The "Presentation of the Victory Wreath"...

...is a relief sculpture on the outside of Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois. There will be no such presentation tonight, but an 8A champion will be crowned after the game between Bolingbrook (12-1) and Loyola (13-0).

(I've written about Bolingbrook here, here, here, and here; and Loyola here, here, here, and here.)

To review, the Raiders beat Neuqua Valley, Mount Carmel, Downers Grove South and Naperville Central in the playoffs. The Ramblers, meanwhile, defeated Evanston, Dunbar, Lyons and Glenbard North.

Bolingbrook amassed 6,001 yards on the season, 4,245 of them on the ground. Junior quarterback Aaron Bailey rushed for 1,834 yards and 28 touchdowns. Running back Omar Stover carried the ball for 846 yards, and sophomore Jaden Huff scored 15 touchdowns. Bailey threw only 118 times for 899 yards and 10 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. Chandler Piekarski and Xavier Perkins were his two favorite receivers.

(Loyola coach John Holecek spent his last year in the NFL, 2002, with the Atlanta Falcons. That just happened to be the year quarterback Michael Vick rushed for almost 800 yards. Since Bailey is similar to Vick, Holecek may wish he had payed more attention when he was on the sidelines.)

The Raider defense allowed 174 points on 3840 total yards and intercepted the ball 9 times. With the exception of sophomore defensive back Parrker Westphal (and that's no misprint; his first name has two "R"s), the defense is made up almost entirely of seniors. Florida-bound linebacker Antonio Morrison led the team in solo tackles but was out with an injury against Naperville Central and is questionable tonight.

The Ramblers rely much more on the passing game than Bolingbrook. While Loyola accumulated 4,721 yards in all, Malcolm Weaver passed for 2,266 of those. The senior quarterback completed 180 passes on 301 attempts for 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, only one more than Bailey. His favorite receivers were Charlie Dowdle (12 touchdowns), Marquese Martin-Hayes and junior Peter Pujals. Running back William Palivos gained 936 yards and scored 8 touchdowns.

The defense allowed only 2,212 total yards and intercepted the ball 15 times. Junior safety Luke Ford and linebackers Lars Lopatka and Daveed Carter led the team in tackles.

Unlike Bolingbrook, Loyola's starting team is almost all seniors. This is their year.

The only common opponent for these two teams was Mount Carmel. I happened to see both games and the Caravan really should have beaten the Ramblers in Week 6 in Wilmette. (The South Siders had two touchdowns called back for penalties.) The game against Bolingbrook was in the second round of the playoffs and Mount Carmel was never really in the game. Is this significant? Not necessarily.

In all, I've seen Bolingbrook four times this year and Loyola twice. (I've also seen several of their opponents: Mount Carmel four times, St. Rita, Lincoln-Way East and Naperville Central twice, and Homewood-Flossmoor once.) And although the Ramblers may be the more balanced team, I just don't think they've seen anyone like Bailey or played anyone as good as the Raiders. I expect a close game, but look for Bolingbrook to emerge victorious.

BOWG prediction: Bolingbrook 28, Loyola 24.