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FOX VALLEY CONFERENCE
Prairie Ridge (3-0, 3-0) at Jacobs (3-0, 3-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Prairie Ridge won last season, 49-48, in Week 4.
About the Wolves: Prairie Ridge defeated Huntley, 35-7, last week. … QB Tyler Vasey runs the Wolves’ triple-option offense masterfully and may be the most dangerous offensive player in the FVC with 722 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Vasey is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. … Vasey is second on the area rushing list, and FB Nathan Greetham (440) is fifth. … Freshman RB Luke Vanderwiel has 152 yards and three touchdowns. … Prairie Ridge’s defense slowed Huntley’s running game, holding the Red Raiders to 227 total yards. … The Wolves are No. 1 in The Associated Press Class 6A poll.
About the Golden Eagles: Jacobs defeated McHenry, 28-22, last week. … The Golden Eagles ground out the running yards last week but did not complete a pass against McHenry. … RB Antonio Brown is fourth in area rushing with 500 yards and seven touchdowns. … RBs Joey Scrivani (339) and Paulie Rudolph (195) are the other top rushers. … Jacobs is No. 5 in the Class 7A poll.
Friday Night Drive pick: Jacobs
Huntley (2-1, 2-1) at Burlington Central (1-2, 1-2)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Huntley defeated Burlington Central, 21-12, in Week 4 last season
About the Red Raiders: Huntley lost to Prairie Ridge, 35-7, last week. … The Red Raiders ran the ball well in their first two games but were held to 139 rushing yards last week. … RB Haiden Janke leads the team with 397 rushing yards. … WR Jacob Witt had eight receptions for 82 yards.
About the Rockets: Burlington Central almost had its second win last week before Dundee-Crown put together a late drive and 2-point conversion for an 8-7 win. … RB Michael Ganziano had a big game last week with 163 yards, putting him at 292 for the season. … Sophomore QB Jackson Alcorn has thrown for 410 yards and four touchdowns.
FND pick: Huntley
Crystal Lake Central (0-3, 0-3) at Hampshire (0-3, 0-3)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Hampshire defeated Central, 43-6, in Week 4 last season.
About the Tigers: Central lost to Cary-Grove, 41-20, last week. … QB George Dimopoulos threw for 230 yards and a touchdown last week and is looking more comfortable in the job. Dimopoulos was supposed to be the Tigers’ top receiver, but QB Jason Penza suffered a season-ending injury in the opener, and Dimopoulos was moved to QB. … WR Griffin Buehler caught eight balls for 158 yards and a long touchdown last week.
About the Whip-Purs: Hampshire lost to Crystal Lake South, 27-13, last week. … Sophomore RB Cole Klawikowski ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns and leads the area with 744 yards. … The Whips have been in every game, having lost tight games after having the lead against Burlington Central and Dundee-Crown before last week’s setback.
FND pick: Crystal Lake Central
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Crystal Lake South (2-1, 2-1) at Dundee-Crown (2-1, 2-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: South defeated D-C, 39-23, in Week 4 last season.
About the Gators: South defeated Hampshire, 27-13, last week. … RB Nate Van Witzenburg had a big game with 151 yards and three touchdowns. He has 416 yards for the season, sixth in the area. … QB Caden Casimino has thrown for 804 yards and seven touchdowns. … WRs Michael Prokos (19), Colton Hess (10) and Brady Schroeder (nine) are Casimino’s top targets.
About the Chargers: D-C beat Burlington Central, 8-7, last week. … Chargers coach Mike Steinhaus was not impressed with his offense until the winning drive, when D-C put it together and QB Zach Randl hit WR Kali Freeman with a 30-yard scoring pass, then with the 2-point conversion. … RB Keegan Otte has 272 rushing yards through two games, but missed last week and still is out with an injury. Steinhaus termed him week-to-week. Jeff Boerger carried 12 times for 42 yards as his replacement. … Randl has thrown for 492 and Freeman and Anthony Aguilar both have more than 10 catches.
FND pick: Crystal Lake South
McHenry (0-3, 0-3) at Cary-Grove (2-1, 2-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Last matchup: C-G defeated McHenry, 56-14, in Week 4 last season.
About the Warriors: McHenry lost to Jacobs, 28-22, last week. … That was the third consecutive loss by one score to one of the FVC’s top programs (Prairie Ridge and Huntley in the first two weeks). … QB Dom Caruso is third in area passing yardage with 801. … WRs Zack Maness (20 receptions) and Jacob Zarek (15) are in the area’s top seven and have more than 600 yards combined between them.
About the Trojans: C-G defeated Crystal Lake Central, 41-20, last week. … The Trojans are ranked No. 9 in Class 6A and have won 22 of their past 23 games. … FB Colin Desmet has rushed for 411 yards and averages 9.3 per carry. … RBs Andrew Prio (254) and Holden Boone (160) are other threats, and sophomore QB Peyton Seaburg ran for 116 and four touchdowns last week.
FND pick: Cary-Grove
KISHWAUKEE RIVER/INTERSTATE 8 BLUE DIVISION
Harvard (0-3, 0-1) at Rochelle (3-0, 1-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Rochelle won, 1-0, in Week 5 last season as Harvard was in a two-week COVID-19 quarantine.
About the Hornets: Harvard lost to Ottawa, 63-0, last week. … QB Landon Barnett leads the Hornets with 126 rushing yards and has thrown for 203 yards. … WR Aiden Fiegel is a big-play threat who averages 28.4 yards a catch.
About the Hubs: Rochelle defeated Johnsburg, 60-34, last week. … RB Garrett Gensler carried for 362 yards and five touchdowns last week. The Hubs gained 687 total yards. … This is the first time Rochelle has been 3-0 since 2013.
