Scouting Aurora Christian at Montini

Aurora Christian (4-2, 1-2) at Montini (4-2, 3-0)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: Montini 41, Aurora Christian 8.

Last week: Marmion 42, Aurora Christian 20; Montini 35, Marian Central 6.

Outlook: The big news out of Aurora Christian is the loss of sophomore receiver Chad Beebe, son of Eagles coach Don Beebe. Chad has a broken bone in his left foot and has played on it since Week 1 at DuSable, catching 32 passes for 501 yards and 6 touchdowns. "His pain threshold must be through the roof," Don Beebe said. "I don't know if I could have done it." This means the spread offense will rely more on receivers Andrew Cassara, Grayson Roberts, Brandon Mayes and running back Mitch Holtz both on the ground and catching balls out of the backfield. Slippery Eagles quarterback Anthony Maddie must release the ball quickly to escape Montini's blitz package and charging linemen. Maddie is far removed from the sophomore who went 0-for-8 passing against Montini in last year's Class 5A title game loss by Joliet Catholic. "That's comparing apples to oranges," Don Beebe said, now that Maddie is in a passing scheme that has allowed him to complete 85 of 168 passes for 1,437 yards and 17 touchdowns. Montini also runs a spread, led by quarterback Matt Westerkamp, who last week completed 25 of 31 passes for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns, and ran for 3 more scores. His top receiver is probable all-stater Jordan Westerkamp, Matt's cousin, who last week tied a Broncos program record with 12 receptions, for 189 yards, 2 touchdowns. He excels on the perimeter, where cornerback Mayes looks forward to the challenge with help over the top. Still, Beebe looks for defensive linemen Sam Miller, David Anderson, Jon Mangan and linebackers Todd Clapp, Dylan Lydecker and Holtz to check the Broncos ground game and hassle the quarterback. Both teams seek that crucial fifth win for playoff consideration which would be Montini's 18th straight. "This is a fan's game to watch, because they're going to watch two great offenses compete," Beebe said.

Next week: Immaculate Conception (4-2) at Aurora Christian, Oct. 15; Wheaton Academy (5-1) at Montini, Oct. 15.