Illinois football live from Oak Park-River Forest

Live from Oak Park-River Forest High School:

It's 3:25 p.m.
The scrimmage is winding down, with the team moving into its final few segments. Arrelious Benn is moving into MVP contention with a string of runs and catches.

We will have postscrimmage notes and quotes later on. And plenty of coverage in Sunday's News-Gazette.

It's 3:15 p.m.
The team takes a short break before returning to the field for some specialty plays. There will be third-down, two-minute and goal-line plays before the workout ends.

The offfense has had the better of it. The defense is missing key players, including tackle Josh Brent (suspension) and safety Donsay Hardeman (injury).

Sirod Williams, who is recovering from a knee injury, is on the field. He looked active on his first play.

On the third-down series, Juice Williams completed a 36-yard pass to Jason Ford. Ford has worked on his hands during the offseason and the effort shows. Leshoure is also able to carry the ball.

Martez Wilson, returning from a December stab wound, made a big hit against Arrelious Benn.

Williams is 9 of 11 for 129 yards. He has also run for a bunch of yards.

Leshoure went for another 13 yards.

***

It's 3 p.m.
Cordale Scott dropped a pass from Jacob Charest with heavy pressure coming from the defense. On the next play, Charest ran for the first down.

Chris Duvalt grabbed the ball away from Supo Sanni for a 23-yard gain near the sideline. Duvalt took the ball on a reverse the next play and moved the ball inside the 10. Another bad snap draws an unhappy response from the offensive coaches. Mikel Leshoure recovers the fumble and scores on the next play. More MVP votes for the Centennial product.

The crowd is starting to move around a bit. It will start to thin in the next 30 minutes or so. Members of the girls' lacrosse team just left the stands. It's sunny, but a bit chilly.

Mike Schultz is working out the way he communicates with the coaches on the sidelines.

Juice Williams hits Arrelious Benn for another first down. The coaches want Williams, who is having a productive play, to finish strong. He appears to be following orders.

Jim Pry is rotating his receivers. He has the deepest group on the team.

Schultz isn't going to abandon having Williams run. Several draws have been called for him.

Williams just closed a drive with a touchdown pass to Jarred Fayson.

***

 

It's 2:45 p.m.
Mike Schultz likes it when the offense makes a good play, yelling "Got it. Got it" after a pass from Juice Williams to Michael Hoomanawanui. Later on the drive, Williams scored on a run to complete a 70-yard drive. Perhaps, the offense will dominate the scrimmage.

The No. 2 offense is lined up against the No. 2 offense. Jacob Charest showed his feet on the first play, running for 2 yards. Mikel Leshoure just made the coaches look smart, spinning away from one tackle and breaking another for a 25-yard gain. So far, he's the MVP of the scrimmage. Leshoure follows his long run with a couple of tough gains in the middle. Charest keeps the chains moving with a short pass to Jack Ramsey. The drive ends when Charest fumbles a snap and the defense recovers.

Curt Mallory's headset wasn't working, so he's on the field helping Dan Disch call defensive plays.

***

It's 2:30 p.m.
Mikel Leshoure is running with the second offense. He gained 9 yards on his first three carries from the 2.

Juice Williams just threw his first pass and hit Arrelious Benn for 13 yards. That combination should happen about 80 times in the upcoming season.

Daniel Dufrene and Jacob Charest are with the second offense. Charest is competing with Eddie McGee for the backup spot behind Williams.

Leshoure ripped off a 44-yard gain against the No. 1 defense. He is continuing his fine play from the early part of the spring. We've got a story on Leshoure in Sunday's News-Gazette.

Junior college transfer Aaron Gress is working with the second unit at linebacker. His comfort level increases every day of practice.

Mike Schultz is very calm in the press box. When he wants to make a switch on a play, he politely changes it.

McGee connected with Benn on a 15-yard pass to end a drive.

The first regular drive pits the No. 1 offense against the No. 2 defense. Williams looks sharp on his early throws.

Benn ran 14 yards on a sweep. The play looks new and included a pair of tight ends and fullback Zach Becker.

***

It's 2:15 p.m.
Sitting in the crammed press box are the offensive and defensive coaches, sitting next to each other. It should be pretty easy for them to steal signals. There are communication problems. No surprise given the age of the stadium.

Jarred Fayson returned the first punt. The former Florida player will see plenty of time next season both at receiver and on special teams.

Fayson tried to pick up a ball off the ground on a punt return and fumbled. Supo Sanni picked it up. The coaches won't be happy about special teams mistakes.

Santella just drew a big hand from the crowd after a 70-yard punt with the wind. If he kicks like that every game, Ron Zook will be very happy.

On the first actual play of the scrimmage, Fayson was late getting onto the field. The offense is starting at the 2. Jason Ford just went 5 yards on the first play. On his second play, Ford broke free for a 27-yard gain.

***

It's 2 p.m.
Trulon Henry, Arrelious Benn's older brother, is in the stands. Henry plays safety at College of DuPage and is coming off a good season.

