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Football: Rolling Meadows hoping to extend East streak

Rolling Meadows is working on a dynasty in Mid-Suburban East football.

The Mustangs have won or shared the East title the past three years. And it looks like they'll at least be in the discussion to make it four straight.

"The kids are are proud of what they have accomplished," Rolling Meadows coach Matt Mishler said. "But that was in the past. Each year is new and we have been working hard again."

Rolling Meadows, which has qualified for the playoffs the last 4 seasons and 11 of the last 12, has an offensive line that averages 250 pounds. It should give running backs Kevin Lacosse and Nick Delporte room to run and junior quarterback Asher O'Hara time to throw.

The Mustangs' defense is stout as well, led by OLB Luka Pavlakis and linebackers Ryan Golbeck and Teddy Golaris.

"We like our defense very much," Mishler said.

Prospect ended its season with a three-game winning streak, all against East opponents. It gave the Knights and coach Mike Sebestyen something to work from.

"The kids came into the off season ready to work," Sebestyen said. "And it has paid huge dividends for us. I think we will be ready to go from the start."

Matt Drew, who is a three-year starter at quarterback, leads the Knights. The offensive line returns three starters, and running backs Bobby Jarosz and Andrew Shafis saw plenty of action last year. Prospect's wide receiving group did not take a snap last year, and the defense has just three starters retuning, so both those units may need some time to adjust.

The problem was points for Buffalo Grove last season. The Bison got the necessary 5 wins to put them in contention for the state playoffs, but they had just 32 playoff points and came up short there.

Buffalo Grove also had trouble at times putting points on the board. But with a healthy Trey Cervantes at quarterback this year, that difficulty should change.

"Trey has looked very good this summer," Buffalo Grove coach Mike DiMatteo said. "He has worked very hard to get ready for this year."

Cervantes and BG will work behind a small but athletic line. The wide receivers have some experience and should help to get the Bison down the field.

Defensively, Buffallo Grove looks very good thanks to the play of Tommy Gillespie and Logan Kirkpatrick at the defensive line spots.

Hersey won its first conference title in five years a season ago. And the Huskies qualified for the playoffs for the second year in a row. But with 17 starters graduating, both streaks could be on the line this year.

The Huskies will go with dual quarterbacks in Tommy Jackson and Owen Goldsberry. They will operate behind a smallish but very active offensive line.

There is a lot to be optimistic about in Elk Grove football. A new coach in John Sigmund, a new football field, new uniforms and new attitude to go with it. The Grens have over 50 freshman out for football this season, which bodes well for the future.

Elk Grove, which went winless last year, will be improved thanks to a strong offensive line led by Dan Dahlberg and the play of AJ Lorenz at quarterback.

Wheeling has a terrific 1-2 punch in quarterback Jalen Dennis and running back Josh Diaz. But three crossover games with a trio of solid West teams could take its toll on the team's depth before conference action begins.

Predicted order of finish: Rolling Meadows, Prospect, Buffalo Grove, Hersey, Elk Grove, Wheeling.

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