Suburban Life football notes: Jimmy Janicki, Downers Grove North bracing for monster challenge against Mt. Carmel

Jimmy Janicki would prefer to stick to his main job on Saturday.

The Downers Grove North junior linebacker is one of the leaders on a defense looking to pull off a monster upset this weekend. After crushing Lincoln Park 46-0 in a Class 7A first-round playoff game last weekend, the 17th-seeded Trojans (7-3) host top-seeded Mt. Carmel (10-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Janicki, a physical player with good tackling skills, also serves as the Trojans’ punter. He’s no slouch, either. He averages nearly 47 yards per punt. Facing the highly ranked Caravan, Janicki could be a key weapon in Saturday’s game, though he would prefer the Trojans offense makes his punting opportunities to a minimum.

“Jimmy has done a good job at linebacker, but he’s also a really good punter,” Downers Grove North coach Joe Horeni said.

Janicki, a standout baseball player, said he started kicking in youth football. He’s happy to contribute on defense and special teams.

“The biggest part of my kicking game is having situational awareness on where the ball needs to be, so it puts our defense in a good spot,” Janicki said.

Mt. Carmel, who is coached by former Northern Illinois star quarterback Jordan Lynch, have rolled over opponents this season. The Caravan have only scored at least 35 points in nine of their 10 games, including a 60-0 triumph over St. Viator in Week 9.

“Mt. Carmel’s offense is talented,” Janicki said. “We have to limit the big plays and do our jobs on defense. We need to give our offense a chance to get some points. Our first round playoff win was a great feeling for the team. It was great to see the guys feel good. All year long the linebacking core has done a great job being physical and stopping the run, which will play a big factor on Saturday.”

Mt. Carmel is one of the most experienced and motivated teams in the playoffs, returning 18 starters from last season’s state quarterfinalist, including a number of Division I players. Junior running back Darrion Dupree and quarterback Blainey Dowling headline a powerful offense.

“Mt. Carmel has essentially studs at every level, offensively and defensively,” Horeni said. “We’re excited about the challenge. Not many people thought we would be in this position before the start of the season. We’re motivated to keep on playing. We’ve played some tough teams throughout the year. Mt. Carmel is extremely well-coached. Their quarterback is so accurate, thrown about at an 80% completion rate, when most people are satisfied with 65%.

“They have an explosive running back, are big up front. We will be giving up some weight. But we’ve faced some big offensive lines. They have playmakers at so many positions. We have to limit their possessions, put together some long drives to keep their offense off the field.”

Strong conference run

The West Suburban Silver Conference is showing its strength in the playoffs this season.

Filled with several big schools with the capability to be among the best in the state, the league is flexing its muscles this fall.

Led by the strong play of York and Glenbard West, the conference had a strong showing in the first round, with all four playoff eligible teams advancing to the second round of action.

York, in the midst of the best season in program history, won all nine of its regular season games to capture the WSC Silver title. The Dukes, the No. 2 seed in Class 8A, opened up the playoffs with a resounding 31-10 win over Oswego East in the first round to set up a memorable second-round battle with powerhouse Marist (7-3) on Saturday.

Glenbard West (9-1) enters the second round riding a four-game winning streak since dropping a 17-13 decision to York on Sept. 30. The Hilltoppers had one of the more impressive first-round playoff wins, dispatching Lockport 38-7 last week to set up a battle against Glenbrook South (9-1) on Saturday in Glen Ellyn.

Lyons is getting hot at the right time of the season following a pair of losses in a four-week stretch late in the regular season. The Lions (8-2) beat Naperville Central 26-17 in the first round to advance to a second-round matchup against Plainfield North (10-) in Plainfield on Friday.

Downers Grove North snuck into the playoffs following two defeats in their final three regular season games, but the Trojans (7-3) crushed Lincoln Park 46-0 in the first round.

“Not everyone makes the playoffs, so to be continuing to play in the 11th week of season is special,” Horeni said. “The kids are excited. We had a good fan turnout on the road in our first playoff game. It was nice get the younger guys in the game, too, plus to see the seniors in our last playoff team since we didn’t have a playoff in the COVID-19 year and we missed out on the playoffs last year. It was nice for them to get a taste of the playoffs.”

A short but great run

Perhaps, Glenbard South running back Jalen Brown’s 66-yard run was a microcosm of his two-year football career. In two seasons, Brown established himself as one of the elite two-way talents in Chicagoland. He decided to play football for the first time before the start of his junior season. His two-way impact sparked the Raiders to a memorable run.

His long TD run in the opening minute of last Friday’s Class 5A first-round playoff game against Nazareth shocked the late arriving crowd in Glen Ellyn. The Roadrunners reeled off 48 unanswered points to pull out a 48-22 victory to end Brown’s career.

Sitting on the 45-yard line, full of emotions following the blowout loss, the 6-foot-2, 216-pound Brown said he’s up to 10 offers. His combination of size, strength and a nonstop motor makes him a unique prospect due to his ability to play numerous positions in college.

“My recruiting has been pretty moderate right now, but schools are reaching out to me and I’m trying to go on some visits,” Brown said. “I feel I will get some bigger offers. I’ve been getting offers to play linebacker in college. I’ve never played linebacker. I’ve got some running back (offers), too. These (offers) are a lot to take it. It’s happened a lot faster than I thought it would. I’m starting to catch up with it.”