Apropos of nothing, Chicago...

...is about the size of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx put together (~227 square miles) with a population about equal to that of Brooklyn alone (~2.7 million).

My Fab Five is now...

The Game of the Week?

...only a Dynamic Duo after Glenbrook South, Crystal Lake Central and Maine West all went down to defeat this weekend. Only Hersey (9-1) and Buffalo Grove (9-1) remain from my original Magnificent Seven. And both face tough opponents this week, Lincoln-Way Central (9-1) and East St. Louis (9-1), respectively. At least the Huskies will be at home in Arlington Heights; the Bison have to travel all the way downstate. Will either one make it out alive? We'll see.

A few other observations from Round One:

* No. 21-seed Warren (6-3) upset No. 12 Bolingbrook, 28-14. Did the Brook leave it all on the field last week against No. 1 Lincoln-Way East (10-0)? Or are the Griffins maybe not as good as we all thought?

* No. 23 Palatine (7-3) will host No. 26 Edwardsville (7-3) in the battle of the underdogs. The Pirates defeated No. 10 South Elgin, 24-3, while the Tigers edged No. 7 Huntley, 42-38.

* No. 3 Marist (10-0) and No. 6 Loyola (9-1) could be on a collision course for Round Three after the Ramblers shut out the RedHawks in the 8A final two years ago.

* In 6A, No. 9 Cary-Grove (7-3) gets another bite at the apple with No. 1 Prairie Ridge (10-0). In Week One the Wolves beat the Trojans by one measly point, 7-6. The rematch will be in Cary this time.

* No.5 DeKalb (8-2) defeated No. 12 Montini, 38-28. When was the last time the Broncos were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs?

* Also in 6A, a No.1-seed, a No. 2, two No. 3s and a No. 4 -- Crete-Monee, Riverside-Brookfield, Rockford (Auburn), Shepard and Richards -- were all upset in the first round. You don't see that too often!

On to Round Two.

Listen to this guy talk.

"I was a nice student . . . I'm a very intelligent person . . . Everybody has said unbelievable good things about me . . . One of the great memories of all time."

One of the great memories of all time. Seriously, who talks like that? Have you ever met anyone like Donald Trump? I honestly wonder if he's insane. I'm not kidding. One of the great memories of all time?

What if he's like some crazy Chauncey Gardiner?

Need a game for Saturday?

How about Belleville West at Buffalo Grove?

Belleville West High School was founded in 1917, and while I didn't recognize the names of any of its alumni, the downstate town was the birthplace of Buddy Ebsen, above.

The visiting Maroons are 6-3 and seeded No. 23 in 7A. They finished 5-5 the last two years and haven't had a losing season since 2011, when they were 2-7. Belleville West is ranked No. 73 in MaxPreps, its opponents were 39-39 this year and they outscored them, 264-155. The Maroons split with the four schools that qualified for the postseason, although they played a fifth winning team from New Jersey. Their defense recorded two shutouts. Here's their 2017 schedule so far, with home team in CAPS.

Belleville West 48, QUINCY (6-3) 24  
Timber Creek Regional (NJ) (6-0) 35, Belleville West 21
Belleville West 27, O'FALLON (3-6) 6  
BELLEVILLE WEST 20, Alton (5-4) 6  
Belleville West 41, GRANITE CITY (2-7) 0  
East St. Louis (8-1) 32, BELLEVILLE WEST 26
Belleville West 46, COLLINSVILLE (1-8) 0  
Edwardsville (6-3) 45, BELLEVILLE WEST 14
Belleville West 21, BELLEVILLE EAST (2-7) 7  

Buffalo Grove, which opened in 1973, is one of my Fab Five and hasn't appeared in the playoffs since 2003 when today's seniors were -- maybe -- in preschool. Currently 8-1 and ranked No. 66 in MaxPreps, the No. 10-seed Bison were 3-6 last year and 1-8 as recently as 2015. In fact, in the last 18 years, Buffalo Grove has only had one winning season, in 2014 (5-4). (Although MaxPreps, strangely, has them finishing 6-3 in 2009. But then they would have gone to the playoffs, wouldn't they?)* Oh, well, how can you not be pulling for these guys?

As for Buffalo Grove's alumni, I didn't recognize any of them either. But Vince Vaughn, above, lived in the northern suburb before attending Lake Forest High School.

Buffalo Grove's opponents were only 29-52 this year, and the Bison went 2-1 against the three programs that made the playoffs. They outscored their opposition, 261-105, with one shutout, but only allowed an average of six points in their first six games. Here's their full 2017 schedule.

