Burlington Central’s offense isn’t humming like it did a year ago, when it featured the Fox Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Jackson Alcorn.

The Rockets haven’t scored more than 21 points in any game, but they are 3-1 thanks to an offense that has controlled the clock, except for Friday’s homecoming game against undefeated Prairie Ridge, and a defense that is about as good as there is in the FVC.

Central has also played three of the toughest teams in the conference the past three weeks in Prairie Ridge, Jacobs and Cary-Grove.

“I think our offense is exactly what I thought it would be,” coach Brian Iossi said after the Rockets were held to a season-low point total in a 28-7 loss to Prairie Ridge. “We got away a little bit from what we have done most of the year. We’ve been a double-tight end [formation team] and have run the heck out of the football. We had some success in empty against [Prairie Ridge] last year, and we had some success last week running some of our empty packages against Jacobs. We felt that we put our guys in the best position to be successful. [Prairie Ridge] made some nice adjustments.”

Central averaged 30.5 points in 11 games last year, as Alcorn (University of Wisconsin-Platteville) threw for 2,246 yards, 22 TDs and only one interception. The Rockets have scored 59 points (14.8 a game) this season. The offense should see an uptick in production as the Rockets’ schedule lightens up in the final five weeks of the regular season.

Against Prairie Ridge, Central had only 72 rushing yards and 10 first downs, three coming on a late-fourth-quarter drive while chasing a 28-0 deficit. For the game, QB Landon Arnold was 8-of-17 passing for 108 yards and an interception. Wide receiver Christian Livingston caught six passes for 85 yards.

Prairie Ridge possessed the ball for more than 34 minutes.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t run the ball very well, and we got to be better there,” Iossi said. “That’s what we’re built on. We’re built on an offensive line. We got eight senior offensive linemen that can block and are really good, and they’re big. That’s on me.“

Despite allowing four TDs against Prairie Ridge, Central is giving up only 11.8 points a game. The Rockets visit rival Hampshire (1-3, 1-3) on Friday.

Kudos for Central’s Curtin: When Burlington Central quarterback Landon Arnold missed the Rockets’ Week 2 game against Cary-Grove because of an injury, senior Theo Curtin stepped in and played well.

Curtin (6-2, 180) threw for 83 yards and also ran the ball effectively in Central’s 10-7 win.

“Theo played great in that game,” Iossi said. “When he was a sophomore, he started every sophomore game and then turned around every Monday and started every JV game because we didn’t have many quarterbacks.”

Zoom, zoom Ziebell: After falling behind 27-0 in the first half against Cary-Grove Friday, Huntley needed to find a quick source of offense and found it in a big way. Sophomore QB Malik Carter and senior WR Kyle Ziebell, a Harvest Christian transfer, led a wild comeback attempt for the Red Raiders with three touchdowns through the air.

The duo hooked up for a 48-yard touchdown down the sideline with 1:11 left in the second quarter, dialed up a similar play and hit a 42-yard TD with 6:47 left in the third and, lastly, scored from 31 yards out with 9:20 left in the fourth to make the score 34-27.

On Huntley’s final drive, the pair almost came up with a fourth TD as Carter’s 42-yard attempt sailed just over the outstretched hands in the end zone on a potential game-tying touchdown with over a minute remaining. Cary-Grove went on to win 34-27.

“He came at the end of summer and picked up the playbook and offense really fast,” Huntley coach Mike Naymola said of Ziebell. “He’s a student of the game. With his athletic ability and speed, he put himself in a situation where he can be on the field for us. He stepped up and made a lot of plays on the perimeter. I was really happy, really proud of him.”

Playoffs still realistic for Woodstock, despite loss: Marengo beat host Woodstock 35-14 in a Kishwaukee River Conference battle between unbeaten teams Friday night.

Woodstock (3-1, 1-1), which didn’t score until the fourth quarter, had not started 3-0 since 2017. The Blue Streaks are seeking their first playoff berth since 2009.

They face another tough challenge Friday night when they visit defending KRC champion Richmond-Burton (4-0, 2-0), but they then visit Plano (0-4, 0-2) in Week 6 and host Sandwich (1-3, 1-1) in Week 7.

“These seniors have believed in themselves,“ Woodstock coach Mike Brasile said after Friday’s loss. ”Their work ethic’s been unbelievable, and they’ve been able to rally the juniors and the sophomores we have up on varsity around them. It’s been so much fun working with these kids so far. It’s a little setback tonight, but we’re excited about what’s to come here the rest of the season."

Grismer, defense spark Marengo: Marengo two-way standout Ryan Grismer led a strong defensive effort against Woodstock with two interceptions and a fumble recovery, as the Indians improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in the KRC.

Cooper Lopez also had an interception, while QB Sam Vandello threw three TD passes.

“I thought we were balanced,” Marengo coach Paul Forsythe said. “I think the big story is we got some turnovers, because I don’t think we turned the ball over, and we got some stops on fourth down.”

Marengo can equal its win total from last season when it visits Plano (0-4, 0-2) on Friday. The Indians have finished with five wins in three of the past four seasons. They won four games in 2023. They still have Harvard (0-4, 0-2) and Sandwich (1-3, 1-1) on their schedule in Weeks 7 and 9, respectively.

Week 4 scores

Fox Valley Conference

Prairie Ridge 28, Burlington Central 7

Jacobs 35, McHenry 6

Cary-Grove 34, Huntley 27

Crystal Lake South 34, Crystal Lake Central 7

Dundee-Crown 24, Hampshire 0

Kishwaukee River Conference

Marengo 35, Woodstock 14

Richmond-Burton 49, Harvard 0

Johnsburg 28, Sandwich 0

Woodstock North 14, Plano 7

Chicagoland Christian Conference

Wheaton Academy 42, Marian Central 28

Illinois 8-Man Football Association

Alden-Hebron 61, Abundant Life (Madison, Wis.) 37

• Northwest Herald sports editor Alex Kantecki and correspondent Mark Winter contributed to this report.