Town Jug up for grabs as Elgin visits Larkin

Elgin (0-7, 0-4) at Larkin (0-7, 0-4)

Upstate Eight (River)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Last week: Batavia 49, Elgin 0; St. Charles East 48, Larkin 0

Last year: Elgin 31, Larkin 13

Outlook: Hoisting the traveling Town Jug trophy overhead after 48 minutes of football against the archrival is the goal of every player on these winless District U-46 teams. Fueled by a 25-point second quarter, Elgin won the Town Jug last season for the first time since 2010, snapping a 19-game overall losing streak in the process. The Maroons since have dropped 8 straight and enter 0-7 under first-year coach Anthony Mason, who played collegiately at Northern Illinois. Larkin, which leads the all-time series 33-20, enters with a 20-game losing streak. Complicating matters for the Royals is the absence of all-Upstate Eight River wide receiver AJ Hunter, who left last week's game against St. Charles East with an injury and will not play in this game, according to second-year Larkin coach Dragan Teonic. The Royals still have junior quarterback David Hibbler. The mobile quarterback has rushed for 294 yards and 2 touchdowns in 107 attempts in the shotgun offense, and he has completed 101 of 107 passes for 1,195 yards and 5 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. "They have athletes so it's just a matter of containing them," Mason said of the Royals. "We've been preaching to our kids not to try to make he hero play but to make the smart play within the game plan." Larkin will keep an eye on versatile Elgin senior Terrance Miller Allen, among others. "They have five guys who, athletically, we just don't have in our program right now," Teonic said. "We have to protect the football and play better in the red zone."

Next week: Elgin at St. Charles North (5-2); Geneva (7-0) at Larkin