Predicting every Illinois high school football game in the Rockford area for Week 3

Here are our high school sports writers predictions for Rockford-area football teams in Week 3 of the high school football season.

The Rockford Register Star's Matt Trowbridge (11-1 this year) and Jay Taft (8-0 last week, 14-3 overall) will break down games involving area teams out of the NIC-10 and Interstate 8 (Trowbridge) and from the Big Northern Conference and NUIC (Taft), and give you their picks each week.

NIC-10

Boylan (2-0) at Belvidere North (2-0): Boylan hasn't played a winning team yet, but the Titans have routed the two teams they have played by a combined 111-7. Expect the Titans to win again behind the best collection of skill players in the NIC-10 and a pair of athletic front lines: Boylan 28, Belvidere North 21.

Belvidere (0-2) at East (0-2): East is averaging less than 150 yards of total offense a game without Javius Catlin, who injured his foot in summer 7-on-7 drills. Catlin, second in the NIC-10 in rushing in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, is out at least one more week but the E-Rabs should get past a Belvidere team that coach Tony Ambrogio says is in a "total rebuild." East 35, Belvidere 13.

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Guilford (2-0) at Hononegah (2-0): The final three Saturday games for the NIC-10 are highlighted by this matchup, which will leave the league with just two unbeaten teams. Guilford's Jayvon Jones leads the NIC-10 in rushing, but Hononegah has shut down both Jefferson and Harlem on the ground. Hononegah was held to only three first downs until the final play of the third quarter vs. Harlem, then scored three straight TDs. It looks like Hononegah is finally starting to click: Hononegah 28, Guilford 14.

Auburn (0-2) at Freeport (1-1): Both teams need to win this game to have a shot at the playoffs. Auburn has lost by less than 10 points to both Harlem and Guilford, but hasn't run well. Athavion Coleman (188 yards), Leonard Spates (66) and Terry Horton (50) are good receivers, but Auburn has had too many turnovers. Freeport may take the ball away just enough to eke one out. Freeport 20, Auburn 19.

Harlem (1-1) at Jefferson (0-2): No one has run on Harlem, although the Huskies have given up some big plays. Jefferson played Hononegah tough, but got steamrolled by Boylan without its starting quarterback. This should be the game Harlem's running game finally gets on track: Harlem 56, Jefferson 7.

Interstate 8 Blue

Rochelle (2-0) at Johnsburg (1-1): Rochelle runs as well as any large school in the Rockford area, with three of the top six current rushers. Johnsburg may actually like that after giving up 427 yards passing last week to Woodstock Marian's Cale McThenia on only 31 passes. But the Skyhawks also gave up 204 yards passing and trailed by 20 points at halftime despite leading the turnover battle 3-0. They could beat the Hubs if they win the turnover battle, but only if they do. How about the same score as last year: Rochelle 35, Johnsburg 10.

RochelleI found a better experience than playing high school football — watching my son do it

Big Northern Conference

Lutheran (1-1) at Byron (1-1): Lutheran beat Byron 6-0 in the shortened spring season that was pushed back due to COVID-19, but then the Tigers rolled over the Crusaders 47-19 the next season, last year. Lutheran regrouped in a big way, though, going 4-2 the rest of the way last year, and then starting off this season with an upset victory over North Boone. They were knocked back down to Earth by Genoa-Kingston last week, however, and Byron could do the same. The Tigers appear to be back on track after a Week 1 setback to Stillman Valley. Byron 32, Lutheran 26

Oregon (1-1) at Stillman Valley (2-0): Oregon got its first win of the season last week, but it was a narrow victory over Rockford Christian. It lost bad to Dixon to open the season. Oregon could lose bad to the Cardinals if it can't find a way to slow a strong power-run game. Stillman Valley 30, Oregon 20

North Boone (0-2) at Genoa-Kingston (2-0): Just two seasons removed from winning its first BNC title, North Boone is in jeopardy of opening the season 0-3. G-K has looked strong in wins over Winnebago and Lutheran to start the season, giving up 20 points in each game, but most of those were garbage-time scores. Unless the Vikings can find a way to set their passing attack loose early in this one, it could get away from them. G-K 33, North Boone 28

Rockford Christian (1-1) at Dixon (2-0): Rockford Christian started the year off with a win over Rock Falls, but everybody beats Rock Falls these days. It proved tougher to beat Oregon last week, and will be even harder to get past Dixon this Friday. Dixon 36, Rockford Christian 22

Winnebago (0-2) at Rock Falls (0-2): This is just what Winnebago, which started off with tough games against G-K and Byron, needed, and watch for the road team to dominate this one. Winnebago 31, Rock Falls 6

More:Why the NIC-10's best blocker stopped playing football in favor of track at Hononegah

NUIC

Galena (1-1) at Lena-Winslow (2-0): Galena has been a solid program for the past couple of seasons, but not at the level of Le-Win. This is another Panthers blowout in the making. Le-Win 30, Galena 10

Fulton (2-0) at Durand/Pecatonica (2-0): Fulton's only two regular-season losses last year were to Le-Win, the eventual Class 1A state champs, and Du/Pec. Now it's time to see if the Rivermen are up to the challenge again. This will be a test for Du/Pec, but their balance should be enough to get them through. Du/Pec 28, Fulton 24

Dakota (1-1) at Stockton (1-1): This will be a showdown of two power-run teams running it right at each other. Dakota barely hung on for a 14-6 win in this matchup last year, and this one could be very similar. Dakota 22, Stockton 14

E/PC (0-2) at Forreston (1-1): Forreston will be looking to get it going again after falling by 10 to Du/Pec last week. This will be a good opportunity, and the Cardinals won't squander it. Forreston 26, E/PC 16

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IHSA football predictions: Rockford-area high school picks for Week 3