4 teams have returning QB’s (Beatty-Rochester, Rochelle-Springfield, Phillips-Decatur Mac, and Owens-Jacksonville). Expect to see at least 3 and possibly all of these teams in the playoffs.
2 teams have new head coaches (U-High and Decatur Eisenhower). The new U-High coach took Pleasant Plains to the 3A title game in 2017. The Eisenhower coach has a tough road ahead after they did not play in the spring and went 0-9 in both 2018 and 2019. However, his attitude impressed me in the Sports Radio 1450 preview interview.
5 Biggest regular season games
1-Week 3 SHG at Rochester for the Leonard Bowl. SHG looks for its first win at Rochester since 2015. Rochester wants to avenge the 52-33 spring loss which SHG physically dominated.
2-Week 1 Springfield at Chatham. The two 6A conference teams meet. Chatham’s 42-35 spring win was the best game of the short season. The winner of this game has a realistic shot at 7 wins in the regular season. The loser might struggle to get more than 5. 4-year QB Rashad Rochelle will face a Chatham QB making his first varsity start.
3-Week 4 Springfield at SHG. Springfield surprised SHG in 2018 and 2019. SHG did not appreciate Springfield’s post game behavior in 2019 and poured it on in a 83-12 pay back rout in the spring. Can Springfield hang with a less dominant Cyclone team this fall?
4-Week 9 SHG at Chatham. Both these teams are young and will improve during the season. Can Chatham grow enough to have a chance at home after the 61-14 spring blowout at SHG?
5-Week 9 Decatur MacArthur at Jacksonville. The outcome of this game could put one of these teams in the playoffs and leave the other out.
Best Schedule
Jacksonville has all 5 of the 2019 playoff teams at home (Rochester, SHG, Chatham, Springfield and Decatur Mac).
Worst Schedule
Springfield is on the road against Rochester, SHG, Chatham, and Jacksonville.
Predictions
1-Rochester (5-1 in spring). They have 23 Seniors, most will start or contribute. Many got valuable playing time in the spring, with that team only having 17 Seniors. This team will be a little bigger and more athletic. Hank Beatty will be very, very hard to defend. The Defense will be tested early as Rochester opens against Jacksonville, MacArthur, and SHG.
2-SHG (6-0 in spring). They lost a dominant senior class but should still be very good. Expect a lot of Juniors to start. There will be a new QB, but he will have Singleton and Hamilton back at WR. Opening against Lanphier and Southeast should allow the new players to gain valuable experience before playing the stronger conference teams.
3-Springfield (3-3 in spring). This team could be 5-4 or 8-1. The good, having Rochelle start for a 4th year at QB. They also have talent at RB/WR. The bad, the Defense gave up 40 points per game in the spring, was small, and lacked depth. Rochelle, out of need, also played DB for most of the game against Chatham. 2 questions I am unsure of at this time: will the Southeast transfer RB play this fall and can Springfield get some more of the 3A championship baseball players to suit up when only one or two played in the spring?
4-Jacksonville (4-2 in spring). They return a good group of players and should be a 5A playoff team for the first time since 2016. Their QB is a Junior who improved substantially over his 6 spring starts. A great home schedule should help.
5-Chatham (4-2 in spring). They are a year away from competing for the conference title in my opinion but will be dangerous by the end of the season. With a new QB, the offense might struggle early. A week 1 win at Home against Springfield would be huge, but I favor Springfield slightly at this time. Chatham is most dangerous when they have a good RB or two along with a running QB threat. They have two RB’s with some experience. The new QB may be more of a passer than runner. Chatham will have good depth but don’t yet appear to have the size and athleticism of the 2019 team.
6-MacArthur (2-4 in spring). Mac underperformed in the spring. They weren’t as physical as previous teams and the Defense gave up over 50 points twice. The Eisenhower transfer QB played better the last two games though and Mac scored 39 against Rochester in week 5. This team could make the playoffs but it might take a road win against Chatham or Jacksonville to do it.
7-Lanphier (3-3 in spring). If Mac underperformed, Lanphier overperformed in the spring. Could this team make the playoffs for the first time since 2004? Unfortunately, most of the skill players from the spring season graduated. Not sure what they return, particularly on Offense.
8-U High (2-4 in spring). U High was hit or miss in the spring but was dressing fewer than 30 players. That hurt them in competitive losses against Chatham and Lanphier. They have a new head coach, who is young and enthusiastic. Can he get their numbers up when they already have one of the lowest enrollments in the CS8?
9-Southeast (0-6 in spring). Since making the 5A playoffs in 2014, Southeast has struggled. Their closest loss in the spring was by 20 points. The Defense gave up 35 or more points every game.
10-Eisenhower (did not play in spring, 0-9 in 2018 and 2019). They have a new coach, who has a tough road ahead. Getting the lower grade players out and keeping them involved when wins will be scarce is important. Realistically, winning a game would qualify as a successful season considering their starting point.
