For the first time in recent history, the Downers Grove North Trojans move into the third week of their season undefeated. The Trojans had a strong game in week one, defeating the Lockport Porters 27-7, and then defeated Morton last week on the road, by a score of 31-6.
“Team chemistry has been good since our off season workouts. [We] have played pretty much error free football our first two contests,” said Trojan Head Coach John Wander.
This week, the Trojans hope their momentum will help them come out on top against the Oak Park River Forest Huskies, as they make their way to Carsten’s Field. Last season, the Trojans went into the game with a 1-1 record, and lost to the Huskies 21-7. Statistically, the season gets tougher for DGN as they start play against a conference team.
“[The] season gets much tougher now that we begin play in the West Suburban Silver conference,” Wander said.
The Huskies come into this game undefeated as well. After winning their last game at Proviso East 44-23, the Huskies will be trying very hard to keep their perfect record against this Trojan team. By the end of the night, one of these teams will no longer have a perfect record, and both teams will be fighting their hardest to make sure it is not them.
Keys to the Game:
According to the team averages on Max Preps.com, the Trojans appear to be the underdog against Oak Park Rover Forest this week. The Trojans need to rely once again on their strong defense to try and shut down the Husky offense. The Trojans main focus should be keeping the lead late into a ball game. In recent history, we have seen the Trojans have a strong lead, but watch as it slips away in the second half. That will be key for the Trojans to pull off a win in this game.
The Trojans will be coming into this game with a state ranking of #126, while Oak Park River Forest comes into the game ranked as #125. These two teams are similarly matched, and it will be a challenge for both teams. As was stated above, the Trojans do look to be the underdogs in this matchup, but they do have a very real possibility of coming off with a victory.
Time for Predictions:
A prediction for this game is very hard to make, since these two teams are so evenly matched. However, my prediction would be a Trojan victory. This young Trojan team is going to be playing hard against a strong Oak Park River Forest team; however, they carry such a large amount of momentum into this game. This is a big game, at home, in front of a “blacked” out and loud crowd. All of the momentum is in the Trojans favor this week. It will not be an “easy” victory for the Trojans, and they will need to work hard, but the Trojans can pull away a victory.
Game Time:
This game will take place on Friday night at 7:30 at Downers Grove North High School. It is a “blackout” night at Carsten’s Field, so anybody showing up to cheer on the Trojans should wear black to this game.
