Big News: Week 6

(14)Vernon Hills
6 weeks in to the twenty-ten season and the boys over in the hills have yet to let an opponent score a single point. 290-0, kids. A new Monsters of the Midway? Is there even a midway in Vernon Hills? I have no idea, but will be keeping my eyes open for Week 7 when they bust heads with Grant this Friday.

Providence
The last time the Celtics didn't reach the playoffs, was 20-years ago. Twenty straight seasons of getting to play extra football. Not this year. fenwick helped put a stop to that streak Saturday with their 17-7 win. Start again next year Celtics.

Kapri Bibbs
The running back outta Plainfield North rushed for a new state-record 520-yards. He also scored 35 points (that's 7 touchdowns). If you do the math correctly, which I'm probably not, Bibbs scored 1.11 repeating on each of his 39 carries. (Feel free to check the math.)

*Like I have already said, my math was going to probably be wrong. Today, after looking at the post again, I realized that it was indeed wrong. Bibbs scored .8974359 points per carry.

Joliet West
For the first time since the last time, Joliet West picked up a victory as a one school team 32-8 against Joliet Central. Since 1992(?) West and Joliet Central had a team combined of both of the cities Public High Schools. If I remember correctly, the West-Central game each season was one to watch out for. Maybe not because each team was crazy good, but because the fans from West, and the fans from Central, felt they were the better team in town and resembled the parking lot of Soldiers Field on a Sunday in December when the Bears were playing the Packers. This game, and after party, usually got pretty outta control.

I think that sums it up.

What's Going Down in Week 5

After having a look around, and noticing all the good, the bad and the ugly (I'll be nice and name no teams...of course, you all know who you are), I am reminded what this week really is. Beside Week 5 of the Twenty-Ten Football Season, it is the week in which a team is going to the playoffs or not starts to be noticed. For example:

Checking out? If Providence loses this week, they're done for the year. Without a victory yet this season, and in one of, if not THE toughest conference in the state, with Rita and Mount Carmel still on their schedule, if the Celtics lose this week, like I've already said, their season is over. Will their streak of 20 straight seasons in the playoffs come to an end this weekend?

My opinion? The Celtics are done.

Who's the bigger boy? Naperville North's Matt LaCosse or WW South's Reilly O'Toole? We'll find out Friday night when the two funky QB's match up. Will it be the sly running ability of LaCosse or the air assault of O'Toole that leads a team to victory Friday night?

NN or WW? I'm a bit hesitant, but I'm pulling for LaCosse to trump O'Toole and notch WW South from the Top Spot of the polls.

Who's gonna stay at the top? Minooka travels to knock heads with Plainfield South Friday night. Both are 4-0 and resting atop the Southwest Prairie leader board. Can Bert Kooi's Indians stay perfect while facing ex-Minooka head coach Mike Briscoe's Cougars?

Well? It's like running into an ex-girlfriend at the movie shop. She looks good, is doing damn well and you're forced to remember you left her behind for a more attractive model. Minooka by 21.

Can they keep up the Monsters of the Midway like persona they've had all season? Antioch (4-0) visits Vernon Hills (4-0) at 7:30 Friday night. Antioch is averaging 42 points a contest. Vernon Hills has yet to allow a single point in four games. What's gonna go down?

Vernon Hills finally allows points, but still come out with the W by 21.

The Big Games

The day that every football player in his teens dreams about has arrived. The Big Game. The one where you leave it all on the field. The one that memories are made. It's time to crown the State Champion. If these games play out anything close to the barn burners last weekend, the entire state of Illinois is in for a few treats this weekend. Lets see....

Friday, November 27

4A

[7]Metamora 41, [8]Geneseo 7
..............................................................................

Saturday, November 28

5A

[12]Montini 29, [6]Joliet Catholic 28

..............................................................................

6A

[1]Cary-Grove 34, [2]Providence 17
..............................................................................

7A

[2]WW South 31, [1]Glenbard West 24---2 OT
..............................................................................

8A

[1]Maine South 41, [4]Marist 17

Game of the Week

Sure, there are 32 games this weekend. But only one can be named Game of the Week. Since my boys bowed out last week against East St. Louis, they obviously can no longer can be my choice. But there are plenty of other area teams that I can root for. But will I?

Let's start it off.

Can [3]Loyola stymie the always surprising [10]Mount Carmel?

Can high rolling [12]St. Charles North upset the unbeaten [1]Glenbard West?

Will [3]Crete-Monee keep the dream alive as they travel to [2]Providence?

Can [5]De La Salle keep the city alive by beating [1]Cary-Grove?

Will Dan Sharp's boys live up to the legacy that he has has built when
[2]Washington visits Memorial Stadium to battle [6]Joliet Catholic?

