It was a weekend for defensive excellence. Northwestern went on the road and held Maryland to just 10 points, and their next generation of defenders followed suit, allowing just 8.8 points per game.

Safety Alijah Jones continued his program's shutout streak, tight end Noah LaPorte snagged a couple touchdowns to officially make the playoffs and 2026 quarterback Johnny O'Brien battled Palatine in his crosstown rivalry.

Check out all of that and more in this week's recruit roundup.

Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding blanked yet another opponent, thrashing Concordia Prep last week, 47-0, on Friday night.

Safety Alijah Jones and the defense have not allowed a point in six straight games, a streak that stretches back to Aug. 31. Spalding has won by a cumulative score of 277-0 during the dominant streak and remains unbeaten in their conference.

Archbishop Spalding (8-0) is on bye this week. They will play Loyola Blakefield, the alma mater of Wildcat DE Anto Saka, on Oct. 25.

Tight end Noah LaPorte scored two touchdowns in the first quarter as Princeton (Ill.) crushed Mendota, 57-14, for their sixth win of the season and a certified spot in the IHSA Class 3A playoffs.

LaPorte pounced on the game early, scoring twice in the first quarter from 20 and 36 yards out to open up a 14-0 Tiger lead that they would never relinquish. He finished the game with three catches and 88 yards.

“It’s a great feeling. We haven’t played our best ball yet. We know that,” LaPorte told Shaw Local. “Going into this game, we were trying to play a complete game. It’s just keeping the momentum going into the last two games of the season and into the playoffs.”

Princeton (6-1) hosts Mercer County this week.

Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller and defensive end Jonah Hayes crushed St. Ignatius, 44-0, to defend their No. 1 ranking in their division by Cleveland.com.

Moeller took command of this game quickly building a 37-0 lead by the break, and the second half was played with a running clock.

Hayes and the Crusaders defense have been sensational of late, allowing just 14 total points across their last three games.

Moeller (7-1) hosts three-time defending state champion St. Edward, the alma mater of NU defensive linemen Michael Kilbane and Troy Regovich, this week.

New Lenox (Ill.) Lincoln-Way West and linebacker Josh Veldman snapped their three-game losing streak in style, crushing Champaign Centennial 64-0.

This was the first shutout for Veldman and the Warriors this season and pushes them within a win of the playoffs with two games left to play.

Lincoln-Way West (4-3) plays at Lockport this week.

It's bad news for Chicagoland opponents when Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln-Way East comes to town.

Defensive end Caden O'Rourke and the Griffins defense were exceptional yet again in a 47-14 win over Lockport. And the LWE offense isn't bad, either: their 47-point output last week was a season low.

The Griffins have won every game this season by 27 or more points and have won every game after their opener by 32 or more points, cruising through one of the toughest conferences in the IHSA.

Lincoln-Way East (7-0) plays at Andrew this week.

Tight end Robby Preckel caught a touchdown pass but it wasn't enough as Wildwood (Mo.) Lafayette dropped their first game of the season, losing 30-15 to Eureka last week.

Eureka, which has a Power Four commit of their own with massive tackle Jack Lange, who is headed to Missouri, opened up a 23-0 lead before Preckel hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass to start a brief rally for the Lancers.

Lafayette (6-1) plays at Lindbergh this week.

The losing streak for Westerville (Ohio) South and tight end Tyler Kielmeyer stretched to four games after a 31-14 loss to Westland.

After a 3-1 start to the season, Kielmeyer and the Wildcats have struggled to break through. Their first three losses in the streak were by three points each, but conference-title favorite Westland was the first to beat them by three scores this season.

Westerville South (3-5) plays at Franklin Heights this week.

Punter Nikola Dugandzic picked up some bragging rights over Northwestern tight end Patrick Schaller and center Jackson Carsello when he and Winnetka (Ill.) New Trier beat Glenbrook North, 56-18.

It was a seismic shift for the Trevians, who seemed to be reeling after losing four straight games before this matchup, but they snapped into focus and put the hurt on the Spartans.

New Trier (2-5) hosts Glenbrook South this week.

Shakopee (Minn.) and offensive lineman Trey Boyd dominated Rosemount in a 30-9 win last week.

Boyd and the Sabers started a little slow, falling behind 9-7 at the half. But they found their fire at the break and rattled off 23 unanswered points to secure the win.

Shakopee (6-1) plays at Blaine in their regular season finale this week.

Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West put together a promising pair of wins heading into last week's matchup with York, but the Hitters ended up losing their fifth game of the season and becoming ineligible for the postseason.

Offensive tackle Michael O'Connell and the Hilltoppers just couldn't find their rhythm offensively early, and the 24-0 lead that York carried into the fourth quarter proved too much in a 24-14 loss. NU walkon freshmen Jack Trautmann and Sean Winton both graduated from York.

Glenbard West (2-5) plays at Proviso West this week.

After a hard-fought loss to Schoolcraft, Lawton (Mich.) and defensive tackle Mason Mayne put the hurt on Coloma, winning 46-8 last week.

The 38-point win marked the third time in seven games this season that Mayne and the Blue Devils have allowed eight points or fewer, and it was their fourth win by 30+ points.

Lawton (5-2) hosts Saugatuck this week.

Westerville (Ohio) North and safety Jonathan Stevens Jr suffered a heartbreaker on Friday night, losing 32-31 in overtime to Big Walnut.

The two programs were tied at 24 at the end of regulation, thanks in part to a Stevens one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Warriors scored a touchdown on their overtime possession, but Big Walnut came back with a TD of their own and went for two, converting it to claim the one-point win.

Stevens can commiserate with fellow commit Tyler Kielmeyer and Westerville South, who lost to Big Walnut 31-28 earlier this season.

Westerville North (4-4) plays at Worthington Kilbourne this week.

Dexter (Mich.) and running back Ronny Johnson have been putting another gear on display in recent weeks, and they thumped Monroe, 49-7, last Friday night.

It was a comparatively quiet game for Johnson, who ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns, and caught two passes for 41 yards.

The Dreadnoughts have won their last three games by a score of 154-14, and their last five by a score of 269-46.

Dexter (7-0) hosts Lincoln this week.

Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler lost to Etowah, 16-13, last week, the second straight game they played a quarterback other than Northwestern commit Marcus Romain.

Romain’s status is “day-to-day”, according to what the program told John Bednarowski of the Marietta Daily Journal. It is unclear what type of injury Romain suffered, but it does not appear to be serious.

Brock Adams led the Wildcats against Etowah, replacing Patrick McCollough, who started the week prior.

Wheeler (2-6) plays North Paulding next week.

Palatine (Ill.) Fremd quarterback Johnny O'Brien threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns but fumbled late as the Vikings lost their first game of the season at Palatine, 28-21.

It was a back-and-forth battle between the undefeated crosstown rivals, but O'Brien fumbled on a QB sneak attempt to tie the game with less than a minute left and Palatine escaped.

Still, O'Brien lit it up, finishing 23-for-38 passing and accounting for all three of Fremd's scores.

Fremd (6-1) plays at Schaumburg this week.

WR Dube Enongene and Acworth (Ga.) North Paulding were off last week. They play Marietta Wheeler and fellow commit Marcus Romain this week.

CB Marquet Dorsey and Wayne (N.J.) DePaul were off last week. They play St. Peter's Prep this week.

DT Tanner Jumpp and Lake Mary (Fla.) were off last week. They play Seminole this week.

2025 WR Braden Blueitt suffered a torn ACL on Sept. 20 per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and will not return this season. His Colleyville (Tex.) Heritage team (4-2) beat Everman, 41-7, last week.