Grove has shown that his team is ready to take that next step. He has 58 receptions for 1,276 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also has 5 interceptions this season. Iowa commit Will Nolan leads an offensive line that has enabled Nasir McKenzie to rush for 1,340 yards and 19 touchdowns. Colton Gumino has thrown for 1,978 yards and 24 touchdowns while tight end Logan Farrell has 25 catches for 394 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Class 5A

No. 4 Wheaton Academy (9-1) vs. No. 12 St. Viator (6-4)

When: Friday, 7 p.m. at Forest View

Last week: Wheaton Academy 68, Chicago Phoenix 0; St. Viator 14, Richmond-Burton 0

Last meeting: 1st meeting

Advancement: Winner plays winner of No. 1 Chicago Dyett vs. No. 8 Sandwich

Outlook: The winner of this game will advance to the second round for the first time in their school history. Wheaton Academy is in its third consecutive year in the playoffs and seventh overall. The Warriors were tri-conference champs of the Chicagoland Christian Conference. Their only loss came on a 30-29 decision to Hope Academy. The Warriors are led by conference player of the year Brett Kaspar who has thrown for over 20 touchdown passes, and he has 6 interceptions from his defensive back spot. St. Viator has appeared in the state playoffs since 1974. But despite that, the Lions have never won a second-round game in their 18 appearances. They will look to change that behind a formidable duo on the offensive side with RB/WR Dayvion Ellis and quarterback Cooper Kmet. Both were recently named as the top offensive players in the CCL/ESCC Purple Division. Running back Michale Tauscher along with Ben Konopka, who is a 6-foot-3, 280-pound offensive lineman, also help key the offense. Ethan Angst, Phu Truong, Dreise Rapp and Jaylan Sziachetka lead the Lions' defensive unit that pitched a shutout last week.