All great games to catch, but The Game of the Week will be between the two unbeatens down in 3A:

[2]Wilmington goes to pay a visit to [1]Illini West.

Area Leaders From Week 11

These following players were the top dogs this last weekend.

QB:

1. Walter Broder, Highland Park (7-4): 261 yds, 3 tds
2. Tyler Benz, Maine South (11-0): 195 yds, 4 tds
3. Malik Thurman, Proviso West (6-5): 192 yds, td
4. Mike Pullano, Glenbrook South (9-2): 162 yds, 5 tds
5. DaRon Brown, Morgan Park (?-?): 155 yds passing, 257 yards rushing, 4 tds

RB:

1. Alex Hambry, Cary-Grove (11-0): 212, 4 tds
2. Tim Hanrahan, Providence (10-1): 199 yds, td
3. Evan Wright, Fremd (11-0): 181 yds, 2 tds
4. Jamel Martin, Bolingbrook (9-2): 173 yds
5. Travis Starks, St. Rita (9-1): 148 yds, td

WR:

1. Matt McEnry, Elk Grove (7-4): 121 yds, td
2. Kyle Prater, Proviso West (6-5): 94 yds, td
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

Defense:

1. Tyler Plantz, Providence (10-1): 18 tackles
2. John Huganin, Oswego, (?-?): 10 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 int
3. Joe Quinlan, Providence (10-1): 10 tackles
3. Ray Ames, Providence (10-1): 10 tackles
5. Allan Wielgus, Lemont (10-1): 8 tackles, fumble recovery

HESTER-ISH:

1. Cole Stern, Highland Park (7-4): 98-yard kickoff return for td
2. Artie Monaco, Lake Park (8-3) 98-yard kickoff retun for td
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

Game of the Week

The end of the regular season is this weekend. A wonderful year of great high school football is ending. Well, for some teams it is ending. The 2nd season starts this Saturday with the playoff pairings. And then it's all fair game, no holds barred, smash mouth football. Sorry, getting ahead of myself. We still need to finish Week 9.

Let's see, who do we have knocking heads this weekend that is worthy of the Game of the Week Title?

Well, (15)Mount Carmel is heading South to battle (5)Providence in New Lenox Friday night. If the games I've witnessed these two schools play against each other means anything to you, which it probably doesn't, this should shape up to be a great game.

But then there's (17)Glenbard North going to visit (10)Naperville Central to try and start their weekend off right.

And (6)St. Rita knocks heads with (7)Loyola that everybody and their mother is going to be claiming as their Game of the Week because they are both so highly ranked. Blah. Blah. And. Blah.

I'm going with (16)Stevenson stopping by the house of higher ranked (13)Warren for a visit and again moving up the list of ranked teams after their win.

My Picks:

Providence 37, Mount Carmel 35
Naperville Central 28, Glenbard North 14
Loyola 21, St. Rita 10
Stevenson 53, Warren 21

and of course...

Minooka 45, Plainfield Central 24

p.s.

Hey Indians, you remember that Plainfield Central knocked your heads around last year 53-15 to lock up the conference championship, right? Well, you win this one, the championship's yours. Well, at least a share of it depending on what Oswego does. Unless, of course, since you smoked them last week, the conference board memebers will just give it to you. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that Cookie's wants to serve Wildcat this weekend as a special, so bring 'em the meat.

p.s.s. Unless some unthinkalbe phenomenon goes down Friday afternoon, the Steelmen of Joliet or the Homewood-Flossmoor Vikings will pick up their first win of the season. Not too bad, I suppose. Practice all summer to get ready for the season, have your butt handed to you each of the eight times you took the field and then, finally, the last game of the season, you pull your first "W". Whoever wins, it'll be a low scorer: H-f is averaging 8.6 points a game, while Joliet, a lowly 6. Good luck fellas.

This guy was a little Hester-ish.

Devon Hester. Might have just been the best return man in NFL history if he wouldn't have decided to run side to side when he caught the ball. The year the Bears went to the Super Bowl, he didn't want to run side to side. He just ran the damn thing to the endzone. Not so much anymore. But this following fella, well, he knew to run North and South, not East to West this weekend.

Peter Houlihan of Providence (4-1) returned a punt 80-yards for a touchdown and he also returned a kickoff 90-yards for another score.

Nice job Pete. Keep it up.

Game of the Week

This was a tough decesion to make with Joliet Catholic cruising East down Rt. 30 to play against Providence in the "Two Power House Football Programs From The Joliet Area Bowl" this Friday, considering the two schools have stockpiled 22 state titles between them, but The Game of the Week will be played at Maine South as the #2 Hawks play host to #1 WW South at 7:30. Get there early people, it's going to be tough finding a seat.