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I was anxious to see St. Rita play at Loyola on Saturday, to see if the Mustangs could play on somebody else's turf as well as they played on their own against Mount Carmel three weeks ago, to see if they could be as good or better, to see if they have what it takes to be an elite team, one of the best in state history.
Loyola 24, St. Rita 0.
As I wrote at the time, one great game doesn't make a season. St. Rita isn't the first team to show signs of greatness, then fizzle. It wasn't pretty--unless you were wearing Maroon and Gold.
Now it is Loyola's turn to demonstrate if it can put two good performances back-to-back, if it can pull off a rarity in the Catholic League's Blue Division--win on the road. The Ramblers will test Mount Carmel Friday at Gately Stadium.
One thing I have learned in 50 years of observing high school football is 17-year-old kids are emotionally immature and unsteady. They can be whipped into a firestorm one week, then turn into a glass of warm milk the next.
It is rare to see a high school team that is mentally tough enough to handle the pressure of a high ranking, a competitive schedule and a 14-game schedule. The ones that can are acknowledged among the best of all time--Mount Carmel 1950, St. Rita 1963 and 1971, Fenwick 1962, Geneseo 1976, Evanston 1971, Joliet Catholic 1975, East St. Louis 1985 and Wheaton Warrenville South 1998.
St. Rita obviously isn't in that class. What about Maine South, the Chicago area's top-ranked team? How good are the Hawks? The Central Suburban is woefully weak this season. Their only regular-season test likely will be Friday at Glenbrook South.
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It's about hard-nosed rushing of the football, clock management offenses and defenses that cause turnovers that win championships.
Continue to rank MS tops until proven wrong (despite the softness of the schedule), but my money is on tested powers NN, WWS and anything that eventually proves itself out of the CCL Blue over the next few weeks.
Jury is still out on Bartlett (UEC strength?).
The WWS/NN matchup week 9 is the most intriguing (as is HC/GW). NN's offense rushing for 300+ yds/game with talented QB Manade, RB's Waite, Mlady and Roberts with outstanding O-line blocking highlighted by two of the best in the state, Baratz and Helms, is certainly potent, maybe the most balanced attack in the state.
WWS spreads the field well, and I wouldn't bet against Muhich and his perennially outstanding staff.
But WWS and NN could be two of the hardest hitting defenses in the state, along with LWE (which we should know alot about after this week at BB) so my bet is whoever comes out of the south this year, even if MS runs the table, would/should be a prohibitive favorite based on experience alone.
We need to also look at the SWS Blue conference,gents. There are some good teams here. The Lincoln-Way East at Bolingbrook game could be one of the best of the year,playoffs included. With two outstanding coaching staffs and two fantastic Defences this game could be a game for all-time. And this year might be the year of the Junior!
I think Maine South will finally finish the job this season. The reason they haven't won the title was the passing game gets worse as the cold weather hits during the playoffs. They had decent running games in the past but not good enough to control the ball on the ground in the playoffs. This year is different as they have a stud in 6'0 195 junior running back Matt Perez. I think he is the best rb Maine South has ever had. He will be the difference in a long playoff run to the title. If they do finish 14-0 they should enter the discussion. We will see how good Glenbrook South is this week in the showdown in Glenview. Maine South at Glenbrook South. I will be out there to check out that heavyweight bout.
Bolingbrook defensive captain led by Senior Alex McNulty jr. Is primied to make big time statement this friday night againt division rivals Lincoln Way East.
Friday Night Lights in "da Brook" will be crazy..