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FOX VALLEY CONFERENCE
Crystal Lake South (2-6, 2-6) at Jacobs (6-2, 6-2)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Gators: Crystal Lake South’s 50-7 loss to Cary-Grove last week marked the most points it had allowed in a game this season. QB AJ Demirov hit Noa Franch for a 3-yard TD pass late in the first half for the Gators’ only score. Demirov was 11-of-17 passing for 83 yards. Logan Miller had 71 yards on 21 carries and threw a 37-yard pass to Franch, who led the Gators in receiving with nine catches for 102 yards. South will miss the playoffs for the second year in a row.
About the Golden Eagles: Jacobs earned an automatic playoff berth with its 35-19 win at McHenry last week, as junior QB Connor Goehring threw a TD pass and ran for one. It was the fourth straight win for the Golden Eagles, who are headed to the postseason for the fourth year in a row. Caden DuMelle rushed for 75 yards and two TDs on 13 carries. T.O. Boddie (52 rushing yards) opened the scoring for Jacobs with a 1-yard run. Goehring scored from 24 yards and hit PJ Barnes for a 24-yard TD. Defensively for the Golden Eagles, Cooper Gulgren had an interception, Matt Scardina and Cooper Peterhans each recorded a sack, and Scardina (7 tackles, 2 TFLs) also recovered a fumble.
Friday Night Drive pick: Jacobs
McHenry (2-6, 2-6) at Prairie Ridge (6-2, 6-2)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Warriors: McHenry lost to visiting Jacobs 35-19 last week, a week after celebrating homecoming with a win over Crystal Lake South. Sophomore Mick Reidy and senior Jacob Jones rushed for 53 and 42 yards, respectively, and each scored a TD. Conner McLean had 67 rushing yards and a TD.
About the Wolves: Prairie Ridge won comfortably, 34-6, against host Crystal Lake Central last week to clinch a playoff berth. But the Wolves led only 6-0 on a pair of Gabe Porter field goals before scoring two TDs late in the first half. Colin Witkowski’s 80-yard interception return for a TD in the fourth quarter helped put the game away. The Wolves, who played their third game in a row without QB Luke Vanderwiel and FB Jack Finn, received rushing TDs from Giovanni Creatore (3 yards), Nick Petty (9 yards) and Jake Wagler (48 yards). Ben Gablenz and Nicholas Schons also had interceptions, and Walter Pollack recorded two sacks.
FND pick: Prairie Ridge
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Burlington Central (6-2, 6-2) at Huntley (5-3, 5-3)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Rockets: Burlington Central is officially in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years thanks to its 31-6 win over Hampshire last week. The Rockets went 4-5 in each of the past two seasons. Senior LJ Kerr, a three-year starter, ran for a 7-yard TD on a reverse and intercepted a pass from his safety spot. Another three-year starter, senior QB Jackson Alcorn, was 13-of-20 passing for 127 yards and a 23-yard TD pass to Chase Powrozek. Parker Auxier led the Rockets’ defense with nine tackles and three pass breakups. … Burlington Central has won six of its past seven games after opening the season with a loss to still-undefeated Cary-Grove. A win will give the Rockets their best regular-season finish since 2011. … BC has lost its past five games against Huntley.
About the Red Raiders: Huntley bounced back from its 44-43 loss to Cary-Grove, a game in which it never trailed until late in the fourth quarter, by beating Dundee-Crown 48-21 last week. QB Braylon Bower rushed for three TDs and threw one to Jordan Oruche. Ari Fiebig had a 52-yard TD run, and Carter Pope had a 48-yard fumble recovery for a score. Ethan Albertson had an interception. … Huntley can clinch a playoff berth with a win.
FND pick: Burlington Central
Crystal Lake Central (2-6, 2-6) at Hampshire (1-7, 1-7)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Tigers: Crystal Lake Central’s defense didn’t allow a TD to visiting Prairie Ridge last week until the final two minutes of the first half. The Wolves added another TD in the final minute to take a 20-0 lead into halftime en route to a 34-6 win. The Tigers got a second-half TD run from QB Brett Kramer (11-of-22 passing, 123 yards, 3 INT) and a fumble recovery from DB Kiran Pokharel, but lost for the fourth time in five games. … Central has beaten Hampshire in each of the past two seasons, 27-24 last year and 7-0 in 2022.