2 teams have new head coaches (U-High and Decatur Eisenhower). The new U-High coach took Pleasant Plains to the 3A title game in 2017. The Eisenhower coach has a tough road ahead after they did not play in the spring and went 0-9 in both 2018 and 2019. However, his attitude impressed me in the Sports Radio 1450 preview interview.
5 Biggest regular season games
1-Week 3 SHG at Rochester for the Leonard Bowl. SHG looks for its first win at Rochester since 2015. Rochester wants to avenge the 52-33 spring loss which SHG physically dominated.
2-Week 1 Springfield at Chatham. The two 6A conference teams meet. Chatham’s 42-35 spring win was the best game of the short season. The winner of this game has a realistic shot at 7 wins in the regular season. The loser might struggle to get more than 5. 4-year QB Rashad Rochelle will face a Chatham QB making his first varsity start.
3-Week 4 Springfield at SHG. Springfield surprised SHG in 2018 and 2019. SHG did not appreciate Springfield’s post game behavior in 2019 and poured it on in a 83-12 pay back rout in the spring. Can Springfield hang with a less dominant Cyclone team this fall?
4-Week 9 SHG at Chatham. Both these teams are young and will improve during the season. Can Chatham grow enough to have a chance at home after the 61-14 spring blowout at SHG?
5-Week 9 Decatur MacArthur at Jacksonville. The outcome of this game could put one of these teams in the playoffs and leave the other out.
Best Schedule
Jacksonville has all 5 of the 2019 playoff teams at home (Rochester, SHG, Chatham, Springfield and Decatur Mac).
Worst Schedule
Springfield is on the road against Rochester, SHG, Chatham, and Jacksonville.
Predictions
1-Rochester (5-1 in spring). They have 23 Seniors, most will start or contribute. Many got valuable playing time in the spring, with that team only having 17 Seniors. This team will be a little bigger and more athletic. Hank Beatty will be very, very hard to defend. The Defense will be tested early as Rochester opens against Jacksonville, MacArthur, and SHG.
2-SHG (6-0 in spring). They lost a dominant senior class but should still be very good. Expect a lot of Juniors to start. There will be a new QB, but he will have Singleton and Hamilton back at WR. Opening against Lanphier and Southeast should allow the new players to gain valuable experience before playing the stronger conference teams.
3-Springfield (3-3 in spring). This team could be 5-4 or 8-1. The good, having Rochelle start for a 4th year at QB. They also have talent at RB/WR. The bad, the Defense gave up 40 points per game in the spring, was small, and lacked depth. Rochelle, out of need, also played DB for most of the game against Chatham. 2 questions I am unsure of at this time: will the Southeast transfer RB play this fall and can Springfield get some more of the 3A championship baseball players to suit up when only one or two played in the spring?
4-Jacksonville (4-2 in spring). They return a good group of players and should be a 5A playoff team for the first time since 2016. Their QB is a Junior who improved substantially over his 6 spring starts. A great home schedule should help.
5-Chatham (4-2 in spring). They are a year away from competing for the conference title in my opinion but will be dangerous by the end of the season. With a new QB, the offense might struggle early. A week 1 win at Home against Springfield would be huge, but I favor Springfield slightly at this time. Chatham is most dangerous when they have a good RB or two along with a running QB threat. They have two RB’s with some experience. The new QB may be more of a passer than runner. Chatham will have good depth but don’t yet appear to have the size and athleticism of the 2019 team.
6-MacArthur (2-4 in spring). Mac underperformed in the spring. They weren’t as physical as previous teams and the Defense gave up over 50 points twice. The Eisenhower transfer QB played better the last two games though and Mac scored 39 against Rochester in week 5. This team could make the playoffs but it might take a road win against Chatham or Jacksonville to do it.
7-Lanphier (3-3 in spring). If Mac underperformed, Lanphier overperformed in the spring. Could this team make the playoffs for the first time since 2004? Unfortunately, most of the skill players from the spring season graduated. Not sure what they return, particularly on Offense.
8-U High (2-4 in spring). U High was hit or miss in the spring but was dressing fewer than 30 players. That hurt them in competitive losses against Chatham and Lanphier. They have a new head coach, who is young and enthusiastic. Can he get their numbers up when they already have one of the lowest enrollments in the CS8?
9-Southeast (0-6 in spring). Since making the 5A playoffs in 2014, Southeast has struggled. Their closest loss in the spring was by 20 points. The Defense gave up 35 or more points every game.
10-Eisenhower (did not play in spring, 0-9 in 2018 and 2019). They have a new coach, who has a tough road ahead. Getting the lower grade players out and keeping them involved when wins will be scarce is important. Realistically, winning a game would qualify as a successful season considering their starting point.
