The Big Ones

At long last, it's here; HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SEASON!

Hope you all enjoyed your summer break, but it's time to put the beach blankets and sun screen away and buckle the helmets to knock some heads. Week 1 has some exciting match-ups that will change up the rankings for teams in the Top 10. Away we go.

Tomorrow afternoon, (4)Mount Carmel will try to stop (6)Simeon in the Bears Den, er, Soldiers Field at 2:30. Last season both of these teams made valiant runs for state titles. This year, they both look to do it again. Will Caravan QB Robert Gregory out toss the Simeon D led by two-way star Brandon Greer or will Mount Carmel lose the opener like they did last year against the same team?

Tomorrow night, 7:30, Memorial Stadium, Joliet, Illinois, (12)Joliet Catholic plays host to (7)Carmel and the top seeding for the East Suburban Catholic. Both teams have explosive, 3-man back fields who promise heavy ground attacks from both squads. But will it be Andy Bitto's Corsair's or Dan Sharp's Hilltopper's who come away with the win?

And of course, (16)Minooka travels West down Old Route 6 Friday night to battle long time nemesis Morris. Do Bert Kooi;s Indians have it in them for the upcoming battle with Alan Thorson's Redskins? These two programs, when put on a football field against each other, no matter either skill level, turn this game into a blood fight, er, a death match. Games between the Bears and the Packers for the NFC Championship are like kittens playing with puppies compared to these games. Will this game hold the hatred for ones opponent the games between these squads over the last 40 years has held? Will these two teams come to battle with the "Kill or be Killed" attitude all of Grundy County is hoping they bring? We can only hope so. 

Games of the Week

Some may say that the Bears playing the Cowboys this weekend will be the Game of the Week. Seriously, both teams played like piles of manure which has been festering in Mid-West heat for months. The Bears lost, no matter what the league says. How does one 'go for extra yards' in the end zone? Amend the rule. The Cowboys, well, I really couldn't care less what that two-beer-drinkin-s.o.b-from-Eastern Illinois does either way. But this is about high school football. And these are my Games of the Week.

1. (4)Joliet Catholic pays a visit to (11)Carmel on Friday night at 7:30. Both teams are stacked with crushing backfields and, with no doubt in my mind, this one will come down to which defense turns in the toughest kid on the playground performance.

Catholic wins by 6.

2. (5)Wheaton North, at 7:30 on Friday, busts heads with (9)Glenbard North. Will Reece Butler add huge numbers to his three game total of 756 passing yards and 10 touchdowns? Or will that dominate Panther 'D' keep its 5.6 points a game average in tact?

Glen-North will keep inching up the Top 20 ladder with a 6 point win.

3. (10)Loyola plays host to Mount Carmel at 1:30 Saturday afternoon. Will Malcolm Weaver and E.J. Webb help Loyola to down the Caravan for the third time in two years?

The Caravan plays the role of up-setter in this match-up, downing Loyola by 10.

4. (14)Minooka heads north to battle Mike Romeli's Plainfield East Bengals Friday night. Can the cats scalp the Indians or will Bert Kooi's boys tame the cats like they've done to opponents the three previous games this season?

Minooka walks with the win by 30.