Wednesday, October 4, 2017

I can't make it to a game...

...this weekend but if I did I think it would be Hinsdale Central (5-1) at Glenbard West (5-1) on Saturday.

There are several other matchups that are interesting, including Nazareth (6-0) at Marist (6-0), Hoffman Estates (6-0) at Barrington (6-0), Lake Zurich (6-0) at Stevenson (5-1), and South Elgin (6-0) at Batavia (6-0), but you can't beat sitting under the sun at Duchon Field on a beautiful October afternoon, can you? (Even if the forecast calls for rain. Whatever.)

But what would really draw me out to leafy Glen Ellyn would be to see if the Red Devils could make it two in a row after ending the Hilltoppers' 18-game winning streak last year (above), and becoming the first West Suburban Silver team to best the Hitters since Lyons did so way back in 2010.

This year Hinsdale Central is ranked No. 15 in the Tribune and No. 18 in both the Sun-Times and MaxPreps. After dropping their opener to St. Xavier (OH), ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 26 in the nation by MaxPreps, the Red Devils have taken care of business against area opponents with a combined record of 13-17 by a combined score of 161-44. Here's their entire schedule so far (with home team in CAPS):

ST. XAVIER (6-0) 43, Hinsdale Central 14
HINSDALE CENTRAL 27, Willowbrook (5-1) 21
Hinsdale Central 21, OAK PARK AND RIVER FOREST (4-2) 13
HINSDALE CENTRAL 33, Downers Grove North (3-3) 3
Hinsdale Central 31, YORK (0-6) 7
HINSDALE CENTRAL 49, Proviso West (1-5) 0

Glenbard West, for its part, also lost the opener, to Maine South, before winning five in a row over teams with a combined record of 10-20 by a combined score of 204-30. Ranked No. 6 in the Trib, No. 7 in the Times and No. 27 in MaxPreps, the Hitters have to be considered the favorite here. Their 2017 schedule to date:

Maine South (5-1) 62, GLENBARD WEST 34
GLENBARD WEST 49, Proviso East (0-6) 0
Glenbard West 35, ADDISON TRAIL (2-4) 10
GLENBARD WEST 50, York (0-6) 3
Glenbard West 35, DOWNERS GROVE NORTH (3-3) 14
Glenbard West 35, LYONS (5-1) 3

And for you history buffs, here's the record between the two schools since 2004.

2016: HINSDALE CENTRAL 31, Glenbard West 30
2015: GLENBARD WEST 35, Hinsdale Central 24
2014: Glenbard West 42, HINSDALE CENTRAL 7
2013: GLENBARD WEST 37, Hinsdale Central 7
2012: Glenbard West 28, HINSDALE CENTRAL 23
2011: GLENBARD WEST 45, Hinsdale Central 14
2010: Glenbard West 28, HINSDALE CENTRAL 7
2009: GLENBARD WEST 28, Hinsdale Central 25
2008: Glenbard West 9, HINSDALE CENTRAL 0
2007: GLENBARD WEST 15, Hinsdale Central 13
2006: HINSDALE CENTRAL 26, Glenbard West 13
2005: Hinsdale Central 35, GLENBARD WEST 7
2004: HINSDALE CENTRAL 20, Glenbard West 13

Who wins this one? Like I said, the home team has to be the favorite, but as an old boss of mine used to say, "One never knows, do one."

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