IHSA Football: Something to watch for each Daily Chronicle team during Week 5 games

As the season shifts from almost half-finished to more than half-finished, we look at a key element of each Daily Chronicle area team in Week 5.

DeKalb: Getting the ground game going

It’s been tough for the Barbs during their 0-4 start, in particular their rushing attack. In a 39-6 loss to Lincoln-Way Central last week, they ran 24 times for just 25 yards.

Coach Derek Schneeman said he feels the offensive line is actually playing fairly well. He said the running backs have some areas in which they can up their game. Mariyan Dudley led the way with 9 yards on six carries against the Knights. The week prior against Kaneland, he ran six times for 34 yards to lead the team, which had 19 rushes for 29 yards.

“I think the offensive line is actually doing well, all things considered, when we score them out,” Schneeman said. “Some of it is just making proper reads as the running backs and trusting what they’ve been coached to do. It’s really just consistency. There are just one or two breakdowns that have been hampering us – could be up front, could be a misread, sometimes it’s just a cut by a running back going somewhere the play isn’t designed to be. We have to focus on basics, get back to the run power offense and focus on early summer stuff to make sure we’re trying to improve and become a little more consistent.”

Sycamore: Battle-tested through 4 weeks

For the past two weeks, Sycamore (4-0) hasn’t needed a fourth-quarter comeback to win games like it did in Weeks 1 and 2 against DeKalb and Oswego East.

Of course, the wins against Mahomet-Seymour and Rochelle still came down to the fourth quarter and were one-score games, like every Spartans game has been this year.

“It’s making an old man out of me,” Sycamore head coach Joe Ryan joked. “But it’s nice to be on this side of those types of games. It’s nerve-wracking as a coach, but the players don’t feel that way. They play through it.”

The close games may keep on coming for the Spartans. They play only one team currently with a losing record over the last five contests of the year, this week against Ottawa (1-3).

“It’s big when it gets later in the season,” Ryan said. “A lot of games we’re going to be decided by one score or at least, so at least we’ve been in some and understand how those types of situations work.”

Kaneland: Carter Grabowski does it all

There’s almost nothing Carter Grabowski hasn’t done for the Knights (0-4) this year.

The defensive back, running back and kick returner leads the team with 32 tackles and two interceptions. He leads the team with 60 carries, 312 yards and four touchdowns. And after Friday’s win at Ottawa, he has a 92-yard kickoff return under his belt.

Coach Michael Thorgesen said Grabowski is one of Kaneland’s most impactful two-way players in a long time.

“He’s been the leading tackler for us multiple times this year,” Thorgesen said. “He runs so hard. Not to mention the return touchdown last week. We knew he could be an impact player, but he’s really owning it I guess I’d say. He serious on both side of the ball. Obviously he likes running and scoring touchdowns but he likes defense too. He’s just a football player, that’s for sure.”

Genoa-Kingston: Finishing drives on offense

The Cogs (2-2) have managed only seven points in their past two games, both losses after a 2-0 start to the year. Even with the offensive slowdown, they are still averaging more than 20 points per game.

Coach Cam Davekos said as the Cogs host Winnebago on their homecoming, they have to start finishing drives offensively.

“We haven’t done a good job of that the last two games,” Davekos said. “We have to get back to what we do best and that’s making sure we get 3 to 4 yards at a time running the ball and finish drives. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties.”

Hiawatha: Defense back on track

Although they gave up 30 points in a loss to South Beloit last week, coach Kenny McPeek liked what he saw from his defense.

They gave up 54 points against West Carroll and Polo in Weeks 2 and 3. McPeek said two of the touchdowns came late in the game against a depleted Hawks team. But with the team nearing full health, he said he expects a strong performance against River Ridge (0-4) this week.

“Our defense wasn’t bad against South Beloit, they got 16 against our starting defense,” McPeek said. “Tackling lower is everything, and we’re doing a better job. We’re just staying low and getting better every week.”