Postseason hopes for the
Vernon Hills football team were already high, based simply on the Cougars' offensive star power.
Evan Spencer, a 6-foot-1 185-pound receiver, is an Ohio State recruit.
Davaris Daniels, son of Washington Redskins defensive lineman Phillip Daniels and one of the nation's most highly recruited receivers, waited until this past week to choose Notre Dame over Miami and a boatload of other scholarship offers.
The duo combined for four touchdowns in their first game, a 45-0 win over Niles West, and another six scores a week later in a 56-0 win over Raby.
But what about the Cougars' defense?
In a 5-0 start which has sent Vernon Hills to the top of the Chicago North Suburban Prairie Conference and established the Cougars as a legitimate state title contender in Illinois Class 5A, the team's defense has pitched a season-long shutout. Five games, zero points allowed.
Vernon Hills has established a school record for shutouts, and of its four remaining regular-season opponents, only one, Fox Lake Grant, currently has a winning record. Saturday, Vernon Hills will play at Wauconda (1-4), which was shut out two weeks ago by Gurnee Warren.
Included among Vernon Hills' wins was a 34-0 victory last week over previously unbeaten Antioch, when the Cougars' second-stringers finished a shutout even when Antioch was at the Vernon Hills 1-yard line late in the game.
Spencer and Daniels, who have combined for 21 touchdowns on punt returns and interception returns along with their many scoring catches and runs, also play on defense. But this is a true team defense, where many of the team's starters play both ways.
"It's kind of a mindset. We just fly to the ball. You can't pick out one of our players," inside linebacker and fullback
Brian Palmer told Pioneerlocal.com.
In five games, the Cougars have piled up 242 points. Only a Oct. 8 game at Fox Lake Grant stands in the way of a league championship, and Grant has already lost to Antioch.
RECRUITING: DaVaris Daniels verbals to Notre DameNotre Dame has won the recruiting battle for DaVaris Daniels, a wide receiver at Vernon Hills who was one of the most highly recruited receivers in the nation. Phillip Daniels, DaVaris’ father and a defensive end for the Washington Redskins, announced DaVaris’ choice via his Twitter account this week. Daniels, 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, had scheduled a press conference over the summer to reportedly announce Miami as his choice, but canceled the press conference less than 24 hours before it was to occur so that he could consider other schools. According to reports, Daniels has still not qualified for admittance to Notre Dame. His other offers included Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska. Daniels has played at receiver and quarterback this season, scoring 11 touchdowns in five games.
* Nick Zeisloft, a forward at
Lyons (LaGrange), verbaled to the Illinois State men's basketball program following a visit to the Redbirds' Normal, Ill., campus last weekend. Zeisloft helped lead Lyons to a 26-2 record last season.
*
Derrick Marks, a 6-foot-2 guard at
Plainfield Central, verbaled his commitment to the Boise State men's basketball program. "The team is already a power in the WAC and by the time I get there my freshman year, I'm expecting big things," Marks told the Chicago Sun-Times News Group. Marks led Plainfield Central to a 20-8 record last season.
5 BIG PERFORMANCES …* Adam Bray of
Lincoln-Way West (New Lenox) kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1 minute, 8 seconds remaining, then added a game-winning 25-yarder with four seconds left to keep the magic going for a team which won just two games last year. The Warriors' 23-20 win over Tinley Park Andrew extended their winning streak to five. They play host to rival Lincoln-Way North at 7:30 p.m. Friday. West leads the Southwest Suburban Red Conference with a 3-0 league record.
* University of Illinois recruit
Reilly O'Toole, a senior quarterback at
Wheaton-Warrenville South (Wheaton), completed 10 of 17 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for a score in a 41-13 win over DuPage Valley Conference rival Naperville North. O'Toole's scoring passes included a 64-yarder to
Travis Kern in the first quarter.
*
Thornton (Harvey) running back Damien Bell rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries in a 52-20 Southwest Suburban Red win over previously unbeaten Lincoln-Way North.
*
Simeon (Chicago) senior running back
Horatio Banks rushed for 277 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, leading the unbeaten Wolverines to a 42-0 win over Chicago Curie. Banks' scoring runs covered 64, 55 and 39 yards. The Wolverines, who average 49.6 points per game, play Chicago Dunbar at 7 p.m. Friday at Gately Stadium.
*
Jocelyn Birks of
Lyons (LaGrange) had 20 kills in a 25-23, 25-20 girls volleyball win over Glenbard West. Lyons has won 19 of 20 matches.
3 TO WATCH …* Mt. Carmel (4-1) at St. Rita (Chicago) (5-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday: These Chicago Catholic League Blue rivals have been in this position so many times before. Unbeaten league records. Large crowd. The winner is in the driver's seat for a league title. St. Rita's rushing attack is led by senior back
Jahwon Akui, who rushed for 146 and two touchdowns in last week's 41-21 win over Bishop McNamara. Running back Michael Banks leads the Caravan's offensive attack, but quarterback Chris Sujka (an Indiana baseball recruit) and running back Brandon Greer (three touchdowns last week against De La Salle) add plenty of balance.
* Stevenson (Lincolnshire) (5-0) at Lake Zurich (5-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday: The North Suburban Lake title is likely to be decided in this game. Lake Zurich has shut out two of its opponents and held a third to a field goal. Stevenson has been held to less than 40 points just once.
* Naperville North (3-2) vs. Central (Naperville) (3-2) at North Central College, Naperville, 7:30 p.m. Friday: The annual crosstown rivalry matches up teams with identical records, but North still has a shot at second place in the DuPage Valley Conference despite last week's 41-13 loss to defending Class 7A state champ Wheaton Warrenville South. Minnesota recruit
Matt Lacosse leads North as quarterback. Central is led by senior linebacker Will Sayer and junior running back
Matt Randolph.
STORYLINES AROUND CHICAGOLAND:* Xavier Corona’s shootout goal gave
Morton (Cicero) a 2-1 victory over
Libertyville in the championship game of the Pepsi Showdown boys soccer tournament played at Toyota Park, home of the MLS Chicago Fire. Morton is 13-1-2. Corona was the sixth shooter in a shootout won by Morton, 6-5.
* Mike Ellis, who coached
Richwoods (Peoria) to an Illinois Class 3A boys basketball runner-up finish last season, has been hired as the new head coach at Evanston. He had a record of 156-52 in seven seasons at Richwoods, which won a school-record 30 games in 2009-10 and lost by just three points to Hillcrest in the 3A final. "We want coaches here who have won, and have done it the right way. Mike emphasizes the team concept and the development of kids," Evanston Athletic Director Chris Livatino told Pioneerlocal.com.
*
Thornridge (Dolton), which has an impressive basketball alumni list topped by former Boston Celtics player Quinn Buckner, will close after this school year and be re-opened only as a freshman academy for District 205 students. Buckner led the 1972 boys basketball team to a state championship and 33-0 season. Thornridge also won the state title in 1971. After this year, Thornridge students will complete their high school years at
Thornton (Harvey) or
Thornwood (South Holland).
* Defending state champion
Timothy Christian (Elmhurst) was one of the boys soccer teams installed as No. 1 regional seeds in the upcoming Class 1A Illinois tournament. Play begins Oct. 12, with the semifinals and finals to be played Oct. 29 and 30 at North Central College in Naperville. Timothy Christian's lineup includes Corey Phillip, whose 40th career goal earlier this season broke a school record.
Paul Bowker, an online and newspaper sports journalist for 25 years and the author of two Major League Baseball books, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.
