Maine East and Maine West will meet Friday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in Des Plaines with identical 0-4 records, each searching for its first win of the season.
The Blue Demons travel to Maine West's new blue turf field for a matchup between two District 207 programs that have struggled through the first four weeks. Maine East fell 49-7 to Highland Park on Thursday, Sept. 10, while Maine West lost 38-26 to Deerfield the same night.
Maine West's loss told two very different stories by half.
The Warriors trailed 32-0 at halftime after managing just 7 yards of total offense through two quarters, according to the Journal & Topics. Maine West had 8 yards after the first quarter, then gained 15 yards in the second quarter but lost 16. Deerfield (3-1) controlled every phase of the game early.
Then Maine West came out of halftime and scored 26 unanswered points to pull within six. Deerfield answered with a late touchdown to seal the 38-26 final. The 26 points were a season high for Maine West, according to MaxPreps.
Sophomore running back Ashton Hicks leads the Warriors in rushing at 55.0 yards per game this season. In Maine West's Week 3 loss to Maine South on Sept. 4, Hicks carried the ball four times for 55 yards. Senior Chase Nelson leads the team in receiving at 9.0 yards per game.
Maine West's four losses this season: 20-6 to Elk Grove on Aug. 21, 56-25 to Wauconda on Aug. 28, 41-7 to Maine South on Sept. 4 and 38-26 to Deerfield on Sept. 10. The Sept. 4 game against Maine South was the first meeting between those schools since 1995, a 31-year gap.
Maine East's Week 4 loss extended the Blue Demons' losing streak against Highland Park to 35 games, dating to 1985, the Journal & Topics reported. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Smith went 5-for-9 for 64 yards and connected with Peter Khamo for Maine East's lone touchdown.
Head coach G. Klupchak's Warriors and head coach S. McNally's Blue Demons kick off at 6:30 p.m. Friday on the new turf in Des Plaines, with both teams chasing their first win of the season.
