Wednesday, November 21, 2012

In 6A, I picked Cary-Grove...

...over Lemont in the finals, and then the Indians wrecked my bracket on Saturday night by losing to Crete-Monee, 28-27. (The nerve!)

But I think I'll stick with the Trojans. Head coach Brad Seaburg, above, is in his first year at the helm after assisting under coach Bruce Kay for ten years. He was the offensive coordinator when they beat Providence, 34-17, for the 6A championship in 2009. If you haven't seen Cary-Grove, think of a smaller Mount Carmel team, running the option, in Penn State uniforms.

The Trojans (13-0) outscored their opponents this year, 484-162, including a 21-6 victory over 7A semifinalist Lake Zurich.

While Cary-Grove tends to grind it out on the ground, Crete-Monee has a more balanced attack, throwing -- in particular -- to heavily recruited wide receiver Laquon Treadwell.

The Warriors, also 13-0, outscored their opponents by an even greater margin, 509-128. Wow! This included victories over Thornton Fractional South, Richwoods and previously unbeaten Ottawa.

Unless I missed it, this is the first trip to the Dance for Crete-Monee. It's also the first time the two programs have ever faced each other. What's more, they didn't have any common opponents this year. 

So why am I so confident in Cary-Grove? I'm not; but I have to pick somebody. And I just think the Trojans will control the ball and keep Crete-Monee's defense on the field. That's what they did when I saw them against Crystal Lake South in Week Three. Cary-Grove won that game, 17-3, on the road.

I also saw Crete-Monee once this year, in Week Six. They beat Bloom, 41-6, also on the road, and looked awfully good too. (It's really a pick 'em; but I'm stubborn.)

BOWG prediction: Cary-Grove 31, Crete-Monee 28.

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