Jacobs: September 2008 Archives

Here are the Courier News High School Football Week 5 preview capsules. Don't forget to check out Erik Jacobsen's look ahead to Saturday's Game of the Week between Bartlett and St. Charles North. Sports Editor R.J. Gerber also examines how Hampshire and Burlington Central might fare in the Big Northern Conference East Division, which begins play tonight.

It's hard to believe we've already reached Week 4 of the high school football season. Time flies when you're having fun.

As we near the season's halfway point, there is plenty to keep an eye on this weekend. Big Northern Conference and Fox Valley Conference teams will be making their final tuneups before beginning league play next week. Meanwhile, three area teams will try to stay unbeaten and five area teams will be in search of their first wins.

Those teams looking to improve to 4-0 are Bartlett, Genoa-Kingston and Huntley. I think all three teams should be able to accomplish the feat. The Red Raiders might face the toughest test of the group in their game at Jacobs, but if these three squads continue the level of play they've displayed so far this year, they'll be tough for anyone to knock off.

Burlington Central, Hampshire, Elgin, South Elgin and Streamwood will all be looking to rebound from 0-3 starts. The Storm and Maroons play each other, so somebody will likely come away a winner. This looks like a pretty even match up, though, so I don't want to rule out the possibility of a tie.

Outside of the Elgin/South Elgin winner, Hampshire is the only other team in the bunch I expect to break through for a victory. The Whip-Purs traditionally haven't had much success against Byron, but I think a return home could help coach Dan Cavanaugh's club overcome three narrow losses and get on track.

Simply put, Central and Streamwood face stern challenges in their games against Oregon and St. Charles East, respectively. The first win of the season will have to wait until another week for these two local teams.

CONTINUED COVERAGE
For more insight into Week 4 of the season, check our weekly preview show Courier Prep Football Weekly. In depth game previews can be found in Friday's Courier News print edition and on our Courier sports web site. Check back throughout the weekend for scores, video highlights and game coverage. We'll also provide more analysis here on the All-Around E-Town blog as my fellow staff writers and I break down the weekend's action.

Lastly, feel free to join the conversation. Your comments on our stories and blog entries are always welcome and will only help bolster the discussion. If we miss something or if you have something to add, jump right in.

I STAND CORRECTED
Before I go, I want to clear up an error I reported on several occasions in last week's sports section. I erroneously reported that Dundee-Crown's current two-game win streak marked its first back-to-back victories since the 2002 season. It turns out that the Chargers won their final game of the 2004 season and first game of the 2005 campaign, so the 2002 win streak was merely the last time the school won two in a row in the same year.

I apologize for the error. I had our staff fact checkers make sure that I got the information right this week, and you can rest assured that D-C is going for its first three-game win streak since the 2000 season when it hosts winless Grayslake Central tonight.

By Erik Jacobsen
Staff Writer

Larkin has a new look with the word "pride" stenciled inside the block 'L' on its football helmet.

Apparently, that message and first-year coach Matt Gehrig's philosophy is sinking in.

The Royals showed a wealth of character by rallying for a 20-19 win at Jacobs on Friday. The intense, defensive showdown represented a far cry from last year's 75-58 shootout between the teams at Memorial Field.

The Golden Eagles won that contest, but they couldn't overcome an inspired effort from Larkin this time around.

The Royals fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter and could barely move the ball on its first four first possessions, gaining only one first down in that stretch. That didn't bend Larkin's will, though, as it struck with a pair of huge plays when Justin Kalusa scored on a 90-yard touchdown reception and Brandon Cooks took off for a 58-yard scoring run to put the Royals ahead 13-7 shortly before halftime.

Jacobs bounced back and scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter. In years past, Larkin teams normally wouldn't respond well to such adversity. But this time around the Royals didn't break, and they eventually broke through when 5-foot-8, 150-pound junior Jalen Williams fought his way past a host of Jacobs defenders to score the winning touchdown on a five-yard pass from quarterback Jeff Saurbaugh.

Williams, who recovered from a slow start to the night, was just one of many heroes on the night for Larkin. Count Saurbaugh, Cooks, Kalusa, John Hosey and Cody Schue and the entire offensive and defensive lines among the host of players who made big impacts.

However, the biggest stars of the night Royals might just have been Matt Gehrig and his coaching staff, who kept their team believing and maintained a positive and encouraging vibe on the sideline all night.

When Larkin finally gathered for its postgame talk, Gehrig's message was simple.

"There's nothing better than seeing all your hard work come to fruition," the 28-year-old said.

Spoken like a true winner.

MOST IMPRESSIVE WIN
I've got to give Larkin a lot of credit for its strong play, and what better way for Gehrig to introduce himself on the Elgin sports scene than with a thrilling win. But this spot belongs to Bartlett for the second straight week as the Hawks went down to Oswego and shut down Northwestern-bound running back Tim Riley in a 17-0 victory. Bartlett is for real and I'm sticking by my belief that a perfect regular season could be in the cards for coach Tom Meaney's squad.

BIGGEST SURPRISE
At first glance I was taken aback that South Elgin managed only three points in a 41-3 loss to Vernon Hills, but then I learned the Storm was without its starting fullback all night and that running back Desmond Perry went down with an injury early in the contest.

Therefore, I'm going to pin the biggest surprise on St. Charles East, which was drilled by Geneva 34-7. I thought the Saints would make it a game and come close to avenging their playoff loss to the Vikings last year. It looks like I was wrong and it looks like East still has a lot of work if it hopes to reach the upper echelon any time soon.