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Did anyone do a better coaching job than Wheaton St. Francis' Greg Purnell, who took a 3-6 team to 13-1 and a state championship in his second season?
I hope somebody will give St. Francis' Mark Kachmer and Stan Bobowski a chance to play in college.
Wouldn't you like to have Metamora quarterback Michael Fay on your team for the next two years?
Three other small-school players who impressed me a lot were Triopia running back David Arendt, Stark County receiver Calvin Lewis, Immaculate Conception linebacker Antonio Taylor and Bloomington Central Catholic quarterback Adam Rebholz. I hope they get a chance to play in college, too.
How good a coach is Carthage's Jim Unruh? Five state championships and four seconds since 1995. Remember, his father Paul coached West Chicago to a state title in 1975.
Sorry, statistics notwithstanding, I wasn't impressed with Aurora Christian quarterback Jordan Roberts.
The offenses are way ahead of the defenses. Is the 3-5 the answer to the spread?
Have you ever heard of a team at any level--high school, college or professional--that wasn't well-coached? Have you ever heard a rival coach or a television analyst or any member of the media say that a team is poorly coached?
If Lemont has six or seven Division I prospects, how many does Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin have?
Did you know that Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin coach Ken Leonard conducts a clinic for coaches who run spread offenses? That Maine South and Hinsdale Central attended the last one?
Leonard is the coach of the 2000's. In the last nine years, his teams have won 103 of 113 games. They also have won three state titles in the last four years. And they also finished second on one occasion.
East St. Louis' Terry Hawthorne was the best player on the field last weekend. He is a playmaker, offensively and defensively. His best position in college? Free safety. And returning punts and kickoffs.
While Hawthorne and East St. Louis teammate Tommy Hopkins concentrate on improving the secondary at Illinois, Flyer teammate Kraig Appleton, who confirmed his commitment to Illinois over the weekend, is best suited to utilize his 6-3 body at wide receiver.
But Hawthorne isn't perfect. His 45.6 punting average is either exaggerated or inflated or both. After observing him in his last two games, he is a consistent 35-yard punter. He isn't in a class with former St. Rita star Ryan Donahue, who now is at Iowa.
The quarterbacks, Maine South's Charlie Goro and Hinsdale Central's John Whitelaw, were as good as advertised. But running back Matt Perez and Maine South's defense, anchored by Zach Timm, Nick Catino and Corby Ryan, made the difference in the Class 8A final.
The Illinois High School Association's television package, directed by Jim O'Boye, two days and eight games and round-the-clock coverage, was a five-star production, filled with crisp play-by-play descriptions and expert analysis.
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Comments
East St. Louis probably best team in IL in any class. Unexplained, unexplainable officiating kept the score in 7A title game respectable. East St. Louis was one of the least penalized teams in their conference and in the tournament, but in title game,somehow broke record for most penalties, yards. 2 4th qtr. unsportsmanlike pltys still have me baffled? On one called against Geneva, E.St.Louis lost five yards!!! We know Geneva's story visiting a teammates grave, coach with class dealing with family members cancer. Hats off to them and they played hard and accepted defeat graciously. But E.St.Louis'coach knows his cities reputation and prides his team on sportsmanship and self control because of the obvious innercity stereotype. His team plays with a confidence, aggressiveness and swagger, but also with a respect for the game and the other team. In the end ,it didnt matter, but Coach Sunkett worked hard and stressed discipline and sportsmanship, his team did not deserve to be treated like thugs and hoodlums, regardless of how they look,especially in a State Title Game.
Posted by: objective sports fan fromS.IL | November 30, 2008 5:09 PM
If you watch a replay of the game you will see why East St Louis lost five yards on that play. They were penalized fifteen yards for an unsportsmanlike foul from the 5 back to the 20. Geneva then had a dead ball personal foul called after the fact and that penalty was half the distance to the goal instead of fiftenn yards. This is how the ball ended up at the ten. I am tired of people complaining about the penalites from this game. Chop blocks happened and holds were committed, just watch the tape. Hats off to ESL for an incredible team and the most athletic team I have seen. They are hands down the class of Illinois football.
