A look at the high school football games Friday night. For a DeKalb-Yorkville preview, click here.
Sycamore at Geneseo
Morris at Kaneland
Byron at Genoa-Kingston
Hiawatha at Midland-River Valley
Sycamore Spartans at Geneseo Maple Leafs
Kickoff: 7:15 p.m. Friday
Last week: The Spartans (5-2) won, 17-7, at Morris last week. ... The Maple Leafs (4-3) were 50-3 winners at Ottawa.
Last meeting: The Maple Leafs beat the Spartans, 23-13, in the Class 5A quarterfinals in 2014. Sycamore swept the regular-season meetings in 2012 and 2013.
Who to watch: Geneseo’s Zac Olson, who ran for 160 yards and two scores in the win over the Pirates last week. ... The Spartans’ Manny Dominguez, who added another rushing touchdown to his total last week and still is averaging 9.3 yards a carry this year, along with being one of the top safeties in the Northern Illinois Big 12 East.
Coach Joe Ryan’s comments: “They’re a good running team, and there’s a few more things you have to be aware of out of their formation. They spread things horizontally more than vertically, and it’s tough to defend.”
The lowdown: Geneseo closes the year with games against Sycamore and DeKalb, needing one win to become playoff eligible. It’s reached five wins every year since 1962 and last missed the playoffs in 2011.
“We’re going to get their best shot,” Ryan said. “One, it’s their senior night. Two, they’re playing to keep their playoff hopes alive. They know each game is an important chance to get that fifth win. We’re definitely going to get their best shot, no doubt about that.”
Meanwhile, the Spartans can guarantee a playoff spot with a win – although they seem to already have enough points to guarantee a spot already.
“We want to just keep having success every Friday night,” Ryan said. “We’ve already got 38 playoff points, so there’s no question we’re in the field. The question is, where do we want to fall in that field.”
Morris at Kaneland Knights
Kickoff: 7:15 p.m. Friday
Last week: The Knights (5-2 overall, 2-1 Northern Illinois Big 12 East) lost to Yorkville, 45-28. Morris (3-4, 0-3) fell to Sycamore, 17-7.
Last year: Kaneland handed Morris its first regular-season loss, 20-14, at Morris.
Who to watch: Chatten Dryfhout will look to get back on track for Morris after Sycamore held him to 49 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown last week. ... Joe Smith, who threw for two scores and 169 yards for Kaneland last week despite also throwing two interceptions. He has 996 passing yards this season.
Coach Pat Ryan’s comments: “I feel a lot of positivity with our kids. They know what we need to do to get better and get a win this week. We’ve had a couple good practices.”
The lowdown: Last year, the Knights’ win over Morris ended its perfect run, and resulted in a three-way tie for the NIB 12 East title. This year, Morris can return the favor with a win over the Knights – Kaneland would end up finishing behind DeKalb or Yorkville the title.
But Ryan said the team has responded well since the loss.
Jonathan Alstott continues to carry the ball a ton for the Knights, but had a season-low 18 carries last week. He ran in two touchdowns and caught a third.
It was a roller coaster for a Kaneland team is defined by its defense. It led, 28-10, after trailing, 10-0. Yorkville scored five unanswered touchdowns to close the game.
The Knights have allowed no more than 20 points in its five wins, and no fewer than 42 in its two losses.
Ryan said that the pass-happy Yorkville attack did enough to come away with the win.
“We knew going in they had a really good offense,” Ryan said. “We thought they’d get some points. But we turned the ball over three times and that was 17 points. We had a couple big plays on key situations where we made some mistakes – one where the safety slipped, an interception called for a pass interference, that really changed the tide of the game. Their kid made a fantastic catch on a ball. I think nine times out of 10 Kyle Angelotti intercepts it, and this time, he just didn’t.”
Ryan said the Knights have to do a better job of rushing the passer.
