This will be undoubtedly one of the marquee games statewide on Saturday, featuring two top-ranked teams in Chicagoland, and a pair of top-10 teams in Edgy Tim's latest power rankings.
Lincoln-Way East: The Griffins (8-2), coached by Rob Zvonar, have never missed the IHSA state playoff field since the school started playing varsity level football in 2001. They won the 8A state title in 2005 and finished second in 7A in 2012. The 2015 Griffins have been very solid offensively behind senior QB Brandon Baurer, along with a running game led by senior RB Liam Morrissey and RB Nigel Muhammed. The East defense limited Jacobs to just 142 yards of total offense and no rushing yards in its 40-6 opening round win.
Libertyville: The Wildcats (10-0), led by head coach Mike Jones, were highly ranked in the preseason and have definitely lived up to the preseason hype. The Libertyville offense starts with senior QB Riley Lees (Northwestern) who is a true dual threat, running the Wildcats’ shotgun read option offense. The Wildcats defense is also very solid and keep an eye on senior DE Ben Kimpler (Miami of Ohio) and senior LB Riley Buncic.
Biggest questions heading into this game: Can the Lincoln-Way East defense contain Riley Lees and also avoid allowing the big play?
Also: Libertyville’s defense gave up 24 first half points against Downers Grove North. Was that just a case of opening round jitters, or something that Lincoln-Way East offense can exploit this week?