Scouting Dundee-Crown at Grayslake North

Posted September 15, 2010 11:00 pm

By Jerry Fitzpatrick

Dundee-Crown (0-3) at Grayslake North (2-1)

When: 7:15 p.m. Thursday

Last year: Grayslake North 41, Dundee-Crown 18

Last week: Johnsburg 38, Dundee-Crown 35; Prairie Ridge 33, Jacobs 6

Outlook: The Chargers look to break into the win column on the synthetic turf in Grayslake. Last week, the offense came alive for 517 total yards after a switch back to some old tactics. Straight-ahead rushing wasn't working, so coach Mike Davis relied on some plays from last season to get quick running back Danny Sharp and speedy wide receiver Steve Schwartz more space with which to work. The Chargers scored 35 points against Johnsburg, their highest total since 2007 and the third-most in six seasons under Davis. Sharp caught 4 balls for 103 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown. Schwartz, the area's second-leading receiver, has 15 receptions for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns. He upped his average per catch to 21.3 yards per catch last week after touchdown receptions of 29 and 66 yards. He also returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Tanner Kotlan leads the area in completions (52) attempts (101) and passing yards (796) and is tied with South Elgin's John Menken for the area lead with 6 touchdown passes. Kotlan also leads the area in interceptions (7), though that statistic is a bit misleading. Last week against Johnsburg, the senior had one pass picked off when a receiver slipped; another interception was the result of a tipped ball. These schools have split two Fox Valley Conference crossovers since the Knights joined the league in 2006. "They run the ball a lot, have some decent-sized linemen and their backs run pretty hard," Davis said of Grayslake North. "They did a nice job of holding down McHenry, which had been scoring a lot of points. They're not bad. We've gotten better each week. The offense got a lot better last week. The defense is tackling better. Two of those touchdowns last week were on the offense. The kids are staying positive and we hope to continue getting better."

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