Football: Tri Cities Week 5 previews

Western Sun

Batavia (2-2, 1-1) at Kaneland (1-3, 0-2)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today.

Last year: Kaneland 24, Batavia 14.

Last week: Rochelle 36, Batavia 31; Sycamore 37, Kaneland 7.

Players to watch: The Bulldogs defensive unit needs to regroup. They go from failing to stop run-happy Rochelle to trying to slow aerial-attacking Kaneland. Expecting to see plenty of time in the Bulldogs secondary are Cam Conolty, Cam Hartman, Stewart Charles, J.R. Kabba and Luigi Cuartero. They will try to keep Kaneland quarterback Jody Henningson from reaching his receivers and hope to perhaps get a takeaway or two. The Batavia offense finally showed some signs of life at the quarterback position last week as Jordan Coffey attempted 44 of the 45 passes by the Bulldogs. He completed 19 for 283 yards but was intercepted 4 times. Still, it was a much-needed improvement as the Bulldogs only had 16 completions during the first three weeks of the season. Brian Krolikowski (41 carries, 254 yards) leads the Bulldogs in rushing attempts and yards. If Coffey's able to connect with Bulldogs like Ian Wallis, Ryan Webb, Jordan Church and Eric Zeddies, he could put up some impressive numbers tonight. Henningson was intercepted 4 times last week as Kaneland had its worst offensive output since last year's season-ending 22-7 loss to Marian Central Catholic in the Class 5A playoffs. Henningson has completed 85 of 149 passes for 1,089 yards. Brian Claesson's (9 catches, 45 yards last week) role as a wide receiver has increased due to injuries, especially since sophomores Ryley Bailey, David Dudzinski and Blake Kendrick are all seeing action and gaining varsity experience simultaneously.

Outlook: Both teams are coming off losses. Kaneland would like to forget what happened at Sycamore last week and Batavia is trying to erase the memory of last week's first half at Rochelle, when it trailed 24-0. Kaneland has been forced to mix up its lineup due to injuries and to use several underclassmen. In the loss to Sycamore, coach Tom Fedderly employed 7 sophomores at one point. Things aren't expected to be much different tonight. Will King is definitely out, Alex Blazek and Korey Maple hope to be cleared to play but that's not guaranteed and T.J. Weiss is day-to-day with an ankle injury. In a sense these injuries should be considered double since Blazek, Maple and Weiss usually play on both sides of the ball. Their absence on defense doesn't bode well for the Knights especially if Coffey's fourth quarter excellence last week continues tonight. "We're hanging our hat on that great second half which was as productive of one we've had in years," Batavia coach Mike Gaspari said. "Jordan came out and threw for about 300 yards and the nice thing was that he spread the ball around and it's designed that way to create problems for the defense." It also makes it easier to run the ball and Krolikowski continues to be reliable and effective in the backfield. "Looking at them on film we're impressed so we've got to execute and do our stuff," Fedderly said. Defensively, Batavia couldn't stop the Rochelle running game last week, but tonight they will be tested in stopping more of the pass, although Henningson had a career-best rushing game last week. "With three sophomores at wide receiver the running game took a little bit of pressure off those guys," Fedderly said. Perhaps the Knights will try a similar approach tonight.

Bottom line: Batavia's offense seems to be coming to life while Kaneland's defense woes continue. That doesn't bode well for the Knights who are looking to end a three-game losing streak.

Geneva (4-0, 2-0) at Sycamore (2-2, 1-1)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today.

Last year: Geneva 35, Sycamore 7.

Last week: Geneva 17, Glenbard South 0; Sycamore 37, Kaneland 7.

Players to watch: Take a look at the Geneva defense which shut out Glenbard South on the road last Friday. Defensive back Jake Conforti has intercepted passes in each of the Vikings past two games and linebacker Brennan Quinn snatched one last week as well. Offensively, Mike Mayszak has thrown 7 TD passes but was limited last week by the Raiders. He'll definitely not want to throw the ball near Sycamore's Marckie Hayes who picked off 3 passes last Friday. Geneva running back Michael Ratay has scored 5 TDs in the past two games. Sycamore quarterback Nick Anderson seems to be getting better and better running the shotgun spread formation Sycamore employs. In the past two weeks, Anderson has collected 584 total offensive yards (410 passing, 174 rushing). Cody Bex rushed for 146 yards in last week's victory while Josh Howells caught a pair of TD passes and had 195 receiving yards. Wide receiver Trae Mottet and running back Michael Buckner also are relied upon to held Sycamore keep the chains moving.