BUFFALO GROVE 40, Niles West (1-8) 7
Buffalo Grove 14, CONANT (1-8) 8
Buffalo Grove 30, MAINE WEST (7-2) 7
BUFFALO GROVE 49, Maine East (1-8) 0
BUFFALO GROVE 21, Prospect (3-6) 7
BUFFALO GROVE 44, Elk Grove (0-9) 7
HERSEY (8-1) 33, Buffalo Grove 14
BUFFALO GROVE 27, Wheeling (2-7) 20
Buffalo Grove 22, ROLLING MEADOWS (6-3) 16

Again, while I have nothing against Belleville West, how can you not root for the Bison in this one?

P. S. Can't make the game? I'll be live-tweeting the action @BoringOldWhtGuy.

* Update: A reader writes, "BG was 5-4 in '09. Maxpreps has BG-Barrington result wrong B14 BG 13."

Will Jimmy Garoppolo...

...be working the chains at the Rolling Meadows - Hersey game Friday night? Probably not. But the 2010 Rolling Meadows grad may be checking the score on Twitter from time to time. If so, he can follow me @BoringOldWhtGuy because I hope to be there.

Hersey (8-1), one of my Fab Five schools, hosts Rolling Meadows (6-3) in the first round of the playoffs in a rematch of their Week Eight one-point nail-biter.

Including Garoppolo's 2009 senior season, the Mustangs have bested Hersey in six out of their last nine meetings. Since 2004, they've won ten out of fourteen. The last time Hersey made it to the postseason, in 2014, was also the last time the Huskies beat Rolling Meadows before this year. Here's the full record for you history buffs. (Home team in CAPS.)

2017: Hersey 21, ROLLING MEADOWS 20
2016: Rolling Meadows 47, HERSEY 7
2015: ROLLING MEADOWS 26, Hersey 21
2014: HERSEY 48, Rolling Meadows 6
2013: ROLLING MEADOWS 24, Hersey 21
2012: HERSEY 28, Rolling Meadows 21
2011: ROLLING MEADOWS 13, Hersey 0
2010: Rolling Meadows 30, HERSEY 21
2009: ROLLING MEADOWS 26, Hersey 0
2008: Rolling Meadows 39, HERSEY 14
2007: ROLLING MEADOWS 38, Hersey 0
2006: Rolling Meadows 14, HERSEY 13
2005: ROLLING MEADOWS 41, Hersey 16
2004: HERSEY 33, Rolling Meadows 17

As for their individual schedules, Rolling Meadows (ranked No. 98 by MaxPreps) faced four teams this year that qualified for the postseason but only defeated one, Deerfield (5-4). The Mustangs outscored their opponents, 262-142, while their defense recorded two shutouts.

St. Viator  (5-4) 23, ROLLING MEADOWS 19
Rolling Meadows 10, FREMD (1-8) 0
Rolling Meadows 52, VERNON HILLS (2-7) 30
ROLLING MEADOWS 31, Deerfield (5-4) 13
ROLLING MEADOWS 24, Wheeling (2-7) 9
Rolling Meadows 42, PROSPECT (3-6) 24
Rolling Meadows 48, ELK GROVE (0-9) 0
Hersey (8-1) 21, ROLLING MEADOWS 20
Buffalo Grove (8-1) 22, ROLLING MEADOWS 16

Hersey, ranked No. 31 in MaxPreps, also played four teams that made the playoffs, but defeated two besides Rolling Meadows, Highland Park (5-4) and Buffalo Grove (8-1). The Huskies outscored their opposition, 308-80, while shutting out three. As for their common opponents, Hersey defeated Wheeling (2-7) and Prospect (3-6) by a greater margin, Elk Grove (0-9) by a similar score, but topped Buffalo Grove (8-1).

HERSEY 41, Zion-Benton (4-5) 0
HOFFMAN ESTATES (7-2) 16, Hersey 10
Hersey 40, HIGHLAND PARK (5-4) 7
HERSEY 43, Niles West (1-8) 3
Hersey 44, ELK GROVE (0-9) 0
HERSEY 35, Wheeling (2-7) 0
HERSEY 33, Buffalo Grove (8-1) 14
Hersey 21, ROLLING MEADOWS (6-3) 20
HERSEY 41, Prospect (3-6) 20

What does all this mean? Who knows? Friday night's game will be a grudge match and probably come down to the team who has the ball last.

One of my playoff...

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

...pet peeves, as I mentioned yesterday, is when two teams who already played each other in the regular season -- usually from the same conference -- are paired in the first round. Haven't we seen this movie before?

