Let's have a closer look...

...at that Loyola-Warren match-up, shall we? Just who the heck is Warren, anyway?

Warren Township High School is in Gurnee, which is just west of Waukegan. The Blue Devils (8-2) earned the right to play Loyola by beating the Curie Condors (6-4) in the first round, 49-7. (Marie Sklodowska Curie Metro High School is near Midway Airport on Chicago's south side and is named for the famous Polish-French physicist/chemist. Cool!) Warren was founded in 1915 and currently enrolls over 4,000 students from 11 towns on two campuses.

The Blue Devils are in the 7-team Lake Division of the North Suburban Conference. The other schools are Lake Forest (whose quarterback, Tommy Rees, has committed to Notre Dame), Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Mundelein, Stevenson, and Zion-Benton.

Warren's eight victories came against New Trier, Highland Park, Antioch, Mundelein, Lake Forest, Zion Benton, Libertyville, and Curie. Their two losses were at the hands of Lake Zurich (38-14) and Stevenson (26-14). The only victory that was close was the Lake Forest game (43-42). Of these opponents, New Trier, Stevenson, Lake Zurich, and Highland Park qualified for the post-season. Of these, only New Trier failed to advance beyond the first round (the Trevians were defeated by Stevenson, 28-7).

Warren finished the 2008 season at 9-2 after being eliminated from the playoffs in the second round by Schaumburg. The Blue Devils are a consistently good team and will give Loyola a good game. I'll pick the Ramblers to win, however, as I think they are destined to play Stevenson in the third round.