After two weeks full of running clocks, Week 7 offers potentially competitive contests in all five Friday night games. Both Rochester and SHG have road games which could be challenging and Springfield and Jacksonville face off with playoff implications for both teams.
Eisenhower (0-6) at U High (2-4)
Eisenhower has been running clocked five weeks straight, while U High has been the last two weeks. U High should be favored at home. U High 31 Eisenhower 12
Lanphier (0-6) at Southeast (2-4)
Lanphier has been shutout the last two weeks after coming off 2 weeks of COVID forfeits. Southeast has been running clocked three weeks in a row but has at least been able to score in those games. Southeast should get their 3rd win. Southeast 33 Lanphier 14
Springfield (4-2) at Jacksonville (3-3)
This has the potential to be the closest game of the week. Springfield has relied on the big play on offense, mostly from Rashad Rochelle but also some recently from RB Tyree Coleman, while Jacksonville has more of a grind it out offense. Both teams have had issues on defense, each giving up more than 50 points twice already. Springfield has also had issues with penalties and turnovers. Jacksonville needs to control the clock with QB Elijah Owens and RB Kam Ron Mitchell running it and keeping Rochelle on the sidelines. They can win the game, but I expect Rochelle to get loose a few times for huge gains. Springfield 36 Jacksonville 27
SHG (5-1) at MacArthur (3-3)
SHG has hammered everyone except Rochester. They are playing excellent football right now and scoring almost at the level of the Spring Cyclones. QB Ty Lott has really impressed. MacArthur has played only 4 games because of COVID forfeits in Weeks 2 and 3. Their one on the field loss was by a TD at Chatham in Week 4. Mac can be a difficult out at home. In 2014, they beat Rochester, and they have one home field win against SHG as well. This doesn’t appear to be your typical hard hitting run first Mac team. They are relying on big play passing for most of their scoring. The Mac QB is a 4-year starter. They gave up 42 points to Chatham but only 9 in their 3 wins. I don’t think Mac can win, but they might force SHG to play a full 48 minutes. SHG 50 MacArthur 19
Rochester (5-1) at Chatham (5-1)
In 2019, Chatham won the conference by punishing Rochester 56-26 in Week 9. In Week 6 of the spring season, Rochester paid them back with a no doubt 60-14 win. Neither team will need extra motivation this week. Chatham Junior QB Jack Knudson leads the conference with almost 1,500 yards passing. They have shifted their offense away from the read option and are playing to Knudson’s strengths. Chatham has beaten Jacksonville and Mac in close games and lost to Springfield by only 3 points. Their defense is not yet near the level of the 2018-19 teams. Rochester is starting to be more balanced on offense, instead of relying too much on Hank Beatty’s running. JV QB Parker Gillespie has been a standout at WR. The defense has been up and down but played their best game of the season against Springfield in Week 5. Expect lots of blitzing to try to help the Rochester DB’s, who have struggled at times. There should be a big crowd and a playoff type atmosphere. If Chatham stays close for a while, it could be a tight game. Rochester is likely to get more stops and secure the W. Rochester 54 Chatham 27
Eisenhower (0-6) at U High (2-4)
Eisenhower has been running clocked five weeks straight, while U High has been the last two weeks. U High should be favored at home. U High 31 Eisenhower 12
Lanphier (0-6) at Southeast (2-4)
Lanphier has been shutout the last two weeks after coming off 2 weeks of COVID forfeits. Southeast has been running clocked three weeks in a row but has at least been able to score in those games. Southeast should get their 3rd win. Southeast 33 Lanphier 14
Springfield (4-2) at Jacksonville (3-3)
This has the potential to be the closest game of the week. Springfield has relied on the big play on offense, mostly from Rashad Rochelle but also some recently from RB Tyree Coleman, while Jacksonville has more of a grind it out offense. Both teams have had issues on defense, each giving up more than 50 points twice already. Springfield has also had issues with penalties and turnovers. Jacksonville needs to control the clock with QB Elijah Owens and RB Kam Ron Mitchell running it and keeping Rochelle on the sidelines. They can win the game, but I expect Rochelle to get loose a few times for huge gains. Springfield 36 Jacksonville 27
SHG (5-1) at MacArthur (3-3)
SHG has hammered everyone except Rochester. They are playing excellent football right now and scoring almost at the level of the Spring Cyclones. QB Ty Lott has really impressed. MacArthur has played only 4 games because of COVID forfeits in Weeks 2 and 3. Their one on the field loss was by a TD at Chatham in Week 4. Mac can be a difficult out at home. In 2014, they beat Rochester, and they have one home field win against SHG as well. This doesn’t appear to be your typical hard hitting run first Mac team. They are relying on big play passing for most of their scoring. The Mac QB is a 4-year starter. They gave up 42 points to Chatham but only 9 in their 3 wins. I don’t think Mac can win, but they might force SHG to play a full 48 minutes. SHG 50 MacArthur 19
Rochester (5-1) at Chatham (5-1)
In 2019, Chatham won the conference by punishing Rochester 56-26 in Week 9. In Week 6 of the spring season, Rochester paid them back with a no doubt 60-14 win. Neither team will need extra motivation this week. Chatham Junior QB Jack Knudson leads the conference with almost 1,500 yards passing. They have shifted their offense away from the read option and are playing to Knudson’s strengths. Chatham has beaten Jacksonville and Mac in close games and lost to Springfield by only 3 points. Their defense is not yet near the level of the 2018-19 teams. Rochester is starting to be more balanced on offense, instead of relying too much on Hank Beatty’s running. JV QB Parker Gillespie has been a standout at WR. The defense has been up and down but played their best game of the season against Springfield in Week 5. Expect lots of blitzing to try to help the Rochester DB’s, who have struggled at times. There should be a big crowd and a playoff type atmosphere. If Chatham stays close for a while, it could be a tight game. Rochester is likely to get more stops and secure the W. Rochester 54 Chatham 27