Outlook: Things are good in Geneva these days as the Vikings have gotten off to a perfect start and sit atop the Western Sun Conference with Rochelle and DeKalb. Tonight looks like it could be an intriguing matchup as Sycamore came out during last week's resounding victory over Kaneland looking like the team many anticipated before the season started with a solid, talented leader in Anderson leading the offense. Sycamore feasted on turnovers last week, intercepting 4 passes and recovering 2 fumbles. The Vikings know they need to move the ball and avoid turning the ball over. They'd also like to get the offense going early, unlike the early struggles they had a week ago. This is the fifth time the schools have met in the past fives years and Geneva has won the previous four meetings.

Bottom line: Tonight's biggest challenge for the Vikings is to shut down Anderson and the Sycamore offense. They need to do that, protect the ball, get the offense off to a good start and understand that this is a much better Sycamore team than they faced in 2006. If so, Burgess Field will be rocking for the 5-0 Vikings when they host DeKalb a week from tonight.

DeKalb (3-1, 2-0) at Glenbard South (2-2, 0-2)

Game time: 7:30 p.m., today.

Last year: Glenbard South 42, DeKalb 7.

Last week: DeKalb 26, Yorkville 20; Geneva 17, Glenbard South 0.

Outlook: A win tonight would match DeKalb's victory total for the previous five years combined and push the Barbs toward their first playoff berth since 1989. In last week's win quarterback Kyle Wallin broke a late tie with a 50-yard touchdown pass in the final minutes. DeKalb overcame 5 turnovers, but Glenbard South wasn't as lucky. Two of their 4 turnovers were converted into fourth-quarter points for Geneva. Look for Mike Oratowski, after a 70-yard rushing performance, to get more work at running back. Oratowski, though, is most valuable as part of a stellar group of linebackers that includes sophomore Austin Teitsma, Greg Calabrese and Louis Erkins.

Upstate Eight

St. Charles East (3-1, 2-0) at Lake Park (1-3, 0-2)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: St. Charles East 46, Streamwood 0; Bartlett 35, Lake Park 0.

Players to watch: St. Charles East's offensive line of senior Alex Putz and a group of juniors continues to gain game-time experience and get better each week. It culminated in a season-high 46 points last Friday and saw Chris Caci (13 carries, 128 yards, 3 touchdown) have a breakthrough game. "He had a broken collarbone that set him back before so we knew we could get him going," Saints coach Ted Monken said. "He did a nice job (last week)." Caci is part of a diverse attack for the Saints that includes Wes Allen (407 yards, 7 TDs) and receivers Matt Hammer (25 catches, 240 yards) and Jake Krzeczowski (14 catches, 136 yards). Quarterback Sam Gunther has been efficient. He didn't throw any interceptions last week and has now completed 52 of 89 passes for 477 yards and 3 TDs. Quarterback Larry Nawrot runs the offense for the Lancers. Chris Jasinski and Kevin Thomas have gotten the most carries for the team this fall while Sean White has hauled in the lone Lake Park TD reception.

Outlook: Talk about two teams going in different directions. St. Charles East has won its last two games and outscored its opponents 60-13. Lake Park has lost its last two games and has been shutout in both contests by a 56-0 margin. Things are looking pretty good for the Saints. Peter Demars has 3 field goals and the Lancers have 3 TDs as a team and that accounts for their 29 points through the first 4 weeks. Although the Lancers have struggled in scoring points, the Saints know they have to still come out and play good football. "With Streamwood we didn't play down to anyone's level but our own," Monken said. "We don't focus on records, we focus on ourselves and getting better each week, not blowing assignments and letting the scoreboard take care of itself." With Neuqua Valley coming to St. Charles East next Friday one could understand how the Saints could somewhat look past the Lancers, but don't expect Monken to allow his team to do that. Offensively, the Saints continue to make strides each week and the players are gaining more and more confidence. "The offensive line has done a lot of growing and hopefully we get a few more wins and get in the playoffs," Monken said. "The defense is doing its job and the offense is catching up and focusing on consistency."

Bottom line: A victory here would put the Saints in excellent position heading into its battle against Neuqua Valley next Friday. With the Lancers' offensive woes and the Saints' defensive prowess, St. Charles East should be able to take care of business tonight.

Bartlett (2-2, 1-1) at St. Charles North (2-2, 1-0)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today.

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Bartlett 35, Lake Park 0; St. Charles North 21, T.F. North 13

Players to watch: Bartlett linebacker Kyle Zelinsky led the Hawks attack last week collecting 2 sacks against Lake Park. He'll try to slow the North Stars tonight, a team that has successfully run the ball for two consecutive weeks. Kyle Harmon has rushed for more than 100 yards in consecutive games and now has 32 rushes for 257 yards. Colton Hinrichs (26 rushes, 130 yards) and Nic Higgins (20 carries, 82 yards) have been strong recently for the North Stars who will also look for big plays from receivers Jonathan DeMoss and Tim Ohlrich in attacking the Hawks defense. Bartlett's got quite a few weapons of its own, namely quarterback Josh Hasenberg, running back Vinnie Libreri, fullback Myles Griffin, and wide receivers Cory Brown, Alex VanNess, Greg Partyka and Matt Pashawitz. North Stars defensive ends Tim Janeway and Dan McSweeney and the rest of the d-line will look to pressure Hasenberg and get the ball back into the hands of quarterback Nick Neari.

