Here are the six best games...

...to watch in Week Seven.

If you live up north:

Crystal Lake South (5-1) at Huntley (6-0)
The Gators haven't lost a game since Marian Central (4-2) in the season opener. (The Hurricanes were the one team to beat defending 6A champ Nazareth in what I believe must have been a rain-drenched fluke in Week Four.) But South hasn't bested a winning team since. Huntley, on the other hand, may very well be a dark horse for 8A. If the Red Raiders get past the Gators they will probably go 9-0 with a terrific seed in the playoffs. Is Loyola coach John Holecek watching films of these guys yet?

Warren (4-2) at Libertyville (6-0)
What, another team with two losses? Yep, hear me out. The Blue Devils dropped their first two contests to Lyons and New Trier, a couple of teams with a combined 11-1 record. Warren then beat Lake Forest (4-2), Mundelein (4-2) and last year's 8A champ Stevenson (3-3). (Ever heard of them?) Meanwhile, this is the first of three 4-2 teams that Libertyville must play to finish the season. Are the Wildcats for real? Can they run the table and go 9-0? Are they a real threat in 7A? If nothing else, you should go see the most exciting player in Illinois this year, Libertyville quarterback Riley Lees.

Oh, and P. S. Warren will go deeper in the playoffs than either Lyons or New Trier.

Down south:

Nazareth (5-1) at Joliet Catholic (6-0)
This really should be the Game of the Week. (Hint: It won't be mine.) As I mentioned above, Nazareth lost only one tilt, during that crazy monsoon in September. (Most of the other games were postponed that night.) Besides that, the defending 6A winners beat a bunch of middling teams until last week's 33-0 shutout of Benet (4-2). So, no matter who graduated last year, you don't want to face the Roadrunners. Unless, of course, you're Joliet Catholic, who's beaten the daylights out of everyone they've faced this year, including last year's 7A champ Providence (2-4), Wheaton North (3-3) and that Marian Central (4-2) team I was just talking about. Even though the Hilltoppers' still have to play Benet and Marist (4-2), this could be the best chance anyone has to ruin their perfect season. (And Nazareth would love nothing more.) Will this be the first time JCA appears in the 5A finals since 2011?

Thornton (6-0) at Lincoln-Way North (6-0)
I don't know much about either of these schools (except that they've both beaten three winning teams, and that's not nothing), but it's always exciting when two undefeated squads from the same conference go up against each other. One of these guys will wake up Saturday morning 7-0 and in sole possession of first place in the Southwest Suburban Red. (And one won't.) Psst: Thornton could go 9-0 this year.

Lincoln-Way East (5-1) at Homewood-Flossmoor (6-0)
My Game of the Week. (Check back tomorrow.)

Out west:

Glenbard West (6-0) at Oak Park River Forest (6-0)
If anyone is going to beat Glenbard West during the regular season it will be the Huskies. (This is the last winning team the Hitters face.) Head coach John Hoerster, at top, has done a masterful job in rebuilding the OPRF program. For the second year in a row, the Huskies beat Lincoln-Way East, no small accomplishment. Glenbard West, of course, has pretty much crushed everyone they've played and may be on course to wreck Loyola's perfect season in the 8A playoffs. But I'm going to say the Hilltoppers get tripped up in Oak Park this Friday en route to the postseason. Either way, these two squads could meet up again in November.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth...

...famously said, "If you haven't got anything good to say about anybody, come sit next to me."

When writing about high school football, though, I've always tried to remember what my mom used to tell me: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." These kids, after all, are just kids. I've even seen them cry after losing a playoff game. They're not professionals; heck, they're not even college kids.

So I've really tried to stay positive when writing this blog.

And yet, having said all that, I can't help noticing how some programs around the state have fallen on hard times. 

Take Leo, for example. Just two years ago the Lions finished the season at 10-3 and lost in the 1A semifinals to the eventual champion, Lena-Winslow. So far this year Leo is 1-5 and could conceivably finish 1-8.  

Or how about Wheaton Warrenville South? The Tigers, also 1-5, appeared in the 7A final three years in a row, from 2009-2011, winning the title in 2009 and 2010. Even though they should win their remaining three games they've been eliminated from the postseason.

Lake Zurich, at 2-4, finishes this year against three 4-2 teams. Could the Bears, 7A runners-up in 2013 and 2010 and 7A champs in 2007, end the season at 4-5 and miss the playoffs altogether?