FND pick: Rochelle
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Johnsburg (1-2, 0-1) at Marengo (1-2, 0-2)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Marengo defeated Johnsburg, 42-14, in Week 3 last season.
About the Skyhawks: Johnsburg lost to Rochelle, 60-34, last week. … The Hubs scored, recovered an onside kick and scored again before Johnsburg touched the ball last week. … Johnsburg has allowed 114 points in its past two games. … The offense has moved the ball well with the passing game and sophomore QB A.J. Bravieri, who has 788 passing yards and eight TDs. … RB/WR Jake Metze has nine touchdowns (five rushing and four receiving) and is second in the area with 20 receptions. … WR Ian Boal has 16 catches and three TDs.
About the Indians: Marengo lost to Richmond-Burton, 48-21, last week. … The Indians were tied with R-B, 21-21, at halftime before the Rockets took over in the second half. … QB Josh Holst threw for 184 yards and has 566 yards passing for the season. He also leads the Indians with 274 rushing yards. … Marengo has four receivers with eight or more catches (Logan Miller, David Lopez, Joseph Leibrandt and Owen Frederick).
FND pick: Marengo
KISHWAUKEE RIVER/INTERSTATE 8 WHITE DIVISION
Woodstock (1-2, 1-0) at Kaneland (1-2, 0-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Kaneland won, 42-7, in Week 5 last season.
About the Blue Streaks: Woodstock lost to Sycamore, 41-0, in Week 3. … The Blue Streaks struggled to muster any offense against the state-ranked Spartans, finishing with 72 total yards. … In their first two games, however, the Streaks played within a touchdown of Rochelle and then beat Bartonville Limestone, 31-13, with a strong showing from the run game. … RBs Adrian Perry (169) and Kaden Sandoval (152) lead the rushing game, and WR Caden Monti tops the team with seven receptions.
About the Knights: Despite two losses in a row to Geneva, 38-14, and Morris, 32-24, both of whom are undefeated, coach Pat Ryan said the Knights have shown a lot of improvement. Ryan pointed to holding Morris to a respectable 336 yards of total offense as a good sign. … “I think we’re a better football team than our record indicates,” Ryan said. “We feel as a coaching staff our kids played really, really well Friday despite losing to a really good Morris team. We feel like we’re a good football team.” … Troyer Carlson threw 134 yards last week, and he and Aric Johnson continue to be a threat for the Knights.
FND pick: Kaneland
Woodstock North (1-2, 0-1) at Morris (3-0, 1-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Morris defeated North, 56-12, in Week 3 last season.
About the Thunder: North lost to La Salle-Peru, 21-13, last week. … RB Kaden Combs leads the Thunder with 258 rushing yards, with QB Jay Zinnen right behind at 223. Zinnen ran for 91 yards last week as the Thunder scored late, but missed an extra point to tie. The Cavaliers scored the clinching touchdown with 33 seconds to go.
About Morris: Morris beat Kaneland, 32-24, last week. … Morris RB Ashton Yard did not start with a hamstring injury, but came in to carry 23 times for 131 yards and a touchdown.
FND pick: Morris
NONCONFERENCE
Normal West (3-0) at Richmond-Burton (3-0)
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Last matchup: The teams are meeting for the first time.
About the Wildcats: West defeated Normal Community, 21-4, last week. … The Wildcats have not allowed an offensive point this season and have outscored their three foes, 109-4. … West has 1,000 more students than R-B, which was left without a Week 4 game when Sandwich canceled its season because of low numbers.
About the Rockets: R-B defeated Marengo, 48-21, last week. … The Rockets’ defense came on strong in the second half of a game that was tied, 21-21, at the break. … While R-B had trouble stopping Marengo QB Josh Holst in the first half, the Indians could not stop R-B’s punishing ground game all night. FB Steven Siegel ran 23 times for 355 yards and seven touchdowns. … The Rockets are No. 4 in the Class 4A poll. … R-B has won 35 of its last 36 games and is 46-3 under coach Mike Noll in his four-plus seasons.
FND pick: Richmond-Burton
Marian Central (1-2) at Appleton (Wisconsin) West (0-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: The teams are meeting for the first time.
About the Hurricanes: Marian lost to St. Patrick, 55-28, last week. … The Hurricanes fell behind early but rallied to briefly grab the lead before the Shamrocks took off. … QB Cale McThenia is the area passing leader with 914 yards and 10 touchdowns. … WRs Rylan Dolter (22 catches, 285 yards, three TDs) and Christian Bentancur (17-292-4) are his favorite targets.
About the Terrors: West lost to Hortonville, 40-8, last week. … The Terrors may have trouble stopping Marian’s offense since they have allowed 40 or more points in all three games.
FND pick: Marian Central
ILLINOIS 8-MAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION NORTH 1
South Beloit (2-1) at Alden-Hebron (2-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: South Beloit defeated Alden-Hebron, 30-0, in Week 7 last season.
About the Sobos: The Sobos rolled past Rockford Christian Life co-op, 62-8, last week. … South Beloit defeated River Ridge, 42-36, in the opener and lost in Week 2, 69-22, to Easton Valley, Iowa.
About the Giants: A-H lost to Ashton-Franklin Center, 34-32, last week. … The Giants led most of last week’s game by double digits. … QB Ben Vole has rushed for 395 yards and six touchdowns and thrown for 470 yards and eight scores. … WR Jake Nielsen is a big-play threat with eight grabs for four touchdowns and a 33.6-yard average per catch.
FND pick: South Beloit