While Morris doesn’t throw nearly as much as Yorkville and is a ground attack offense, he said the chances will still be there.”
“I think the strength of our defense is stopping the run, and that’s the strength of their offense,” Ryan said. “It can be a kind of defensive battle between our front seven and their guys up front. They play smashmouth football, and we have to make sure we stop that. Their passing game is effective when they do throw. ... When they do that we have to keep the pressure on, make them get rid of the ball in a hurry.”
Byron Tigers at Genoa-Kingston Cogs
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Last week: The Tigers (7-0 overall and Big Northern Conference) were 42-8 winners against Rockford Lutheran as they continued rolling over opponents this year. The Cogs (6-1, 6-1) lost, 21-20, in overtime at Dixon.
Last meeting: Despite both teams being conference rivals, this is the first meeting since a 24-21 win by the Cogs in 2010.
Who to watch: Drake Snodgrass, who has rushed for 798 on 38 carries with seven scores for the Tigers. ... Kollin Fugate, who leads the Cogs with 451 yards and three touchdowns. Coach Chad Wilmarth’s comments: “What a great battle by both teams [last week]. Double overtime, two-hour rain delay. Even after the break, both teams came out fighting hard. It was an excellent game, and everyone will remember it for a long time.”
The lowdown: Byron went unblemished until the state semifinals last year before losing, 7-0, to eventual state champ IC Catholic – which won the title game, 35-0, and didn’t score fewer than 23 points in any other game last year.
The Tigers use a multiback attack – Isaac Stickler (40-670-10) and Ricky Messling (59-591-13) also carry the ball a ton. Ben Carlson has attempted only 13 passes this year, completing eight of them for five scores and 374 yards.
G-K uses four different rushers a lot – including quarterback Justin Peters, who has rushed for 333 yards.
“It’s convenient cause you look at Byron and you look at us we’re pretty much mirror images,” Wilmarth said. “The nice thing is the scout offense and scout defense can run what we normally run, which is great for our kids.”
Wilmarth said the team bounced back from the loss and has had a strong week of practice.
“With a team like (Byron), you have to be running on all cylinders and playing our best football game,” Wilmarth said. “Especially coming off last week the kids are motivated and ready to go.”
Hiawatha Hawks at Midland-River Valley Falcons
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Last week: The Hawks (5-2, 4-1) knocked off Walther Christian, 41-12. ... The Falcons (1-6, 0-4) lost, 63-0, to Marquette.
Last year: The Hawks were 57-8 winners.
Who to watch: Roque Huang led the Falcons with 12 carries for 64 yards last week. ... Kyle Thompson led the Hawks with 279 yards and five scores.
Coach Jason Keneway’s comments: “We feel good. We’ve had some good success against them in the past so we feel good, even though we have to make the long trip down there for the third year in a row. It’s a game we know we need to have to secure a playoff spot. It’s a huge game again for the history of Hiawatha football.”
The lowdown: With only 26 playoff points, Hiawatha likely won’t get in with five victories.
If it takes care of business at Varna, it’ll clinch a playoff berth for the second time in three years.
Midland-River Valley has struggled mightily this year. Its only win was by forfeit; it hasn’t scored more than 13 points in a game and has given up fewer than 48 points only once.
But the Hawks will be down two players at the same position – both Cristian de la Cruz and Sammy Orozco went down with broken elbows last week. De la Cruz is a two-way player, and Orozco subs in for him at defensive tackle.
“So we’re down to our third-stringers, and we don’t have third-stringers,” Keneway said. “So this week we’ve been getting guys up to speed in key positions. It changes a lot of things. We’ve been focused on getting them up to game speed, starting speed. It’s super unfortunate to lose those two guys, but that’s part of it. We’re a small team, so next man up.”
On the plus side, Keneway said scrambling to fill the positions has made sure the team is focused.
“It’s been difficult at times to keep them reeled in,” Keneway said. “But with those changes they have stayed locked in.