And what is going on at Naperville North and Boylan, both 0-6? The Huskies were 8A champions as recently as 2007. And the Titans, 12-1 two years ago, lost to Batavia, the eventual 6A winner, in the semifinals. The previous year, 2012, Boylan went 11-1 and lost to Lake Zurich. In 2010 and 2011, the Rockford squad went undefeated both years, taking the 7A crown in 2011 and the 6A in 2010. And in the previous three seasons -- 2007, '08 and '09 -- Boylan lost only one game each year.

Again, I don't want to make anyone feel bad, but what happened to these once successful programs?

The Tom Toles cartoon of the day:

It's hopeless.

Brother Rice defeated...

...Mount Carmel, 31-14, dropping the Caravan from the Chicago papers' top ten and vaulting the Crusaders into the No. 4 spot at MaxPreps.

In two other key games, Naperville Central handed Batavia its first loss of the season, 34-14, placing the Red Hawks into the Sun-Times' and MaxPreps' top ten. And despite its 22-19 victory over previously undefeated Jacobs, Huntley (6-0) gets only scant respect from the Chicago papers while rising to No. 11 in MaxPreps. Are the Red Raiders a sleeper in 8A?

Finally, Stevenson, last year's 8A champ, saw its record fall to 3-3 after losing to Warren (5-2), 30-27, and Providence, last year's 7A winner, dropped to 2-4 after bowing to Loyola, 31-7. What a difference a year makes.

Oh, and one more thing: where the heck is Homewood-Flossmoor in MaxPreps? No. 14.

On to the rankings! (All teams undefeated unless otherwise noted.)

Chicago Tribune

1. Homewood-Flossmoor 
2. Loyola
3. Glenbard West 
4. Libertyville
5. Montini
6. Joliet Catholic
7. Phillips
8. Nazareth (5-1)  
9. Hinsdale Central (5-1)
10. Oak Park River Forest

Chicago Sun-Times  

1. Homewood-Flossmoor
2. Glenbard West
3. Loyola 
4. Libertyville 
5. Montini
6. Phillips 
7. Joliet Catholic
8. Hinsdale Central (5-1)
9. Naperville Central (5-1)
10. Nazareth (5-1)

MaxPreps

1. Loyola
2. Glenbard West
3. Joliet Catholic
4. Brother Rice (5-1) 
5. Libertyville
6. Sacred Heart-Griffin 
7. Rochester
8. Phillips
9. Montini
10. Naperville Central (5-1)

Where was I? In New Lenox, for that Loyola - Providence game. And in Evanston on Saturday for the Minnesota - Northwestern contest.

Providence didn't have its star running back, Richie Warfield, but it did have Brendan O'Hara, who did just about everything for the Celtics except play the bagpipes on the way into the stadium (above). 

Loyola, of course, brought its whole team (if not all its spectators) and dominated the game from start to finish. (In fairness, it's a long way to drive on a Friday night -- just ask my brother.) All I can say about the Ramblers is that if they have a weakness I haven't seen it yet.

The big Week Nine showdown with Mount Carmel was tarnished a little with the news that Brother Rice ended the Caravan's perfect season; the Ramblers already blanked the Crusaders, 28-0. So the question remains: Who stands in the way of a 14-0 year (and an 8A title) for Loyola? Homewood-Flossmoor? Glenbard West? Naperville Central? We'll see.

Where will I be this week? In Flossmoor, to see if Lincoln-Way East (No. 12 in the Trib, No. 20 in the Sun-Times and No. 25 in MaxPreps) can give the Vikings a game. It will be my first time watching H-F this year. Are they really the best team in the state?

On Saturday I'll be in South Bend to see Notre Dame host Navy.

"It's hopeless."

That's what I wish the president had said yesterday in response to the latest mass shooting.

The chart above is only one of 17 from an interesting piece in Vox today. (I blew it up on purpose; the United States is way, way off in the upper right-hand corner.)

In case you were wondering, yes, more guns mean more gun homicides. Does that really need to be said?

Ever since Adam Lanza walked into an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012 and killed 20 children, six adults, and himself, there have been at least 986 mass shootings, with shooters killing at least 1,234 people and wounding 3,565 more.

If we can't enact sensible gun safety laws after twenty little kids are murdered, then we never will. It can't be done. It's hopeless. Expect more gun violence.

Why do we tolerate this? Is it because of our . . . freedoms? Really? Why does everyone in American throw their hands up in the air and say there's nothing we can do to protect our own people? Why are we impotent to do what every other developed country has done? Can't we figure this out? (We finally figured out universal health care, and they said that couldn't be done either.) Aren't we at least as smart as the rest of the world? (Don't answer that.)

Here's the rest of my imaginary speech from President Obama:

"There's nothing that I or anyone else can do to stop gun violence in America. You're not safe and you never will be. The government you have elected to protect you can't protect you. And you're just going to have to get used to it. (Unless you already have.) America is a very violent place and that's not going to change. Ever. And what's more, we choose to live like this. We choose it every day. It's hopeless."

