No. 15 St. Rita at No. 9 St. Francis, 7:30 p.m. Friday
St. Rita (2-1, 0-0 CCL/ESCC Green) has quality wins over Sandburg and Brother Rice sandwiched around a loss to Mount Carmel. Quarterback Steven Armbruster is coming off a solid performance against Brother Rice, in which he passed for 203 and two touchdowns including the game-winner in the final two minutes. St. Francis (3-0, 0-0) is coming off one of its biggest wins in years, 35-21 at Loyola in the Ramblers’ first night game. Quarterback Brody Palmer, the successor to current Michigan State freshman Alessio Milivojevic, threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns vs. Loyola and also ran for 87 yards and two scores. His favorite target was Zach Washington with five catches for 94 yards and a TD.
No. 7 Barrington at No. 19 Maine South, 7:30 p.m. Friday
It’s the year of the quarterback in Chicago-area prep football, and Nick Peipert of Barrington (3-0) is one of the best. Through three games, he has passed for 740 yards and nine touchdowns, completing 67% of his passes with a 142.9 quarterback rating. Maine South (1-2) is completing one of the toughest four-game stretches of any team in the state: a 49-22 loss at Lincoln-Way East, a 35-18 win against Warren and a 28-23 loss at Hersey. Senior Michael Dellumo is an elite two-way player; in the Warren game he had two rushing TDs and two interceptions.
No. 12 St. Charles North at No. 5 Batavia, 7 p.m. Friday
There will be plenty of marquee games in the DuKane Conference this season and this is one of them. Four-year starting quarterback Ethan Plumb has passed for 418 yards and six touchdowns with one interception for St. Charles North (3-0, 1-0),and he’s run for another 140 yards and three touchdowns. The North Stars have quality wins against Palatine and Wheaton North. Batavia (3-0, 1-0) returned just one offensive starter from last year’s 11-2 Class 7A semifinalist, but senior Nathan Whitwell has carried the load to the tune of 539 yards (9.0 per carry) and eight touchdowns.
No. 8 Marist vs. No. 23 Joliet Catholic, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Joliet Memorial Stadium
Marist (3-0, 0-0 CCL/ESCC Orange) has been one of the most improved teams in the area this fall under first-year coach Mike Fitzgerald. Lincoln-Way East transfer Jake Ritter has settled in at quarterback and added another dimension to an offense that returned Cornell commit John McAuliffe at running back. Brad Fitzgibbon (Iowa) and Achilles Anderson (Harvard) anchor a stout defensive line. Joliet Catholic (2-1, 0-0) has been working to get its offense untracked. Nate Magrini, coming off a 152-yard effort in a win against Fenwick, is a reliable back.
No. 19 Morgan Park vs. Kenwood, 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Lane
Morgan Park (2-1, 1-0 Public League Red) has shut out its last two opponents after opening with a loss at Marist. Quarterback Marcus Thaxton and speedy receiver Nasir Rankin lead the offense, while the secondary has three elite players in Jahmere Washington (Wisconsin), Jovan Clark (Wyoming) and Ahmad Grayer. Don’t be fooled by Kenwood’s record. The Broncos (1-2, 1-0) opened with losses to CCL/ESCC powers St Francis and Nazareth before shutting out Payton. Two-way starter Damaje Williams had eight interceptions last season.