With two weeks of the IHSA football season in the books, here is a look at one surprise for each Daily Chronicle area football team.

DeKalb: Production beyond Davon Grant

The Barbs have been able to get big plays from players beyond Davon Grant, the 6-foot-5 wide receiver and safety committed to Illinois. He has three catches for 68 yards and a touchdown and nine carries for 58 yards. He also has a fumble return for a touchdown.

But Jack Rosenow has been a reliable target, with three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Derrion Straughter has three catches for 67 yards. And although Sycamore kept Travis Moore in check in a 22-21 Spartans win in Week 1, he ran for almost 80 yards and a touchdown in a 26-8 win against Phillips.

Although he had to sit out Week 1, senior quarterback Cole Latimer was 10-of-17 for 142 yards in Week 2.

DeKalb coach Derek Schneeman said the Barbs have to find ways to get Grant the ball even as teams try to eliminate him as an option. But he also said that if Grant is the focus, then other players are open and available for big plays.

“Derrion, Moore, Rosenow, those guys are good players,” Schneeman said. “In a lot of years, [Rosenow and Straughter] are No. 1 receivers. Teams are scheming to get the ball out of Davon’s hand want someone else to beat him. We have some guys who can.”

Sycamore: Kevin Lee is doing everything, everywhere, all over the field

Kevin Lee is expected to be an impact player for the Spartans this year. The senior inside linebacker and running back came on strong at the end of last year in the backfield.

Lee has done most of the ball carrying for the Spartans so far in a win over DeKalb and a 21-20 loss at Moline in Week 2. He has 40 carries for 171 yards. He also has a team-best 17 tackles, three for a loss.

The balance in the backfield has shown up in other ways. Five players have a rushing touchdown this year. Caden Ralph, Dylan Curtis and Cooper Bode have 17 carries each.

Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said that’s just a function of taking what teams are giving the Spartans.

“As we move on, teams get more and more film, so what’s there now may not be there late,” Ryan said. “But that’s senior leadership. It’s his time. He’s taking the reins and running with it.”

Kaneland: Jalen Carter, Brady Brown with an instant connection

Senior quarterback Jalen Carter transferred into Kaneland from St. Francis, while Brady Brown was looking to leap to a top-level receiver during his senior year.

The two have put up some big plays together.

Brown already has nine catches for 149 yards this year. He had a 71-yard touchdown catch against Rock Island, a 44-8 win. He had catches from Carter to bookend the second quarter scoring in a 42-37 win against Lemont – finishing with six catches, 58 yards and two scores.

Carter has thrown four touchdowns this year, three of them to Brown. He’s 16-for-30 for 303 yards and one interception.

“They looked good all summer,” coach Michael Thorgesen said. “But after that first long touchdown at Rock Island, Jalen hit Brady 60 yards in stride, you could tell. Brady is a good receiver, Jalen is a good quarterback and they have just connected. We just got to hope that continues.”

Genoa-Kingston: Gun-T resulting in passing game increase

The Cogs have always been a team to run out of the Wing-T. But this year, they are passing the ball more using a shotgun Wing-T.

Coach Cam Davekos said they’re still running about 70% of the time. But they wanted to get their athletes more open in space.

The Cogs got more passing yards than rushing yards in a Week 1 loss to Stillman Valley.

Davekos said players like Blake Ides, Anthony Gum and Jaiden Lee, among others, have the ability to thrive more with Cody Cravatta at quarterback and the skill players with more room to make plays.

“We need to get our playmakers in space,” Davekos said. “We changed gears to get kids the ball and give the defense fits on where to read the ball, whether it’s the running back, quarterback, or the pass for a [run-pass option] or run-run option.”

Hiawatha: Linebackers hitting the ground running

Tommy Butler was a force for Hiawatha at linebacker last season, but graduated. The Hawks weren’t left to wonder long about what they’d look like.

Hunter Ziegler broke out of the gates with 16 tackles in a 26-22 win at Galva. He was hurt against Harvest-Westminster, but Mike Hobson had a team-best nine tackles in the 50-8 win.

Coach Kenny McPeek said the 5-foot-4, 145-pound Ziegler doesn’t have a ton of football experience. He didn’t play until high school and then was hurt most of the season. He also had a touchdown reception as a tight end in Week 1.

“He’s really coming into his own,” McPeek said. “He’s a little fireball. He’s a nice, calm kid off the field, but not when he’s out on the field.”