A Preview Of Barrington vs. Hoffman Estates Football

The Barrington Broncos football team is quickly becoming one of the best around. As of Wednesday they were ranked sixth in the state.  

Broncos wide receiver Zack Dulla isn't focusing on the rankings, but on the upcoming game against Hoffman Estates this weekend.  "We are taking this one game at a time, and right now we are focusing on Hoffman Estates," he said. 

Barrington, ranked number 6 in 8A state football, will travel to Hoffman Estates (0-6, 0-2) to take on their conference rival on Friday.  The homecoming game for Hawks begins at 7:30 p.m.  

The Hoffman Estates Hawks have had a disappointing season.  The Hawk's offense has had difficulties finding the end zone and staying consistent in their movement of the ball down field, either through costly penalties or turnovers.  Hoffman Estates has only averaged 193 yards per game of offense and averaged less than 3-points per contest utilizing their option attack. 

Barrington's defense has allowed an average of 333 yards per game.  After an emotional 34-32 victory over  number seven ranked Schaumburg, the Bronco defense should be poised to control the line of scrimmage and create turnover opportunities against a smaller Hoffman Estates offensive line. 

The Hawks defense has at times done a decent job of trying to keep games close. However, that hasn't been well represented on the scoreboard.  Hoffman Estates's opponents have averaged 34 points a contest on 341 yards of offense allowed per game.  To put in prospective, Barrington allows 333 yards on defense but only allows an average of 21 points per games. 

Those points are coming from special teams, turnovers that are returned for scores, and losing the field position battle, leaving the Hawks defense trying to defend short fields.  Expect Barrington's big offensive line to provide plenty of time for Barrington quarterback Matt LeMire to find his targets or open up gaps for the running game all night.

Despite their losing record, Quarterback Matt LeMire said he's treating this game the same way he treats all of them.  "Every team in our conference (MSL West) is so tough and can win any week; we will prepare for them like they are leading our conference."

What to watch for:  Chase Murdock should be returning from his turf toe injury he suffered against Conant that forced him to miss the game against Schaumburg, and he will be eager to get back to his stellar season where he currently has 740 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.  Can LeMire build on his homecoming heroics and career high last week when he was 10 of 20 pass attempts for 295 yards and 4 touchdowns?  How many turnovers will the defense have?