About the Whip-Purs: Hampshire’s 31-6 loss to Burlington Central last week was its seventh in a row after an opening win against McHenry. Cole Klawikowski’s 9-yard run accounted for the Whip-Purs’ only TD. … Hampshire sits in sole possession of last place in the FVC. Four teams – Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown and McHenry – each have two wins.
FND pick: Crystal Lake Central
Dundee-Crown (2-6, 2-6) at Cary-Grove (8-0, 8-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Chargers: Dundee-Crown’s 48-21 loss to Huntley in its final home game of the season marked the Chargers’ sixth loss in their past seven games.
About the Trojans: Cary-Grove clinched its first FVC championship since 2021 with its 50-7 win over Crystal Lake South last week. Dating back to last year, when they won their final seven games en route to winning the Class 6A state championship, the Trojans have won 15 games in a row. QB Peyton Seaburg rushed for 138 yards on only six carries, scoring on runs of 50, 52 and 13 yards. Seaburg threw a 13-yard TD pass to Landon Barnett, as well. The Trojans also got rushing TDs from Jadon Apgar (10 yards), Holden Boone (56 yards) and backup QB Jackson Berndt (2 yards). C-G sophomore defensive back Landon Moore had two interceptions.
FND pick: Cary-Grove
KISHWAUKEE RIVER CONFERENCE
Woodstock North (6-2, 4-2) at Woodstock (3-5, 2-4)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
About the Thunder: Undefeated through six weeks, Woodstock North suffered its second loss in a row last week, as Sandwich scored with 39 seconds left to pull out a 42-35 win. Max Dennison had four TDs for North, which has secured a playoff berth. Dennison caught the team’s first score on a 48-yard pass from Parker Halihan in the first half, before scoring on runs of 14, 4 and 7 yards in the second half. … The Thunder have allowed 77 points the past two weeks against Sandwich and Richmond-Burton. ... Since the crosstown series started in 2009, North has won 10 of the 15 games, including 14-7 last year. Eight of the games have been decided by single-digits.
About the Blue Streaks: Woodstock’s 38-7 loss to Johnsburg last week was the Blue Streaks’ fourth in five games. None of Woodstock’s three wins are against teams with winning records.
FND pick: Woodstock North
Plano (2-6, 1-5) at Richmond-Burton (6-2, 5-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
About the Reapers: Plano picked up a 29-22 win at home against Harvard last week to snap a six-game losing streak. Before last week, the Reapers had not scored more than 17 points in a game all season.
About the Rockets: No KRC team is playing better ball than R-B, which can clinch the outright conference championship with a win. R-B is tied with Sandwich for first place but owns the tiebreaker thanks to its win over Sandwich in Week 6. The Rockets have won five in a row since a loss to Johnsburg in Week 3. In R-B’s 35-21 win over at Marengo last week, the Rockets spotted the hosts a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Riley Shea started R-B’s comeback with a 5-yard TD run before halftime, but the score was tied 21-21 after three quarters. The Rockets got TD runs from Luke Johnson (1 yard) and Hunter Carley (35 yards) in the fourth quarter. Carley finished with 156 rushing yards on 19 carries. Shea (14 carries) and Johnson (10 carries) added 82 and 50 rushing yards, respectively. ... R-B is averaging 42.6 points during its five-game winning streak.
FND pick: Richmond-Burton
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Johnsburg (5-3, 4-2) at Harvard (2-6, 0-6)
When: 7:30 p.m.
