1 thing to watch for each Daily Chronicle team during Week 1 games

With Week 1 of the football season finally upon us, we look at one storyline for each Daily Chronicle coverage area team.

DeKalb: Playing with confidence

A side effect of having 18 returning starters is that the Barbs know the system run by coach Derek Schneeman inside and out.

That should lead to a lot of confidence when the Barbs take on Sycamore in Week 1 at Huskie Stadium.

“Being on that stage for the first time is pretty eye-opening for a high school kid,” Schneeman said. “But now, having done it before, I expect us to play very confidently. There’s always going to be some jitters and that’s natural. But with an experienced group it takes a lot less time to settle down and settle in.

Sycamore: Grit in the trenches

The Spartans are loaded with speed offensively. Burke Gautcher, Dylan Hodges and Aidan Wyzard are all track standouts as well. And players like Gautcher and Carter York pull double duty in the secondary as well.

While Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said he’s excited about not only the speed of the team but the secondary, he said everything the team wants to do starts and ends with the line. And with DeKalb featuring a Division I wide receiver prospect in junior Davon Grant, the defensive line play is important, Ryan said.

That means players like Ethan Keicher and Owen DePauw have the chance to disrupt the DeKalb offense.

“We have to be really good in the front seven as well,” Ryan said. “If our defensive backs are leading in tackles, then that’s not really where we want to be.”

Kaneland: Starting a brutal nonconference schedule

The long haul to Washington in Week 1 is just the start of a very difficult nonconference slate for the Knights.

After they face the Panthers, who went 11-2 last year and have made the playoffs every year since 2007, comes a Wauconda team that went 8-3 last year. Plus the year closes in Belleville against Althoff Catholic that went 10-2.

The only non-playoff team on the schedule is a DeKalb team that is not only Class 7A but is expected to be improved from last year.

“This is a very tough schedule we have,” Kaneland coach Michael Thorgesen said. “It just kind of happened. A couple of conference opponents left us and we tried to fill in the rest the best we can.”

Plano and Sandwich left the Interstate 8, and the football arrangement between the league and the Kishwaukee River ended as well. So with just six teams in the league, it made scheduling difficult.

And Thorgeson said that doesn’t even count league play against perennial playoff teams Rochelle, Sycamore and Morris.

“It’s been mentioned and the kids know what’s out there,” Thorgesen said. “But we play good conference opponents anyway so they know what good football teams are. These are good football teams but they’re not unbeatable, that’s for sure.”

Genoa-Kingston: Handling the heat fitting into team philosophy

Every team in the north part of the state had to deal with crippling heat, with temperatures in the mid to upper 90s and heat indices reaching over 110.

Cogs coach Cam Davekos said the team did a walkthrough on Monday and only helmets with no pads on Tuesday, but that kind of aligned with how the team was hoping to run practices this season, especially heading into Week 1 against Chicago Leo.

“We spent a lot of time on technical things like alignments and assignments,” Davekos said. “We minimized movement and maximized water and rest. It kind of lined up with our practice philosophy anyway this year.”

Hiawatha: The debut of speedster Tim Pruitt

Tommy Butler has been a strong blocking back for the Hawks. And while his carries may increase in his senior season, there is a speedy sophomore who can get to the outside.

Tim Pruitt can break runs, coach Kenny McPeek said, and brings an explosive element to the Hawks’ offense when they face Rockford Christian Life in Week 1.

“He is kind of a speed back if you want to say,” McPeek said. “He’s going to get a lot of time next to Tommy. He’s coming along nicely. And so is our running game. That’s who we are. We want to run the ball. If we can’t we’ll work somewhere else but we want to run the ball first.”