Rock steady.
Three weeks in and the top five teams — St. Charles North, Batavia, Oswego, Geneva and West Aurora — in the Beacon-News/Courier-News rankings still look good at 3-0.
Could change be coming soon?
Maybe, just maybe.
Meanwhile, there was a shakeup in the second five, with Kaneland moving up and Jacobs and South Elgin returning to the list.
Here are my three takeaways from the weekend:
We saw this coming
The North Stars and the Bulldogs are who we thought they were.
Apologies to late Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, who made that line famous in his 2006 postgame meltdown following a wild comeback win by the Chicago Bears.
We’re not saying it in anger, simply stating fact. As expected, both teams are very good.
St. Charles North received the nod for the top spot in the preseason poll largely because of more returnees. The North Stars have held serve, bolstered by a strong showing in last week’s 31-14 win over Wheaton North.
St. Charles North quarterback Ethan Plumb (10) tries to escape the pressure of Batavia linebacker Tyler Jansey during a DuKane Conference game on Oct. 22, 2021. (John Konstantaras / The Beacon-News)
Four-year quarterback Ethan Plumb has had a strong start, spreading the ball around to a number of receivers, while junior linebacker Aidan McClure has sparked an opportunistic defense.
Batavia, which has won nine conference titles in the past 13 years, simply keeps calling them up and plugging them in, drawing from a seemingly vast reservoir of talent.
Junior quarterback Bodi Anderson looks good, bolstered by the monster start of senior running back Nathan Whitwell. As usual, the defense has contributors all over the field.
These two could easily be ranked No. 1 and 1A.
The two teams meet Friday at Batavia for an early showdown in the DuKane Conference, which has plenty of other contenders as usual with Geneva and the two Wheaton schools still in the mix.
“When you play great, heated football games between teams that have a lot of passion and the coaches know each other, you’re going to develop a nice rivalry and have some really good barnburners,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said.
“When they went to state (2018), we beat them in the regular season, and the last time we won state (2017), they beat us. It’s been crazy.”
Here comes another.
Jacobs’ tests come early
At the very least, Jacobs (2-1) and coach Brian Zimmerman made the case as contenders for a playoff berth with last week’s 26-15 win over Huntley.
Pull out an upset this week at Cary-Grove and the Golden Eagles will be sitting pretty.
Under the Fox Valley Conference’s rolling schedule, Jacobs’ first four games last year and this year included Prairie Ridge, Cary-Grove and Huntley — teams Zimmerman said everyone refers to as the Big Three for their dominance in the standings or the playoffs.
A fourth opponent, Class 8A Hampshire, is also in the early gauntlet part of the schedule.
“I feel like we’re battle-tested with that part of the schedule,” Zimmerman said. “And if you can get through it 2-2 or 3-1, it’s an indicator of what you can do in the playoffs.”
Jacobs dropped a 17-0 decision in the opener to Prairie Ridge, reaching the red zone three times and coming away with no points.
Zimmerman challenged his team before the Huntley game and the Golden Eagles responded.
Tyvon Boddie uncorked an 98-yard touchdown run in the final 30 seconds to seal the win, giving him a career-high 244 yards on 21 carries to keep things looking up.
Knights’ train rolling
Eye-opening score of the week had to be Kaneland’s 42-7 win over DeKalb.
“For you and me both,” coach Mike Thorgesen said. “Every break did go our way.”
Junior defensive back Carter Grabowski intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD to start the game. The Knights proceeded to block a punt and recover a fumble, setting up two more TDs in the first half.
A tough schedule for Kaneland (3-0) gets even more challenging with a stretch of Morris, Sycamore and Rochelle following this week’s date at Ottawa.
