1. It’s a banner year for football in District 300.
Dundee-Crown, Hampshire and Jacobs are all playoff eligible as they own 5-2 records, marking unprecedented district-wide success on the gridiron. If all three make the playoffs it will be the first time every District 300 high school is represented in the postseason in the same year. You have to go back to 2006 when Jacobs and Hampshire both qualified for the last time two D300 schools made the playoffs in the same year.
2. St. Edward has plenty of options on the ground.
Davontae Elam might be the Green Wave’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2003, but the team’s running attack is far from a one-man operation. St. Edward can counter with a pair of shifty runners in senior Mike Castoro and sophomore Dwayne Allen, who both toppeding 165 rushing yards last week against Wheaton Academy. Castoro has 491 yards on 31 carries this year, and Allen 430 yards on 37 carries. As a team the Wave is averaging a whopping 8.5 yards per rushing attempt.
3. Burlington Central refuses to go down without a fight.
The Rockets saw their playoff hopes slip away with last week’s loss to Richmond-Burton, but they can hold their heads high after the 14-13 overtime defeat on the road. Following a series of injuries earlier in the year Burlington Central is finally near full strength, and it showed as coach Rich Crabel’s team hung tough during a scoreless second half before a blocked point-after attempt proved its undoing in the extra session.
