After two weeks of football, St. Joseph, Romeoville, Marist and Proviso West, which has never made the state playoffs, are 2-0.
13-time state champion Joliet Catholic, Downers Grove South, Morris, Stevenson and Libertyville are 0-2. So are New Trier and Evanston, who will play for the 99th time this fall. The series has been continuous since 1913.
The Catholic League White — Fenwick, Bishop McNamara, St. Ignatius, St. Laurence and De La Salle — which was 5-0 in Week 1, was 0-5 in Week 2
The Catholic League Blue — Mount Carmel, St. Rita, Brother Rice, Loyola and Providence — which was 4-1 in Week 1, was 5-0 in Week 2 with all five wins coming in crossovers against the White.
The DuPage Valley is really up for grabs. Last year’s three state finalists — Naperville North, Wheaton Warrenville South and Glenbard North — will have their hands full with Wheaton North and Naperville Central. And you can’t discount West Aurora, West Chicago or Glenbard East. The fun starts Friday night. For the second week in a row, the DVC was 7-1 against outside competition.
Everyone knew coming into the season that Wheaton North had weapons with Northwestern recruit Mike Trumpy running the ball and junior Taylor Graham, whose father Kent played in the NFL, at quarterback. But the defense? Wheaton North has only been scored on once in two games, and that was by Lake Zurich late in the fourth quarter Friday and the Bears were behind 26-0 at the time.
The Wheaton North win was not the upset some have made it. The Falcons were ranked higher in the Chicago Sun-Times Super 25.
I should never do preseason rankings without reserving a spot for Driscoll. The Highlanders, seeking an eighth consecutive state title in a row and with their third coach in the streak, rolled past Morris, the 2007 Class 5A runner-up to go 2-0.
Trumpy, St. Rita’s David Marciano and linemen Patrick Ward of Providence and Chris Watt of Glenbard West have emerged as candidates for Player of the Year honors.
Two of the preseason favorites are off the board for now — Wisconsin-bound quarterback Jon Badmayr of Marian Central, who broke his collar bone in the season opener and had surgery Friday, and Morgan Park lineman Craig Drummond, who broke his foot in June and has yet to play.
If Drummond is back and Morgan Park is in 6A, could this be the year for the Public League’s first football state title?
And what about these two running backs:
Mark Kachmer, St. Francis, 17 rushes, 412 yards, 6 touchdowns
Cameron White, Antioch nine carries 264 yards 4 touchdowns
Thornton, another team ranked in the Sun-Times since the preseason could be better than expected. The new-look no-huddle Wildcats destroyed Hillcrest in the opener, and a week later Hillcrest upset 2007 Class 8A semifinalist Homewood-Flossmoor 6-2.
I had a chance to watch the A-11 offense adopted by Riverside-Brookfield where all 11 offensive players wear numbers that make them eligible receivers. But as Edgy Tim pointed out on the sideline, is it that different than the five-wide that R-B ran in the past? I can see where it causes confusion for defenses. The problems R-B had was that its defense allowed 69 points.
Just wondering, how good is Prospect? Every time I forget about the Knights, they have a season that ends in Champaign.
I don’t know all the details of the rift with the alums, but when Mendel closed, after first merging with some other schools to become St. Martin de Porres, the city lost an institution. I was amazed at the number of Monarchs who returned to be honored last week at Soldier Field on the 40th anniversary of their victory 40-19 victory over Vocational. With its proud alumni, the Monarchs will not be forgotten.
