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Jacobs hoping its Halloween treat is a playoff game

Jacobs football coach Bill Mitz doesn't have anything against trick or treaters.

It's just that for the last 26 years he has rarely been home to hand out candy.

Mitz is usually either coaching in or preparing his teams for the IHSA playoffs. His Stevenson teams made the playoffs 21 straight seasons from 1989-2009.

Since taking over at Jacobs in 2010, Mitz's teams have made four straight playoff appearances. Not bad considering Jacobs made the playoffs only five times in 32 seasons prior to his arrival.

The 2014 Golden Eagles were once 4-1, but consecutive losses to Huntley, Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South leave them 4-4 and in desperate need of a win to get in.

Jacobs enters Week 9 with 34 playoff points (combined wins by opponents) and is guaranteed 2 more. The qualifying threshold last season was 36 points. In 2012, it was 38 points.

To keep Jacobs' and Mitz's playoff streaks alive, Jacobs must win a road game on Friday at McHenry (3-5) and hope it has enough playoff points.

"It's a huge week," the veteran coach said this week. "This is big for us. The league (Fox Valley Conference Valley Division) is a good league. We have a chance to have another winning season and qualify for the playoffs for the fifth year, which is big for our school when you look at the history.

"We sure stubbed our toe last week by not getting that one, but, hey, you have to move on. We've had three tough weeks here."

No one wearing brown and gold has taken the 3-game slide sitting down. After a thorough defeat against Cary-Grove two weeks ago, the Golden Eagles were back on the practice field within 10 hours in helmets and shoulder pads making corrections.

Due to what Mitz considered an area of deficiency in last week's 24-14 loss at Crystal Lake South, blocking became the focus of full-pad practices on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The hitting eased up a bit on Wednesday.

"We basically scrimmaged those two days to see what we're made of here, and the kids have responded well," Mitz said. "They've enjoyed practice. I think they like the fact that we're a little bit more physical in practice instead of holding bags. We'll find out. Hopefully, Friday night we're happy people. And even happier on Saturday."

Jacobs faced a similar scenario two seasons ago. Needing a win to finish 5-4 and make the playoffs, the Golden Eagles went on the road and defeated rival Dundee-Crown 21-3. Earlier that same season, they won a shootout at McHenry, 49-42.

Friday's game against the Warriors has the makings of another high-scoring affair. McHenry scores 35 points per outing and allows 39. Jacobs averages 28 points a game and surrenders 23.6.

The players to watch for the Warriors are quarterback Mike Briscoe and fullback Alec Glauser. Briscoe, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior, is a 50-percent passer approaching 1,200 yards. Glauser has rushed for over 800 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Jacobs' multifaceted offense was kept under wraps the past three weeks by three of the strongest defenses the Golden Eagles have faced this season. Through their 4-1 start, they averaged 424 yards, led by senior tailback Josh Walker, who to that point had carried 82 times for 796 yards and 14 touchdowns (9.7 avg.).

However, the openings Walker likes to cut through were closed the last three weeks. In losses to the Red Raiders, Trojans and Gators, the Golden Eagles were held to 224 total yards per game and Walker was limited to 201 rushing yards on 42 carries (4.8 avg.) and a lone touchdown.

The Jacobs passing game hasn't fared much better of late. Sophomore quarterback Chris Katrenick has thrown only 2 touchdown passes in three weeks and has been intercepted 3 times while completing 34 of 81 attempts (42 percent) for 538 yards.

"They've given up a lot of points on defense," Mitz said of McHenry. "We hope we can score. We've got to get going. It's do or die.

"I don't want to be handing out candy next Friday."

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