Last year, you may recall, the Brook came from behind to win, 31-24, in overtime. (I was there in Flossmoor and it was a beautiful night.) It was the first loss of the season for the Vikings en route to a 9-2 year and the seventh victory for the Raiders, who went on to a 10-1 season.
This year, both programs were preseason darlings of the Chicago papers: Bolingbrook was ranked No. 1 in both while H-F came in at No. 4. (Oddly enough, they were absent from MaxPreps' top ten; the Brook was ranked No. 15 and H-F was No. 21.)
After Week Six, Bolingbrook is ranked No. 38 in MaxPreps, No. 11 in the Tribune and No. 5 in the Sun-Times. H-F, meanwhile, is ranked No. 34 in MaxPreps, "on the verge" in the Trib and No. 14 in the Sun-Times.
So you would be forgiven, somewhat, if this contest flew under your radar. But it shouldn't. Not only is this a great Southwest Suburban Blue matchup, but it's also a chance to see two great programs that could go deep in the 8A playoffs.
Let's have a look first at H-F's 2014 schedule (home team in CAPS):
H-FLOSSMOOR 48, Harlan 0
Stevenson 33, H-FLOSSMOOR 24
H-Flossmoor 41, JOLIET WEST 0
H-FLOSSMOOR 69, Joliet 0
LINCOLN-WAY EAST 43, H-Flossmoor 40
H-FLOSSMOOR 47, Sandburg 18
Now, granted, the Vikings have yet to beat a winning team this year. And those three lop-sided shutouts were against some pretty weak teams. But those two losses were to two really good programs, Stevenson, a 2013 8A semifinalist, and Lincoln-Way East, which has never missed the playoffs. One caveat, however, is that H-F blew a big 20-0 lead against the Griffins.
As for the Brook this year:
Hinsdale Central 23, BOLINGBROOK 15
Bolingbrook 51, ROMEOVILLE 14
Bolingbrook 64, JOLIET 14
BOLINGBROOK 41, Stagg 0
Bolingbrook 50, JOLIET WEST 14
Bolingbrook 34, LOCKPORT 10
Sorry, but talk about a "favorable" schedule! The only winning team Bolingbrook has faced this season was Hinsdale Central in Week One, and they lost at home. But make no mistake, these guys have a ton of talent (five Division I prospects on defense alone!), and Coach John Ivlow will have them ready for the postseason.
Prior to 2009, the two schools were in different conferences. Here are the results of their last eight meetings:
2013: Bolingbrook 31, H-FLOSSMOOR 24
2012: BOLINGBROOK 45, H-Flossmoor 28
2011: Bolingbrook 41, H-FLOSSMOOR 28
2010: H-Flossmoor 19, BOLINGBROOK 6
2009: Bolingbrook 42, H-FLOSSMOOR 6
2008:
2007: H-Flossmoor 20, BOLINGBROOK 17
2006: Bolingbrook 21 H-FLOSSMOOR 18
2005: BOLINGBROOK 28, H-Flossmoor 7
So the Brook has taken three of the last four games and six of the last eight. What will happen tomorrow night? I expect the Raiders to prevail at home, but look for a hard-fought contest like last year.
As always, I'll be live-tweeting the game @BoringOldWhtGuy.
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