The scrimmage starts with extra points and field goals. Unfortunately for OP-RF, the school building is reachable with a short kick and a couple hit off the windows. No damage done.

Ryan Palmer appears to have moved to the first string at right tackle ahead of Jeff Allen. That could be a battle that extends to Camp Rantoul.

***

It's 1:45 p.m.
The stands are about three-fourths. Better than expected. The weather had to help.

The team has started its runthrough, which should go a few minutes. Then, stretching and the start of the scrimmage.

The scoreboard is running, but won't be used during the regular scrimmage. It will be used late in the workout for the two-minute drill.

The scrimmage will start with the offense starting at its 2. The No. 1 offense will go against the No. 2 defense and the No. 1 defense will try to slow the No. 2 offense. Based on the most recent practices, I'd give the edge to the defense.

***

It's 1:30 p.m.
Most of the players are on the field. Derek Dimke has kicked several balls into the yards across the street.

The defense will be wearing blue today and the offense is in white. Of course, the quarterbacks are wearing red.

Stretching should begin soon. The scrimmage start will be about 1:45 p.m.

Here's what I'm looking to see:
-- How does Juice Williams play after a shaky scrimmage on Wednesday? Unlike the workout at Memorial Stadium, there is almost no wind.

-- Can Mikel Leshoure and Jason Ford keep it going? They have played well the first two weeks of practice.

-- How do the young guys, Jack Ramsey, Supo Sanni, etc., play in front of a crowd during an important scrimmmage?

-- Is Martez Wilson ready to lead the linebackers?

***

It's 1:15 p.m.
The players have been trickling onto the field, starting with the specialists. Kickers also get on the field first. And they are usually the first to leave after the game.

Future Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is sitting in the front row of the stands with friend Frank Ybarra. His dad, Nate, must be close behind.

The main stands are at least half full. And more look like they are on the way. I think the crowd is going to exceed the estimate of 1,500.

For the first time, the weather is cooperating for the Chicago scrimmage. It is sunny and in the 50s. It would be great if it was about 10 degrees warmer, but it's a huge improvement over the first two years.

We have a great seat in the press box, next to the Illinois coaches. Unlike at Memorial Stadium, there are no soundproof windows. So, we are going to hear all the plays called by new offensive coordinator Mike Schultz.

***

It's 1 p.m.
The team finally arrived about 10 minutes ago. The main grandstand is about one-third full.

The Illinois travel party left at 9:30 a.m., right on schedule. But, shockingly, it ran into a traffic jam in Chicago. When has that ever happened? Oh, always.

Ron Zook won't be happy about the delay. But he also won't want to waste the practice day. So, the scrimmage will likely go longer than scheduled. It will take at least 90 minutes to get the number of plays in that he wants to run and I don't anticipate the start of the scrimmage for at least another 30 minutes.

***

It's 12:45 p.m.
There will be a scrimmage, but the team isn't on the field yet. And I'm not actually sure they are here. The earlier siren might have been for an actual emergency.

Fans are moving into the stands. I'd say its probably about one-fourth full, but there are many more people coming into the stadium.

Hard to tell if the orange and blue in the stands belong to Illinois fans or those from OP-RF. Maybe some of both.

Ron Zook promised at least 120 plays. That might be tough to get done in two hours. The team hasn't even warmed up yet.

***

It's 12:30 p.m.
Still waiting to see the Illini on the field. The trainers and managers are having a good time throwing and kicking on the field, which has a giant OPRF in the center.

The school colors match the orange and blue from Illinois.

The best known player from Oak Park-River Forest has to be linebacker Eric Kumerow, who played at Ohio State and was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins.

The school is located in an older neighborhood, with large homes nearby. You can kick a field goal at the house across the street.
Because of the location, there are no lights at Huskies Stadium. The team plays all of its home games on Saturday afternoons. The school has pushed to put in lights, but hasn't gotten any cooperation from the folks in the neighborhood, who fear a Wrigley Field-like disruption of their lives with night games at the high school. Of course, that would only be four or five nights in a year.

***

It's 12:15 p.m.
Four current Illini played against Oak Park-River Forest during their high school days. Kicker Michael Cklamovski, safety Garrett Edwards, defensive end Doug Pilcher and quarterback Eddie Viliunas were in the same league as the Huskies.
The players aren't on the field yet. But I just heard the sirens of the police escort, so the team must be close.
Ron Zook was worried about getting here on time because of the Illinois Marathon. They must have made it out OK.

***

Illinois might have hit on the perfect spot for its annual Chicago scrimmage.
Start with the historic ties. Before taking over at Illinois, Bob Zuppke led then-Oak Park High School to three national titles. The 1910, '11 and '12 championships are celebrated on a banner that hangs in the school's massive fieldhouse.
Huskie Stadium was built in 1923, the same year Memorial Stadium opened in Champaign.
The place seats about 4,500. We'll provide the crowd estimate later.
There is a softball game two fields away. The baseball field is next to the football stadium. The Huskies had a home game scheduled today that was moved. Nobody wants to see Juice Williams conked on the head by a foul ball.

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