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Southwest Valley Green
DeKalb (0-7, 0-2) at Bradley-Bourbonnais (6-1, 2-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Barbs: They dropped their seventh straight game last week, 28-19 at Waubonsie Valley. It was essentially a one-score game for most of the fourth quarter, with missed extra points costing DeKalb. It was their closest game since a 17-14 loss Week 2 at Plainfield South. DeKalb shifted receiver Davon Grant to running back for most of the second half, opening him up for 45 yards on five carries. After two catches for 10 yards in the first half, he finished with eight catches for 112 yards. Coach Derek Schneeman said he was pleased with the defense, and in particular the defensive line. He said Pierre Cathina not only stuffed the statsheet with some sacks and tackles for a loss, but also caused enough havoc that even if he didn’t make a play, the guy behind him did. Schneeman also said quarterback Cole Latimer’s status is still unknown for Friday. He missed last week, with Mikey Hodge filling in and throwing for over 200 yards.
About the Boilermakers: They’ve already locked up their third consecutive playoff berth, now they look to their winningest season in a decade. They finished 7-4 last year after a 6-3 regular season. They can obviously notch win No. 7 against the Barbs, the most in a regular season since a 9-0 mark in 2016. Since suffering their first loss of the year 28-6 to Lincoln-Way Central, they’ve won two straight – including a 24-21 win against Homewood-Flossmoor last week for their first win over the Vikings since 2008.
Friday Night Drive pick: Bradley-Bourbonnais
Interstate 8
Morris (5-2, 3-1) at Sycamore (7-0, 4-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About Morris: And the pendulum that is the Morris football team swung back violently in the positive direction in Week 7 as it rolled to a victory over Ottawa. Morris struggled mightily in a Week 6 loss to Rochelle, but put things together rather quickly with a new player under center guiding the offense. Sophomore RJ Kennedy, filling in for the injured Brady Varner, engineered five first-half scoring drives to spark the runaway win.
About the Spartans: Sycamore just keeps doing Sycamore things. The Spartans are stacking wins once again, the most recent one netting the 200th career victory for long-time coach Joe Ryan. Sycamore has been involved in multiple close games this season but each time it has found a way to earn victory. Defensively, the Spartans are staunch only surrendering more than two touchdowns twice this season and have an explosive QB in Burke Gautcher who is more than capable of engineering scoring drives. He’s completed 64% of his passes for 1,115 yards, 10 touchdowns and an interception and ran for 158 yards on 31 carries and five scores.
FND pick: Sycamore
Kaneland (4-3, 1-3) at La Salle-Peru (3-4, 1-3)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Knights: The first four games and the most recent three games couldn’t be more different for Kaneland. The Knights started 4-0, not allowing more than 20 points in a game, and that was in a 49-20 win against Ottawa in which the Pirates scored after the running clock. But the Knights have lost 50-10 to Morris, 35-7 to Sycamore and 52-24 to Rochelle last week. They can strengthen their playoff position by virtually securing a spot with a win this week, extra pivotal given a trip to Belleville for Althoff Catholic (7-0) lurking in Week 9. Carter Grabowski has been all over the field for the Knights, leading with 51 tackles (three for a loss) and two interceptions. He’s also carried the ball 97 times for 458 yards and four touchdowns to lead the team’s ground attack.
About the Cavaliers: La Salle-Peru is coming off a 28-13 loss to Sycamore. The Cavaliers had not scored in four straight meetings against the Spartans but ended the drought with two fourth-quarter touchdowns – an 18-yard pass from Marion Persich to Landon Zellers and a 28-yard interception return by Reegan Kellett. Perisch has completed 80 of 148 passes for 1,042 yards and eight TDs with four interceptions. The Cavaliers have lost three in a row to Kaneland, including a 42-7 loss last fall. L-P, with 33 playoff points, needs at least one win in the last two weeks to have a shot at the playoffs.
FND pick: Kaneland
Big Northern Conference
Genoa-Kingston (3-4, 2-4) at Rock Falls (1-6, 1-6)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Cogs: Coach Cam Davekos said the Cogs are locked in and ready to go in a must-win situation for the last two weeks after a 22-20 overtime loss to Stillman Valley handed them their fourth loss of the year. In order to extend the season, he said he’s been preaching to the team attention to detail and maximum effort. Last week was the first time the Cogs scored more than seven points in a loss this year. G-K didn’t make the playoffs last year, and the last time the Cogs failed to qualify in consecutive seasons was 2011-12.
About the Rockets: They’re still searching for their first on-the-field win this season, having picked up a forfeit over Rockford Christian. They’re coming off a 55-19 loss to Oregon last week, the first time they’ve scored more than 14 points in a game – although they haven’t been shut out this year either after having played Dixon and Byron.
FND pick: Genoa-Kingston
Illinois 8-Man Football Association
Hiawatha (2-5) at Alden-Hebron (3-4)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Hawks: Hiawatha had a breakout performance on offense, more than doubling their offensive production for the season in a 62-20 win against Ashton-Franklin Center. Tim Pruitt had four touchdowns in the win. Coach Kenny McPeek said their return of lineman Braeden Ross was a big part of that. He plugs up two gaps on defense, letting linebackers like Tommy Butler make more plays. And McPeek said he’s returned to left guard as well to help Pruitt, Butler and the Hiawatha ground game.
About the Giants: Alden-Hebron snapped a three-game losing streak by beating River Ridge 65-50 in Hanover last week. Wyatt Armbrust had a huge night, rushing for 167 yards on 13 carries, including TD runs of 8, 10 and 19 yards. Jack Stewart (nine carries, 124 yards) scored on runs of 18 and 55 yards, and JP Stewart (127 rushing yards) had TD runs of 9, 33 and 1 yards. JP Stewart also threw a 21-yard TD pass to Fabian Carreno. The Giants’ previous high for points this year was 39 in a Week 3 win over Rockford Christian Life.
FND pick: Alden-Hebron
* Steve Soucie, Kevin Chlum and Joe Aguilar contributed to this report