No. 4 Batavia at No. 3 Lincoln-Way East, 7 p.m. Friday
Batavia (1-0) continues its three-game season-opening road trip while renovations wrap up on its stadium. The Bulldogs’ backbone is a defense led by Power Five-bound linebackers Tyler Jansey (Wisconsin) and Jack Sadowsky (Iowa State) that shut out Phillips until the last play of the game. Jansey also showed he’s a red-zone rushing option, running for a touchdown. Ryan Whitwell is a dependable back and quarterback Ryan Boe’s passing adds another dimension to Batavia’s offense. Lincoln-Way East (1-0) showed off a potent and diverse offense in a 41-15 win over Class 6A power Crete-Monee, piling up almost 400 yards behind the running of James Kwiecinski and Petey Olaleye and the passing of Braden Tischer.
No. 5 Bolingbrook vs. Simeon at Gately, 3 p.m. Saturday
It’s been a long time since a freshman made the kind of splash Bolingbrook quarterback Jonas Williams did in his high school debut, completing 19 of 24 passes for 407 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-12 romp past Minooka. The 6-3, 185-pounder isn’t the only playmaker for the Raiders, who also cause matchup problems for defenses with the likes of Kyan Berry-Johnson, I’Marion Stewart and Josh Robinson. Simeon (1-0) has some X-factors of its own on offense in receiver Malik Elzy, a Cincinnati recruit who’s the top senior in the Public League, and back Andre Crews, who ran for almost 300 yards against Wheaton Warrenville South.
No. 7 Warren at No. 9 Maine South, 7 p.m. Friday
With his college decision made, Arizona State baseball recruit Adam Behrens is back playing football again for Warren (1-0), and adding another dimension to a usually run-heavy offense. He threw for 203 yards in a 41-7 win over Barrington as the Blue Devils occasionally lined up with four receivers. North Dakota State recruit Jailen Duffie is a force on both sides of the ball for Warren. This will be the first big test for 2021 Class 8A runner-up Maine South, which had four touchdown passes from Ryan Leyden in a 42-3 opening win over Stevenson.
No. 13 Naperville North at No. 16 Glenbard North, 7 p.m. Friday
Northwestern-bound quarterback Aidan Gray threw for three touchdowns and piled up more than 250 total yards last week in a win over Homewood-Flossmoor. Illinois recruit David Olano, one of the state’s best kickers, booted a pair of field goals for the Huskies. Glenbard North is coming off a hard-fought win over Kenwood in the DuKane/Public League tripleheader at Gately Stadium. Quarterback Justin Bland and receiver Johnnie Robertson are among the players to watch for the Panthers.
No. 25 St. Patrick at No. 20 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. Friday
One of the state’s premier rivalries across all sports is heating up in football with both teams using strong 2021 stretch runs as springboards. St. Patrick went to the IHSA quarterfinals for the first time in program history and then hired alum Luke Mertens, who started the Lakes program and later took Lake Zurich to a Class 7A title game. The Shamrocks opened with a 19-14 upset of St. Ignatius. Notre Dame started 3-6 last year but ended the season with a four-game winning streak and the Prep Bowl title before blanking Willowbrook 28-0 last week. Quarterback Enzo Ricciardi accounted for almost 200 total yards in that victory.
