Wheaton Warrenville South travels to Batavia on Friday, Oct. 16, with second place in the DuKane Conference at stake.

Both teams enter at 6-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play. A Tigers win would clinch the runner-up spot behind Geneva and give the program its most regular-season victories since 2018. The obstacle: WW South has lost five straight to Batavia, dating to the spring 2021 season.

Junior quarterback AJ Rogers has completed 68.8% of his passes for 1,486 yards and 11 touchdowns, according to Friday Night Drive's Week 9 DuPage previews. A separate Kane County Chronicle capsule lists Rogers at 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns. Junior receiver Blake Ittersagen is Rogers' top target with 27 catches for 414 yards. The Tiger defense allows an average of 12.75 points per game.

Batavia counters with senior quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren, a Wyoming commit who has thrown for 2,186 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for a team-best 595 yards and 12 scores. He has three Division I-bound receivers, led by Western Michigan commit Darin Ashiru with 70 catches for 916 yards.

WW South coach Sean Norris described his team's identity after the Tigers' Sept. 25 crosstown win over Wheaton North. "We knew it was going to be a physical, grind it out game," Norris told the Daily Herald. The Tigers will need that toughness against a Batavia squad that scored 45 points at WW South last season.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Wheaton North hosts Glenbard North

Across town, Wheaton North (5-3, 3-3) hosts Glenbard North (3-5, 1-5) at 7 p.m. with playoff positioning at stake.

The Falcons have already clinched a postseason berth after back-to-back losing seasons, but they arrive on a three-game skid. Geneva beat them 42-14 on Oct. 9, the most points Wheaton North has allowed and the fewest it has scored all year.

Starting quarterback Burke Neibch remains out with a hand injury that has sidelined him since mid-September. Sophomore Grant Neibch, Burke's younger brother and the grandson of late longtime Wheaton North athletic director Bill Neibch, and junior Rory Burke have split time under center. Both threw touchdown passes in the Geneva loss, Grant to Adam Schilling and Burke to Tyler Snow.

Coach Joe Wardynski explained the rotation after the Sept. 25 loss to WW South, when Grant Neibch made his varsity debut. "We were looking for a little spark and Grant provided that," Wardynski told Shaw Local at the time.

Running back Mac Murray, held to 39 yards against Geneva, needs a bounce-back game. Glenbard North's Angelo Gatses has rushed for 1,251 yards and 16 touchdowns, with 100-yard games in six of eight weeks.

Wheaton Academy eyes first-round bye

Wheaton Academy (6-2, 4-2) visits Christ the King (1-7, 0-6) at 7 p.m. in the Chicagoland Christian Conference finale.

The Warriors have dropped back-to-back games by a combined 11 points to Bishop McNamara and Aurora Christian after a 6-0 start. A win could land an opening-round playoff bye under the IHSA's expanded 384-team format, where the top 16 seeds in each class sit out Round 1.

First-year head coach Justin Swider has guided a turnaround from last season's 4-5 record that left the Warriors just outside the playoff field, according to Friday Night Drive's playoff outlook. Quarterback Colton Miller threw for 328 yards in last week's narrow loss to Aurora Christian, connecting with Western Illinois commit Logan Oros 11 times for 104 yards.

Christ the King has lost six straight since its lone win over Aurora Central Catholic. In five of those losses, opponents scored 34 or more points.

All three Wheaton-area games kick off at 7 p.m.