Outlook: This is the first ever meeting between the two Upstate Eight Conference teams. "We do have three of their films and we're watching very closely," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "It's an offense we're familiar with. Elgin runs it and Larkin runs it and we had a team last year, Machesney Park, that ran it. They do quite a few different things and we're trying to prepare for it." One thing the first four weeks have shown is that the North Stars need to run the ball well in order to win. In their first two losses, Neari, Harmon, Higgins and Hinrichs combined for 52 rushes and only 103 yards. That's an average of less than 2 years per carry. "It's picked up the last couple of games and we're happy about that," North Stars coach Mark Gould said. "We know it's not going to be easy down the road but we thought we could do it and they've gotten more confidence which is good." Whether or not the North Stars can run the ball tonight is a big question. "Bartlett has a very good defense and nice looking kids," Gould said. "The linebackers look good and quick and they're disciplined. It's going to be a really big challenge." Gould also noted that the North Stars are still making some mistakes offensively at inopportune times and that they need to continue to improve in that area. On the other side of the ball, the North Stars have to ready for a Hawks offense that has many ways to beat you. "We're mixing things up with our fullback, tight end, wide receivers and quarterback," Meaney said. "We try do something to keep the defense off-balance and we have good personnel in all those positions and utilize them the best we can."

Bottom line: Prior to last week's shutout, Bartlett had yielded 99 points. Will the Hawks maintain the defense they displayed last week or will the North Stars be able to victimize them with a solid mix of the run and pass to win their third consecutive game?

Waubonsie Valley (2-2, 1-1) at Elgin (2-2, 0-1)

Game time: 7:30 p.m., today.

Last year: Waubonsie Valley 14, Elgin 7.

Last week: Waubonsie 10, Neuqua Valley 6; South Elgin 49, Elgin 7.

Outlook: Waubonsie beat Neuqua for the first time since 2001, its best performance since Week 1 against Naperville Central. The challenge is to maintain that energy and execution. All three facets contributed and the Warriors won the turnover battle; the offensive line led tailback Kenny Harrington to 81 reliable yards and the defensive line headed by tackle Sherrod Stancil -- 7 tackles, a sack, a fumble caused, 3 quarterback hurries -- swarmed at the line. Mass tackling is in store against Elgin Division I recruit Kenny Williams, who was suspended from the South Elgin game with three others, including quarterback Tom Roth.

DuPage Valley

Wheaton North (2-2, 0-2) at West Aurora (3-1, 1-1)

Game time: 7:30 p.m., today.

Last year: Wheaton North 21, West Aurora 7.

Last week: Naperville Central 28, Wheaton North 14; West Aurora 9, Glenbard East 6.

Players to watch: West Aurora broke into the DVC win column for the first time under second-year coach Buck Drach. Running back Colton Winston provided the game-winning points with a 23-yard touchdown run. He led West Aurora with 89 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback John Nunnally has hit on 34 of 73 passes this year.

Outlook: Coming off a second straight loss, Wheaton North is hungry for a win. Stronger finishes -- especially after surrendering three fourth-quarter touchdowns last week -- are the key. Sophomore quarterback Taylor Graham, who last week completed 12 of 22 passes for 103 yards, continues to be worked gradually into the offense. West Aurora ended a 16-game DVC losing streak last week with a 73-yard drive that led to the winning touchdown late in the action. In the previous three-plus quarters the Blackhawks managed a total of about 120 yards.

Bottom line: Don't be fooled by Wheaton North's record. The Falcons were ranked in the Class 7A poll in the first couple weeks before heavyweights Naperville Central and Glenbard North knocked them back. Hopefully West Aurora gets a boost from a large crowd coming out to Aurora excited to see their hometown team fresh off a big DVC win.

Private School

Aurora Christian (4-0, 1-0) at Chicago Christian (4-0, 1-0)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today.

Last year: Chicago Christian 27, Aurora Christian 14.

Last week: Aurora Christian 77, Lake Forest Academy 6; Chicago Christian 40, Luther South 0.

Players to watch: There were offensive starts galore last week for the Eagles. Besides Jordan Roberts' 7 touchdown passes, Matt Morse caught 5 passes for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns, Joe Redmond hauled in 2 touchdown receptions, and Michael Friend and John Smith both had at least 65 yards receiving. Roberts lead the area with 1,052 passing yards and 14 touchdowns through four weeks.

Outlook: If you can learn anything from common opponents, it's that Aurora Christian dominated Lake Forest Academy a little worse than Chicago Christian (77-6 to 56-0). Both of these teams are ready for a good game after blowout wins the past two weeks.

