Scouting North Chicago at Vernon Hills

North Chicago (1-7, 1-4) at Vernon Hills (7-1, 5-0)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Last week: North Chicago lost to Grant, 74-44; Vernon Hills lost to Lake Forest, 21-0.

Skinny: Vernon Hills finds itself in the unusual position of having to get back on track. Last week's loss provided the Cougars with not only their first loss of the season but the first chink in the armor of their amazing defense. Prior to the Lake Forest game, Vernon Hills boasted the only defense in the state of Illinois that had pitched a shutout in every single game. The Cougars were out-scoring opponents 310-0. But Lake Forest quickly put an end to Vernon Hills' hopes to finish the season without allowing a point by scoring 14 points in the first quarter alone. "After they scored their second touchdown, we kind of went flat for about five minutes there," Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said. "I think we were a bit thrown off by it because it had never happened before. The more that the streak (of scoreless games) went on, the more the pressure built. But there's no question that we still really enjoyed the ride. It was just one of those nights for us and we just have to put it behind us and move on."-The Cougars are looking to be more efficient offensively against North Chicago than they were against Lake Forest. "We were inside their 30-yard line four times and came away with nothing," Monken said of Lake Forest. "We have to take advantage of those opportunities." Vernon Hills also needs to take advantage of its two Division I wide receivers. Evan Spencer (Ohio State) and DaVaris Daniels (Notre Dame) had just one catch between them against Lake Forest. Daniels did rush for more than 100 yards, however-North Chicago is coming off a crazy game in which it combined with Grant for 118 points. The Warhawks gave up 74 points but proved that its offense can be very potent. Starting quarterback Jermaine Garrett passed for 150 of North Chicago's 245 passing yards. The Warhawks also rushed for 157 yards (80 of which came from Keenan Handy) and scored on a kickoff return.