Hoffman Estates (4-0) at Fremd (4-0)
With four of the six teams in the MSL East at 4-0, there’s going to be plenty of must-see matchups these next five weeks. It starts Friday night in Palatine with the Vikings’ Northwestern-bound junior QB Johhny O’Brien (1,144 yards, 14 TDs) matching up against Minnesota recruit Nate Cleveland, who plays both quarterback and linebacker. The Hawks have plenty of team speed that concerns Fremd while Hoffman Estates will have its hands full with WRs Brennan Saxe and MarQuan Brewster.
Cary-Grove (4-0) at Prairie Ridge (4-0)
Another matchup between 4-0 teams — this one will go a long way towards deciding the Fox Valley Conference race.The defending Class 6A state champion Trojans looked good last week in a 35-14 win over Jacobs. Junior FB Logan Abrams picked up 159 of Cary’s 393 rushing yards and scored 3 TDs. The Wolves also are coming off a good performance, beating Huntley, 35-13. Praire Ridge won this matchup with Cary-Grove last year, 21-20, on its way to winning the FVC at 9-0.
Batavia (4-0) at Wheaton North (3-1)
The Bulldogs are in the middle of tough three-game stretch. They handed St. Charles North its first loss last week and get undefeated Geneva next. In between comes the Falcons who need to keep this one close and have a chance late — where they have shined in clutch moments this season.
Grayslake Central (3-1) at Grayslake North (3-1)
There’s nothing better than rivalry games, and we’ll take a trip to the Northern Lake County Conference to see who gets Grayslake bragging rights this year. Grayslake North came up short in this matchup last year. They will look to quarterback Mitch Hughes, who has thrown for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns, to help get bragging rights back. Central coach Brent Pearlman praised his team for finding ways to win games but is looking for them to clean a few things up against their rival.
Palatine (3-1) at Schaumburg (4-0)
The Saxons are enjoying one of their best starts, 4-0 for the first time since 2013. Three of those four wins have come down to the wire including last week when Vince Heydecker’s 36-yard touchdown run with four minutes pushed the Saxons past Niles West, 21-14. Schaumburg opens MSL West play against a Palatine team that also has been in three tight games, winning two of them after a last-second loss to St. Charles North in its season opener.