Northern Lake County Conference Week 2 Preview

It's time to shift our focus to Week 2 now that an action packed Week 1 is in the books in the NLCC. Will Jacob Donohue put on another historic performance? Will [player_tooltip player_id="65565" first="John" last="Bolton"] rush for another 200 yards? Or will North Chicago do the unthinkable and beat the top team in the conference for the second year in a row? We’ll find out soon, but first, let’s preview each Week 2 matchup in the Northern Lake County Conference. <hr /> <h5>North Chicago (0-1) @ Antioch (1-0) </h5> <h5>Thursday, March 25th @ 7:00 p.m.</h5> Antioch’s lone conference loss in 2019 came at the North Chicago Warhawks’ hands, so I expect the Sequoits to be champing at the bit to play the Warhawks in IHSA’s edition of Thursday Night Football. The Warhawks are coming off a disappointing 37-6 week 1 defeat at the hands of the Grant Bulldogs. Accounting for the Warhawks’ only score was senior QB Kyndel McKnight; outside of his 11-yard TD run, he was held in check for most of the game. McKnight and the Warhawks must find an early rhythm on offense by establishing the run game. They had early success with the run in week 1 but got away from it as they fell behind. I think it’s going to take a heavy dose of ground-and-pound if the Warhawks expect to beat Antioch for the second year in a row. That means McKnight and senior RB [player_tooltip player_id="20334" first="Travis" last="Turner"] should be the focal point of the offense. WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id="23149" first="Jamar" last="Mays"] is as talented of a receiver there is in the NLCC. Although the run game should be the focal point, Mays needs to have a big game and make timely plays when his number is called, along with senior OL/DL William Hanna Jr. Antioch is going to continue to lean on their senior twin brother standouts [player_tooltip player_id="20215" first="Athan" last="Kaliakmanis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="20253" first="Dino" last="Kaliakmanis"] who combined for six touchdowns in week 1. Both are committed to Minnesota and are capable of putting the team on their backs in pursuit of the "W." Although the Kaliakmanis brothers are priority number one for the Warhawks to contain, they must make sure to not forget about 6’4" sophomore Joey Neumann. He had six catches for 75 yards while also making plays on defense for Antioch in week 1—has power five potential. On defense, keep an eye on [player_tooltip player_id="35745" first="Jayden" last="Marquis"] and Ethan Holmes, two versatile athletes with the ability to cause trouble for the Warhawks’ offense. X-Factors: <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FFfAe">Antioch- Joey Neumann</a> <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FFV6L">North Chicago-William Hanna Jr.</a> Final score prediction: North Chicago 13, Antioch 28   <h5>Wauconda (1-0) @ Grayslake Central (0-1)</h5> Friday, March 26th @ 7:00 p.m. I have a good feeling that this matchup is going to be a high-scoring affair between two solid teams. Although they fell short in week 1, Grayslake Central went the distance with the top team in the conference and are expected to carry that momentum into week 2 against the Wauconda Bulldogs. Collin O’Malley and Kurt Heerdegen, who scored touchdowns in week 1, will play a significant role in Grayslake Central’s offensive attack. But the matchup to keep an eye on is between the two QBs Darryl Overstreet Jr. and Nick Bulgarelli. Overstreet is more of the pick-you-apart from the pocket type of QB who threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns in week 1. Bulgarelli on the other hand is a true dual-threat who can tuck-and-run with the best of them but is just as capable of letting it fly as he did in week 1, going 13-16 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Bulgarelli’s two favorite targets are Western Missouri commit Javerius McGuinn (9 Rec,146yds in week 1) and J.J. Jacobo; containing this tandem should be priority #1 for the Grayslake Central Rams. Nick Bennett, who had 10 carries for 75 yards and one touchdown in week 1 will steady the Wauconda Bulldogs’ run game. X-Factors: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11331845/60561a346e8b790d88efbd58">Grayslake Central- Darryl Overstreet</a> <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FFe51">Wauconda- Nick Bulgarelli</a> Final score prediction: Wauconda 35, Grayslake Central 31   <h5>Grayslake North (1-0) @ Grant (1-0)</h5> <h5>Friday, March 26th @ 7:00 p.m.</h5> This game features the two players who had by far the most impressive stat lines of week 1 in the NLCC— Jacob Donohue; 300 yards and 7 touchdowns and [player_tooltip player_id="65565" first="John" last="Bolton"]; 200 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns. The Grant Bulldogs are going to give the Grayslake Knights a heavy and steady dose of [player_tooltip player_id="65565" first="John" last="Bolton"]. I mean, why wouldn’t they after watching him run through and around his opponent in week 1 to the tune of 200 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. Bolton has that rare combination of running with power and speed; he has speed that allows him to get off to the races in an instant, or he can run it up the gut and wear a defense out—pick your poison. Grant’s QB Christian Perez really didn’t have to do anything last week with the running game being so dominant; It’s going to be interesting to see how he responds if Bolton doesn’t have another superhero-like performance. Last week it was all about Jacob Donohue and his historic 7-touchdown performance. Will he be able to replicate his Week 1 performance? My gut tells me it’ll be tough for him to put up 7 more touchdowns, but I do think he’s capable of putting out another impressive performance. He didn’t just dink-and-dunk his way to 7 touchdowns last week; for those who watched the game, it was evident that he’s a polished QB to be a sophomore. He made all the right reads and placed the ball right in the receiver’s breadbasket all game long. It also helps that he has the weapons on his side to have another dominant performance. Tony Hines II, a do-it-all athlete who had three touchdowns in week 1, can give the Bulldogs problems as he can hurt you out wide or out the backfield. Senior RB Christian Jones, who also had three touchdown receptions in week 1 is a dynamic scat-back who’s a nightmare in the open field. The Grayslake North defense’s anchor is Dimitri Cannon, who did nothing but make plays and wreak havoc against Round Lake in week 1. X-Factors: <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FF8JF">Grayslake North- Jacob Donohue</a> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9711237/5d80d7756e81590e5878f9c0">Grant- [player_tooltip player_id="65565" first="John" last="Bolton"]</a> Final score prediction: Grayslake North 31, Grant 21   <h5>Round Lake (0-1) @ Lakes (0-1)</h5> <h5>Friday, March 26th @ 7:00 p.m.</h5> These teams had less-than-impressive performances in week 1 and look to bounce back and get their first "W" of the season ahead of week 2. Round Lake’s three-headed monster of Isaiah Nixon, Jamerial Brown and Jason Wooten only managed to sniff the end zone a grand total of one time in their week 1 loss to Grayslake North. I’ll be the first to tell you that their outcome will be similar if their production doesn’t go up a notch this week—the good thing is, they’re talented enough to right the ship. I expect the all-purpose junior RB [player_tooltip player_id="65717" first="Jamariel" last="Brown"] to be the focal point of Round Lake’s offense, followed by senior QB Isaiah Nixon because these two players are just way too talented to be held in check for a second week in a row. As for Lakes, their only points in week 1 came on a Branden Nava field goal from 25-yards out. It’s quite simple for Lakes; they need to find a way to consistently get their best player on offense—Branden Nava— the ball, followed by establishing the run with their hard-running junior back Mark Hunter. Lakes was a playoff team last season, and they bring back a lot of talent, so there shouldn’t be any reason they don’t make the necessary adjustments in the purist of the "W." X-Factors: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9800790/5db7a47c4ba8060d7857637f">Lakes- Branden Nava</a> <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2CFqdF">Round Lake- Jamerial Brown</a> Final score prediction: Round Lake 17, Lakes 27