Herald-News’ 3 things to know

1. Plainfield North led at Pekin 20-0 in the third quarter in Week 2. Turnovers betrayed them, and they wound up losing 21-20. Last week at Plainfield South, they led the Cougars 34-7 early in the third quarter. They had 21 points before South managed a first down. Yet, they lost 41-34 in overtime. When the Tigers learn to close out games, and if they are not bitten too severely by the injury bug, future Southwest Prairie foes may be in for a difficult time.

2. Bolingbrook’s defense never will rest. If there was a game on the schedule when the Raiders’ nasty ‘D’ may have sat back and let things come to it, it was last week against visiting Joliet Central. The Steelmen, after all, are 0-30 since Central and Joliet West returned to separate programs. Instead, in the Raiders’ 50-0 victory, they held the Steelmen to one first down and a net of minus-9 total yards. Bolingbrook has allowed 13 points total, no more than a touchdown in any game.

3. Lincoln-Way East is back. Although the Herald-News’ top-ranked team all season to date, the Griffins made mistakes and were far from dominant in the first two weeks, beating Carmel 17-7 and Lincoln-Way Central 17-12. In Week 3, however, they looked like East, belting previously unbeaten Stagg 41-0 in the SouthWest Suburban Blue opener.