Round 2 Big Ones

Round 2 started for most teams in the state last Friday or Saturday after winning their Round 1 games. There were some expected losses, a few surprises and even a court order to allow one team to play the game. Oh what a week. In just about 24-hours, Dunbar and Harper will kick-off this weekends games and I have a few I'd love to see.

First off, the battle in Wheaton.

(4)Wheaton North pays a visit to (1)WW South at 7 p.m. Saturday. The second meeting of the two squads, beside bragging rights, means more to all then the first time around. WW South beat North 42-12 earlier this season, thanks in part to the 4 turnovers committed by North QB Reece Butler. Butler, however, likes the pressure placed on him by himself to rectify the situation. Will Butler's numbers (1,847 yards, 17 tds) stand fast against the Tiger defense anchored by 6'3 lineman Will Davis and his 7.5 sacks? Only time will tell.

The Encore Performance of The Battle of Ridge Road.

(3)Minooka travels to (2)Plainfield South Saturday night at 6 to try to bring home the road sign they lost earlier this season. With a defense reminding me of a certain team that will go unnamed as of late, I see Minooka bringing the glory back home where it belongs. If Max Brozovich, Jake Residori and Alex Hamilton play as whole hearted as they did last week against Quincy (all three had blocked punts) I don't see a problem. Has Coach Kooi given his Indians what they need to know about Coach Briscoe's spread offense to stop their blatantly quick game? We'll find out Saturday.

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.