Posted by: Geneva Fan | November 30, 2008 11:18 PM
The ESL vs. Geneva game officiating was a mystery to me. The second half was getting out of hand score wise. It appeared that Geneva's players were getting frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I didn't see anything big but the officials may have felt like they needed to keep the game in control.
The speed of ESL was about as good as I have ever seen. They were just too fast for Geneva, probably for anyone in any class.
The two day event was fun to watch. Everyone should be proud!
Posted by: Jay | December 1, 2008 7:11 AM
East St. Louis is a great team. However, people that believe they are better than Maine South underestimate how good the 8A champions really were this season. Not only did they have a more difficult regular season schedule than East St. Louis but their road in the very competitve 8A Playoffs was much more difficult. Maine South was not suppose to beat Barrington 42-0 at Barrington or hold Catholic Blue Loyola Academy to one late touchdown or stop the top seeded Bartlett team's offense all night in the semi finals at their field and finally dominate Hinsdale Central in the finals, which is the same team that handled top seeded Bolingbrook very easily and also knocked off Catholic Blue powers Brother Rice and Mount Carmel. I think Maine South showed enough speed and toughness to be competitive against anyone in the state. Who would win in a Maine South v. East St. Louis game? I don't know, but people have underestimated Maine South all year and I wouldn't count them out against anyone.
Posted by: jeff from chicago | December 1, 2008 11:56 AM
With the win by Maine South in Class 8A, public schools have now won 15 straight largest class( now 8A;previously 6A) Championships.This streak has gone virtually unnoticed. Can you imagine the reaction if Catholic schools had achieved this level of domination?
JA
Posted by: Jon Anderson | December 1, 2008 12:56 PM
It was a pleasure watching Maine South.Joey Orlanso is my nephew and i told him that it was a great pick up and run for his td but I also told him that if their was replay it would have been reverse. Which brings me to my point, with so much on the line and the game getting fastet, why doesn't the IHSA add another ref. They add extra umps for baseball playoff's.
Posted by: chuck fantauzzo | December 2, 2008 7:49 AM
MAINE SOUTH OH YEAH. What a great team, Hinsdale had no part in that game
Posted by: Snake Turok | December 2, 2008 10:54 AM
Speaking of pleasures, it was sure nice to experience with 4 sons and nearly 14 years of high school football, the season that Bartlett put together this year. You just knew that with 17 returning starters this was going to be a special season. My hat's off to every young man and the coaching staff that dedicated their off season to improving themselves and the whole team. I'd also like to thank my sons for both the ups and downs of high scool football. It keeps you young on the inside for sure! GO HAWKS!
Posted by: S. Aiello | December 4, 2008 2:24 PM
TO S. AIELLO, I AM HAPPY FOR YOU, YOU DIDN'T COMPLAIN
ABOUT ANYTHING, YOU SPOKE FROM THE HEART, AND THAT IS
WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT, THE EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR SONS,
YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY PUT INTO THE SPORT, YOU ALSO
KNOW HOW MUCH TIME THE COACHES SPENT AWAY FROM THEIR
FAMILIES TO SPEND WITH YOURS, TO MAKE THE PROGRAM A
SUCCESS!
TO HEAR A PARENT THANK THEIR CHILDREN, THE COACHES,
THE OTHER PLAYERS, WHAT YOU SAID SHOULD BE PUT IN A
FRAME, I SALUTE YOU, YOU ARE A TRUE PARENT, AND MOST OF
ALL YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE!
Posted by: PHIL SMITH JR | December 8, 2008 4:41 AM
Just an update to my post above regarding East St. Louis and Maine South and who might come out on top in a mythical match between the two. I recently checked SI's high school rankings and Maine South is ranked 12th in its national rankings. I think it is a tribute to Maine South, with the limitations placed on public high schools in this state, to be recognized with that high a ranking, ahead of high school powers from California, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Posted by: jeff from Chicago | December 11, 2008 10:14 AM