Bottom line: This matchup is always a big one in deciding the Private School League champ. The Eagles have a good chance of leaving Palos Heights with a win, if they can continue clicking on offense and getting just enough defensive stops.

Walther Lutheran (3-1, 2-0) at Wheaton Academy (2-2, 1-1)

Game time: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, West Chicago Community High.

Last year: Walther Lutheran 32, Wheaton Academy 6 (junior varsity).

Last week: Walther Lutheran 28, Rockford Christian Life 0; Luther North 10, Wheaton Academy 6.

Outlook: Walther, perennially in the PSL's upper reaches, is a run-based outfit featuring Miami (Ohio) recruit Daniel Green, Brandon Sims and 400-pound bench pressers on the line. Wheaton Academy's goal is to force the pass. Junior linebacker Israel Perez helped that cause last week as Luther North ran for minus-7 yards. Quarterback Brian Pell continues to distribute the ball, but last week's special teams mistakes and costly penalties were part of the renewed program's learning curve. They can't happen against Walther.

Suburban Catholic

Aurora Central (1-3, 1-1) at St. Francis (1-3, 0-2)

Game time: 1 p.m., Saturday.

Last year: St. Francis 42, Aurora Central 20.

Last week: Montini 55, Aurora Central 20; Driscoll 50, St. Francis 21.

Players to watch: Chargers quarterback Mike Adams threw for 202 yards last week and 3 touchdowns. Kyle Edwards, Mark Adams and Chad Roscoe caught the TD passes. Mark Adams ranks second in the area with 46 points while leading the area with 370 receiving yards. Mike Adams is third with his 961 passing yards and tied for second with 11 touchdown passes.

Outlook: Both teams are fending off a dreaded fourth loss after losing to the SCC's top guns. ACC's brotherly passing duo of versatile quarterback Mark Adams to Mike Adams is a good one, but the Spartans can't fall asleep on back Chad Roscoe. St. Francis coach Greg Purnell returns two-way starters Brett Robinson and Ryan Ferguson, both skilled players, and lineman Jason Lombardi all from illness. Last week Mark Kachmer's kickoff return for touchdown briefly sparked the Spartans, but they'll need game-long offensive execution -- and better tackling -- to win their homecoming game over the potentially explosive Chargers.

Bottom line: On paper, this looks like a game that could go either way. Can the Chargers' defense stop St. Francis enough to give Aurora Central's big-play offense a chance to get a second victory in 2007?

Marmion (2-2, 0-2) at Montini (4-0, 2-0)

Game time: 1 p.m., Saturday.

Last year: Montini 35, Marmion 0.

Last week: Marian Central 35, Marmion 0; Montini 55, Aurora Central 20.

Players to watch: The schedule is taking its toll on Marmion with shutout losses the last two weeks to Driscoll and Marian. A Cadets offense that was averaging over 40 points a game through two weeks is down to 273 yards a game, which ranks ninth in the area. The defense also has had its hands full, now allowing 355 yards a game (11th).

Outlook: Coming into SCC play with high hopes, this is Marmion's last crack at one of the league's "Big Three." Marian ran for 167 yards and twice picked off Marmion shotgun quarterback Ricky Bird. Montini faced a similar offense in ACC, allowing 211 yards passing. But with Tom DiCristina throwing 5 touchdown passes to 4 receivers -- Johnny Borsellino scored twice, with 2 interceptions on defense -- the Broncos led 20-0 and 48-7. To fluster Bird from hitting receivers Manny Juarez and Sean Fichtel, Montini will wreak havoc up front with Garrett Goebel, Mark Kaseeska, Dave Lembas, Chuck Porcelli and John McMahon.

Bottom line: Even if the Cadets can't find a way to upset Montini, they would like to put some points on the board after the past two shutouts and gain some momentum heading into an easier final four weeks of SCC play.

Driscoll (4-0, 2-0) at IC (2-2, 1-1)

Game time: 1 p.m., Saturday.

Last year: Driscoll 28, Immaculate Conception 0.

Last week: Driscoll 50, St. Francis 21; IC 21, St. Edward 20.

Outlook: IC hasn't scored on Driscoll since 2004 and Driscoll has taken each meeting for more than a decade, but the Knights always seem to play Driscoll tough. IC is hoping to get injured two-way players like Nick DiBrito and Alex Jacobo back, and the Knights will need all hands on deck against a Driscoll group that, despite some long faces a week ago, has all systems firing. Whether trying to cover wideout Travis Kristie, stop tailback Tim Franken or get a handle on quarterback David Schwabe, IC needs complete defensive focus -- and ball control led by offensive linemen Josh Fenton, Matt Purdom, Marco Medina, Charlie Vail and Josh "The Sheriff" Nottingham.