The Name of the Day...

...belongs to Richard Hippey, a musician based in South Carolina.

Don't worry, Loyola fans, there's...

...a Hackney's on the way to the game tomorrow night, in Palos Park.

And you may even see me there, as I plan on stopping for an early dinner before my Game of the Week, Loyola (5-0) at Providence (2-3).

(I'll be the bald guy eating a Hackneyburger on dark rye with American cheese. And that'll be my brother and sister joining me in a brick of french fried onions.)

Why am I going to see a game with a losing team? A couple of reasons. First, my brother will be in town for the Minnesota - Northwestern game and I told him this year's Rambler squad may be the best I've ever seen. And, two, who was it again that ruined Providence's perfect season en route to the 7A championship last year with a fourth-quarter field goal? Oh, yeah -- Loyola. Gee, you don't suppose the Celtics would like to return the favor tomorrow night in New Lenox, do you?

But before we get too carried away, I need to repeat what I said after seeing only the first half of Loyola's 28-0 shutout of Brother Rice (4-1) in Week Three: this may very well be the best Rambler team I've ever seen.

The Wilmette squad is currently ranked No. 2 in the Tribune, No. 3 in the Sun-Times and No. 1 in MaxPreps. (Is the only thing standing in their way of a perfect 14-0 season and an 8A crown the Homewood-Flossmoor Vikings?)*

Unlike past Rambler teams, which I always thought were a collection of Division III athletes, this one has its share of legitimate D-I recruits. John Shannon is headed to Notre Dame as a long-snapper, tight end Eric Eshoo has committed to Northwestern and Ben Leroy, a defensive tackle, will be at Northern Illinois next year. Oh, and did I forget to mention that running back Dara Laja is on track to break the school's all-time career rushing record? (Has he already?)

And I haven't even gotten to quarterback Emmett Clifford and all those crazy-tall wide receivers in the mold of Charlie Dowdle. (Is there something in the water up there?) To give you an idea, Ted Falkenhayn is listed in the roster at 6'2", Thomas Smart at 6'3" and Robert Sullivan at 6'4"! How do you defend against this team?

Providence, ranked only No. 43 in the state by MaxPreps, is hardly the squad that went 13-1 and captured the 7A title last year. Gone are quarterback Justin Hunniford and wide receiver Miles Boykin, to name just two. But running back Richie Warfield (only a junior) and linebacker Brendan O'Hara are still around to give opponents migraines.

Before we get to who actually wins this thing, here are both teams' results so far this year (home team in CAPS):

LOYOLA 35, Marquette (WI) 0
Loyola 49, MAINE SOUTH 8
LOYOLA 28, Brother Rice 0
Loyola 54, FENWICK 16
LOYOLA 35, St. Ignatius 7

Joliet Catholic 35, PROVIDENCE 13
OSWEGO 14, Providence 13
MOUNT CARMEL 13, Providence 0
Providence 24, MARMION 7
PROVIDENCE 28, St. Rita 0

As for the two schools' history, the Celtics haven't beaten the North Siders since 2009, when today's seniors were in sixth grade: 

2014: LOYOLA 10, Providence 7
2013: LOYOLA 28, Providence 16
2012: LOYOLA 41, Providence 21
2011: Loyola 32, PROVIDENCE 6
2010: Loyola 21, PROVIDENCE 7
2009: PROVIDENCE 10, Loyola 3
2008: LOYOLA 13, Providence 0
2007: PROVIDENCE 20, Loyola 17
2006: LOYOLA 14, Providence 7
2005: PROVIDENCE 31, Loyola 29
2004: PROVIDENCE 29, Loyola 0

So who comes out on top tomorrow night? Loyola. But not without a fight -- a good one. See you there.

As always, I'll be live-tweeting the action for shut-ins @BoringOldWhtGuy.

* This just in from Mike Clark at the Trib (in his best Donald Trump voice):

"Huge" also describes what is looking like the matchup of the top two teams in Class 8A: Homewood-Flossmoor and Loyola. A game between the consensus 1-2 schools in that class, as well as in the Chicago area, would be a nightmare for defensive coordinators and a dream come true for those who appreciate high-flying offenses.

But Soucie projects that game, assuming both teams run the table the regular season, would happen not in the 8A final. Instead, it would be in the semifinals, which would be a shame.

The odd thing about 8A field, though, is this: a loss by either power — maybe by Loyola to Mount Carmel in Week 9? — would put them in on opposite sides of the bracket and make that dream final matchup a reality.