About the Skyhawks: Johnsburg has been in must-win mode since a Week 5 loss to Woodstock North dropped the Skyhawks to 2-3. They have responded by winning three in a row, including last week’s 38-7 victory at home against Woodstock. Johnsburg can clinch a playoff berth with a win against Harvard, which has not won a game in KRC action. Against Woodstock, QB Carter Block was 15-of-22 passing for 168 yards and three TDs, including two to Ryan Franze (six catches, 69 yards). Brett Centnarowicz rushed for 71 yards on 12 carries and caught a 7-yard TD pass. Trey Russell and Duke Mays also had rushing TDs. CJ Ameachi led the Skyhawks defensively with seven tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and three tackles for loss. Mays had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery.
About the Hornets: Harvard allowed a 75-yard TD pass with 1:10 left in the game and fell 29-22 at Plano last week. It was the Hornets’ sixth loss in a row after a 2-0 start and only the second win this season for Plano. Harvard trailed 21-8 when Hornets QB Adam Cooke threw a 38-yard TD, but the PAT try failed. The Hornets got within 21-20 with a 2-yard run by Cooke and took the lead when Cooke hit Cristian Pagles on the PAT pass. … Harvard has allowed an average of 40.4 points in its past five games.
FND pick: Johnsburg
Marengo (4-4, 3-3) at Sandwich (5-3, 5-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
About Marengo: Marengo’s upset bid against visiting Richmond-Burton last week fell short, as the Rockets scored three unanswered TDs in the second half to win 35-21. Marengo had leads of 14-0 in the second quarter and 21-14 in the third. QB David Lopez scored on a 69-yard keeper to give the Indians their final lead with 7:26 left in the third quarter. Lopez opened the scoring with a 30-yard TD pass to Alten Bergbreiter. Connor Sacco had a 7-yard TD run in the second quarter. Lopez rushed 15 times for 128 yards and was 22-of-34 passing for 168 yards. Bergbreiter caught seven passes for 65 yards, and Parker Mandelky had eight receptions for 55 yards. … With four wins, Marengo would need an at-large berth to qualify for the postseason. The Indians went 4-5 last season and did not make the playoffs.
About Sandwich: Sandwich has played well all season and stayed hot with a 42-35 win over Woodstock North for its fifth win in six games. The Indians started 0-2 with losses to Manteno and Wilmington, two teams with a combined 15-1 record. Sandwich and Richmond-Burton are tied for first place in the KRC, but the latter owns the tiebreaker based on head-to-head competition. … Marengo won last year’s meeting 38-31.
FND pick: Sandwich
CHICAGOLAND CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE
Wheaton Academy (7-1, 6-0) at Marian Central (3-5, 3-3)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Warriors: Wheaton Academy needs a win to complete an undefeated season in conference play. The Warriors, who are a game ahead of Chicago Christian in the standings, lead the conference in points scored (308, 38.5 per game) and fewest allowed (65, 8.1 per game).
About the Hurricanes: Eddie Kowalczyk had six rushing TDs on 11 carries for Marian Central in its 69-15 win over winless St. Edward in Elgin last week. The Hurricanes scored TDs on 10 of 12 possessions, kneeling on their two possessions without a score. Kowalczyk finished with 231 rushing yards, scoring on runs of 7, 12, 20, 7, 35 and 28 yards. Vance Williams had 72 rushing yards and a TD, Andrew Thielsen added two rushing TDs, and Colin Hernon had a 33-yard TD pass to Max Kinney.
FND pick: Wheaton Academy
ILLINOIS 8-MAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Alden-Hebron (4-4) at Ashton-Franklin Center (0-8)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Giants: Alden-Hebron seeks to avenge last year’s loss to Ashton-Franklin Center. Caleb Linneman rushed for 284 yards on only seven carries, four of which were long TD runs, as Alden-Hebron beat visiting Hiawatha 38-6 last week. Linneman scored on runs of 50, 71, 60 and 97 yards. Wyatt Armbrust ran for 129 yards on six carries, including TDs from 32 and 47 yards out.
About the Raiders: Ashton-Franklin Center is trying to avoid a winless season after going 1-8 in 2023. The Raiders’ only win was against Alden-Hebron, 34-33 in Week 2.
FND pick: Alden-Hebron