Week 5 Rockford high school football predictions for NIC-10, Big Northern and NUIC

Week 5 means every team will be past the midway point of the regular season after this weekend's high school football games. How will your team fare?

Well, here are our predictions, with Matt Trowbridge (5-1 last week, 21-3 on the season) picking NIC-10 games and Rochelle, and Jay Taft (6-1 last week, 23-9 on the year) forecasting Big Northern Conference and NUIC results.

Note: Mineral Point, Wisconsin, had to forfeit its game against Lena-Winslow for Friday night.

LARGE SCHOOLS

NIC-10

Jefferson (0-4) at Belvidere North (4-0)

Sounds like a blowout, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Jefferson has led in the fourth quarter of three games and has the league’s leading rusher (LaShawn Gathright), passer (Sebastian Bracius) and receiver (Michael Townsend, Jr.). Jefferson’s first five opponents are currently 16-4. The J-Hawks could start winning soon. But probably not this week. Belvidere North 35, Jefferson 18 .

More: Week 4 takeaways include defender on TD rampage, unstoppable force on winless team

Hononegah (4-0) at Freeport (2-2)

This is probably Freeport’s best team in 15 years. Hononegah is (almost) always this good. Both teams want to run as much as possible, but Hononegah is bigger and better. Hononegah 28, Freeport 13.

Harlem (3-1) at Guilford (2-2)

Hononegah and Belvidere North clearly look like the NIC-10’s two best teams. The next tier is much more jumbled. The winner of this game will almost surely be a top-four team in the conference. The loser could struggle to make the playoffs. This is Harlem’s introduction to this year’s football middle class. The Huskies lost to 4-0 Hononegah and beat three teams that are a combined 0-12. Harlem has more star power with Jahmani Muhammad running the ball and Jackson Cook playing pass defense, but the Huskies’ run defense has been a huge weak spot lately. Guilford 21, Harlem 20 .

East (2-2) at Auburn (0-4)

Auburn is coming off by far its best defensive performance, holding Freeport to 177 yards of total offense. But the Knights have shown nothing on offense in four games and East has a punishing 1-2 rushing attack with Tyeshawn Whittie and Zy’Air Lee — plus star cornerback Chris Tolliver can be called upon for an occasional big play when needed on offense. East 16, Auburn 6 .

More: Week 4 NIC-10 football stats: Unlikely team has leaders in running, passing and receiving.

Belvidere (0-4) at Boylan (3-1)

Boylan allowed more than 14 points for the first time all year and lost last week. But the Titans haven’t scored even when they’ve won, topping out at 25 points. This may be the closest game in this rivalry in years, but the end result should be the same. Boylan 21, Belvidere 3 .

Interstate-8

Rochelle (3-1) at LaSalle-Peru (2-2)

Both teams lost their conference opener last week. L-P was crushed 52-14 by Morris, whom Rochelle plays next week. So the Hubs better win this week. Rochelle 35, LaSalle-Peru 14 .

BNC

Oregon (2-2) at Byron (4-0)

Oregon is coming off of two impressive wins, reeled in in two very different ways. The Hawks clung to a 3-0 win over a powerful Genoa-Kingston squad two weeks ago and then rolled to a 35-12 win over Winnebago last Friday. But they still may not be up to the level of football that Byron is playing again this year. The team that set the state scoring record while winning a state title last year is putting up impressive numbers again. Byron has outscored its first four foes 217-34. Byron 36, Oregon 18

Lutheran (3-1) at Dixon (4-0)

Lutheran has outscored its foes 132-34 in its three wins but was belted by Byron 49-18 in Week 2. The 18 points is more than twice as much as Byron has given up to any other team and is more than Byron gave up to its other three opponents combined. Dixon is on a roll, though, and is playing good football. Dixon is scoring 48.5 points per game and giving up seven points per game. Dixon 32, Lutheran 30

North Boone (2-2) at Stillman Valley (2-2)

In what could be a closely contested game, this is a chance for either team to get some momentum. Stillman Valley beat up on Rock Falls in Week 2, but its only other win is a forfeit from Rockford Christian. North Boone has lost multiple quarterbacks to injury and is coming off a 71-6 whipping at the hands of Byron. North Boone still has to play 4-0 Dixon and 3-1 Lutheran this regular season. North Boone 26, Stillman Valley 20

Winnebago (1-3) at Genoa-Kingston (2-2)

G-K, which started off with two solid wins, got hammered 40-7 by Dixon last week after falling 3-0 to Oregon two weeks ago. This will be the Cogs' chance to right the ship. Winnebago started with very low numbers and has already dealt with injuries. Winnebago's lone win was a forfeit from Rockford Christian. G-K 30, Winnebago 22

NUIC

Galena (3-1) at Durand/Pecatonica (4-0)

Du/Pec is not looking past this game (and onto next week's road game at Lena-Winslow) but instead seems anxious to have a test. The Rivermen's six-point win over Stockton in the season opener was by far the closest game they've had all season. This one could be close for a bit, but QB Cooper Hoffman and company will still roll. Du/Pec 44, Galena 21

Eastland/Pearl City (3-1) at Stockton (2-2)

This is another chance for Stockton, which has looked good even in its two losses, to prove it's for real. Stockton's two losses came at the hands of the NUIC's elite, Du/Pec and Le-Win. Stockton 27, E/PC 24

Forreston (1-3) at Morrison (1-3)

Against their lone common opponent: Forreston lost 18-19 to Galena while Morrison fell 34-9 to Galena. Forreston played a good game in that loss, but as good in a 36-16 loss to E/PC last Friday. But this will be Forreston's chance to get back into the race for a playoff spot, and the Cardinals will not let it slip away. Forreston 24, Morrison 22

Dakota (0-4) at Fulton (1-3)

Dakota will score its first touchdown (and point) of the season this week, but will not get its first win. Fulton 26, Dakota 12

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Week 5 Rockford high school football predictions for NIC-10, Big Northern and NUIC