Okay, Coach Ron Muhitch, as...

...Izzy Mandelbaum would say, "It's go time!"

I'm going to pick Wheaton Warrenville South to fall to Rockford Boylan in the state 7A final tomorrow. Why? Because I've been wrong about the Tigers all along, and I've got to be right sooner or later. (I've been wrong here, here, here, and here.)

To be fair, I didn't even mention Boylan when I made my 7A forecast last month. I guess teams outside the Chicago area just don't hit my radar. But the Titans (13-0) defeated only two winning teams during the regular season, Hononegah and Harlem Machesney, in Weeks 1 and 2. In the playoffs, Boylan has beaten Wheaton North, Crystal Lake South and Lake Zurich. Their combined score over all five was 152-70.

(One of the losing teams Boylan beat was Freeport, whose nickname is the Pretzels. Honest.)

But Wheaton North tied Wheaton South for first place in the DuPage Valley Conference, Crystal Lake South tied Prairie Ridge for first in the Fox Valley-Valley, and Lake Zurich knocked off previously undefeated Glenbard West. The Titans have beaten three really good teams in a row.

Boylan Catholic High School is coached by Dan Appino and plays in the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC-10). Running back Tyreis Thomas leads the team in scoring with 26 touchdowns on the year. Lamont Toney is the quarterback and has thrown for 1,408 yards and 22 touchdowns, mostly to Adonis Brown and Jaxson Meister (six each). Linebackers D. J. Zimmerman and Austin Smith lead the defense in tackles.

The Titans defeated Marmion last year, 48-19, to capture the 6A title. (I was there.)

Here's Boylan's complete 2011 schedule with the last game first and home teams in CAPS:

BOYLAN 16, Lake Zurich 10
BOYLAN 30, Crystal Lake South 13
BOYLAN 37, Wheaton North 20
BOYLAN 40, Libertyville 0
Boylan 56, AUBURN 0
BOYLAN 42, Belvidere 7
Boylan 47, BELVIDERE NORTH 9
BOYLAN 38, Jefferson 8
BOYLAN 48, Rockford East 8
Boylan 59, FREEPORT 0
BOYLAN 49, Guilford 0
BOYLAN 41, Harlem 27
Boylan 28, HONONEGAH 0

BOWG prediction: Boylan 14, Wheaton Warrenville South 7.