The Vernon Hills Cougars will head out to take on the Niles West Wolves at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Vernon Hills will be strutting in after a win while Niles West will be coming in after a loss.
Vernon Hills is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. Their defense stepped up to hand Maine East a 42-0 shutout on Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their seven-point performance the matchup before.
Vernon Hills' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jack Gutowski, who rushed for 149 yards and two TDs on only five carries. Gutowski's longest rush was for an impressive 69 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Another player making a difference was Colin McMurray, who rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Vernon Hills was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 409 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2024.
Meanwhile, Niles West fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Niles North on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 23-22 to the Vikings. Wolves fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team has lost against the Vikings since Friday.
Vernon Hills moved to 2-4 with that victory, which also ended their four-game losing streak. As for Niles West, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Vernon Hills was dealt a bruising 45-7 loss at the hands of Niles West when the teams last played back in October of 2024. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Cougars were down 24-0.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
