But before we get to my report, let's acknowledge what a crazy day (and night) of upsets we had. After all, it isn't every day that the two top-ranked teams -- all season -- go down to defeat.
* Maine South was upended by Stevenson, 24-22. It sounds like the Hawks were never in this game until the very end, trailing at the half, 17-7. Patriot quarterback Matt Micucci had a big day after he was knocked out of the game on the very first play.
Stevenson now plays Glenbard North. Can they beat the Panthers? I don't know. I saw the Patriots twice this year, against Glenbrook South and Lake Zurich. They won both games narrowly. They have the horses; if they win next week they will almost surely face Loyola in the semis.
* Speaking of Lake Zurich, the Bears knocked off Glenbard West in the day's second biggest upset, 10-3. As I mentioned, I saw Lake Zurich fail in a comeback attempt against Stevenson about a month ago. I criticized coach Bryan Stortz at the time for relying almost completely on quarterback Zach Till. If you had told me that Till wouldn't play yesterday I would have predicted a rout for the Hilltoppers. Instead, Lake Zurich shut down one of the state's most potent offenses -- on the road!
The defending 7A runners up take on Elk Grove next.
* Lyons Township defeated Glenbrook South, 34-31, in overtime. The Lions, at 8-4, are the definition of inconsistent, defeating Stevenson in Lincolnshire, 24-19, in the first game of the season; beating hapless Oak Park and River Forest by only 16-14; and York, 29-27. Lyons lost to Downers Grove South, 28-0; Glenbard West, 31-3; and Hinsdale Central 33-10.
Can they beat Loyola (who shut out Dunbar, 29-0) in Wilmette next week? I don't see how.
* In other upsets, Glenbard North beat No. 3 Palatine, 35-21; and Peoria Richwoods defeated No. 1 Crete-Monee, 51-36.
* In two games that I would have considered upsets, Rockford Boylan beat Wheaton North, 37-20; and Nazareth shut out Cary-Grove, 24-0. (I gotta get a look at these Roadrunners.)
* In non-upsets, East St. Louis blanked Oswego, 41-0; Elk Grove bested Machesney Park Harlem, 39-22; Batavia beat Lake Forest, 31-17; Prairie Ridge rolled over Glenbard South, 55-7; and Montini, of course, defeated Sterling, 35-10.
Now, about that Bolingbrook victory over Mount Carmel. The first thing I should say is that I don't have a Player of the Game. Oh, sure, it would be tempting to say quarterback Aaron Bailey. He ran for about 30 yards on the first play from scrimmage, later scored a touchdown, converted on a fake punt deep in his own territory on only the second series in the first quarter, kicked another punt that rolled to the Caravan's 3-yard line, threw a bomb (he has a lot better arm than I thought) to Xavier Perkins, and generally just gave the Caravan defense fits all night. (Everybody has to watch this guy, for crying out loud.)
But the truth is, it was a team effort. I know that sounds trite, but running backs D. J. Pruitt, Jaden Huff and Omar Stover all had good nights, as did receivers Xavier Perkins and Chandler Piekarski, and the entire offensive line, which dominated the Mount Carmel front four. And the Raiders' defense, led by Florida-bound linebacker Antonio Morrison, backs Diaron Rhodes and -- especially -- Tevin Teamer, stymied the Caravan offense.
Carmel Quarterback Don Butkus completed a touchdown pass to Frank Kelly on an impressive drive late in the game, and running back Branden Greer had a nifty 30 or 35-yard gain at one point, but that was about it.
As a Downers Grove South coach whom I spoke with in the stands told me, with the exception of Loyola, the Catholic League is down this year. (I disagree somewhat; I think St. Rita will make it to the semis, if not further.) He said the Mustangs had no trouble with Brother Rice Friday night, knocking the Crusaders' quarterback out of the game in the fourth quarter. He also said Bolingbrook had a very talented team and would make for a strong opponent next week. Oh, and Loyola? They're the "Real Deal," according to him.
We'll see.
Next week, if all the planets line up, I'll watch Nazareth at Prairie Ridge on Friday night, Lyons at Loyola on Saturday afternoon, and Downers Grove South at Bolingbrook on Saturday night.
No comments:
Post a Comment