While a few immediately jumped out at me, when I dug into the top four brackets I could only find five such games.* (I have to admit, I was surprised. Did I miss any?) Here's my list of reruns, with home teams in CAPS:

8A:

Week Five MAINE SOUTH 56, Evanston 14
Week Four BARRINGTON 45, Glenbrook South 24

7A:

Week Eight Hersey 21, ROLLING MEADOWS 20

6A:

Week Three PRAIRIE RIDGE 56, Crystal Lake Central 13
Week Four Rockford (Auburn) 15, BELVIDERE NORTH 8

Now, a couple of things. Does anyone really think there's a chance that Maine South, Barrington or Prairie Ridge will fail to advance to the second round? Couldn't the IHSA make things just a little more interesting by requiring all first-round teams to play someone they haven't already faced in the regular season? Couldn't Maine South and Homewood-Flossmoor, for example, trade opponents, so that the Hawks host Lake Park and the Vikings play Evanston? (Does anyone else care?) It can't be about geography -- just look at some of the other matchups.

The good news, however, is that the winner of the Maine South - Evanston matchup wouldn't play Glenbrook South until the finals. (Which is the way it should be, right?) But Prairie Ridge will most likely face Cary-Grove, whom they beat, 7-6, in Week One, in the second round. (I started to look at other potential second-round matchups but quickly gave up. Maybe I'll check again next week.) And while I'm sure there are a lot of people up north who can't wait to see that rematch just imagine how much cooler it would be if they met up in the finals.

Okay, now for a little nuance, or as some people might call it, hypocrisy. I'd really like to see that Hersey - Rolling Meadows contest on Friday night. And who, in their right mind, thinks these two programs could make it to the finals anyway? Does that make me a hypocrite? Yeah, maybe.** Hey, reading this blog is free. You get what you pay for sometimes.

Enjoy the games!

* I couldn't find any in 5A.

** Remember what that great high school football fan, Emerson, wrote in 1841, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..."

The final rankings...

...are in and it's interesting to compare them with those from the preseason. (Obviously, all three news services will continue compiling rankings until the end of the playoffs, but what's the point? The results from here on out will be determined on the field.)

Lincoln-Way East (above), which tops all three, was noticeably absent from MaxPreps's original top ten. Prairie Ridge and Maine South, meanwhile, remained at or near the top of all three for the entire season. Barrington, which appears on everyone's final list, wasn't on anyone's preseason top ten radar. And finally, Waubonsie Valley was highly-ranked in all three before Week One but finished the season at 4-5. What happened out there?*

In the current rankings, there was no change for a second week in a row to Beth Long's and Mike Clark's at the Sun-Times and Tribune, respectively. And in MaxPreps there was only a slight jumbling, inserting Naperville Central and Rochester into the top ten to replace Phillips and Loyola. (Who knows what those computers are thinking?) Here they are, with Week One's immediately following. (All teams undefeated unless otherwise noted.)

Tribune:

1. Lincoln-Way East
2. Maine South (8-1)
3. Prairie Ridge
4. Loyola (8-1)
5. Phillips
6. Glenbard West (8-1)
7. Marist
8. Homewood-Flossmoor (8-1)
9. Lake Zurich
10. Barrington

Sun-Times:

1. Lincoln-Way East
2. Prairie Ridge
3. Maine South (8-1)
4. Phillips
5. Loyola (8-1)
6. Marist
7. Glenbard West (8-1)
8. Lake Zurich
9. Homewood-Flossmoor (8-1)
10. Barrington

MaxPreps:

1. Lincoln-Way East
2. Maine South (8-1)
3. Prairie Ridge
4. Homewood-Flossmoor (8-1)
5. Barrington
6. Lake Zurich
7. Marist
8. Huntley (8-1)
9. Naperville Central (7-2)
10. Rochester

WEEK ONE

Tribune:

1. Glenbard West
2. Maine South
3. Waubonsie Valley
4. Lincoln-Way East
5. Prairie Ridge
6. Loyola
7. Lyons
8. Homewood-Flossmoor
9. Naperville Central
10. Lake Zurich

Sun-Times:

1. Prairie Ridge
2. Maine South
3. Loyola
4. Waubonsie Valley
5. Lyons
6. Glenbard West
7. Lincoln-Way East
8. Phillips
9. Homewood-Flossmoor
10. Marist

MaxPreps:

1. Prairie Ridge
2. Loyola
3. Marist
4. Maine South
5. IC Catholic Prep
6. East St. Louis
7. Sacred Heart-Griffin
8. Rochester
9. Lyons
10. Waubonsie Valley

* The Warriors weren't the only underperforming program this year. A number of other perennial playoff teams failed to make the postseason, including Wheaton Warrenville South (2-7), Brother Rice (2-7), Joliet Catholic (3-6), St. Patrick (2-7), Carmel (1-8), Prospect (3-6), Elk Grove (0-9), Fremd (1-8) and Rockford Boylan (4-5).