crusader_of_90 said:

Tailgate is on - food should be ready by 11:00!

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All..... Food? Oh yes it's a tailgate. The plan is to get in the lot behind the church a bit earlier then 11 close by where all that fun occurs.😇 Forecast looks good with a high of 51 on Saturday.... Thanks for the updated info. Go Crusaders! Ratsy

congrats to him

Impossible - CG does not produce top athletes, it is only their system that brings success.

Weather should be partly sunny and dry, 45° with 5 mph wind from the West.
Probably no surprise on this homer’s pick, but I am taking the Hilltoppers by a few scores.
The O-Line is getting the job done for bruising RBs and I do not envision that changing the rest of the way. The limited passing game has been effective in the playoffs and is miles from where it was early in the season.
On Defense, the front 7 have been the rock of the team all year and continue to deliver as has DiNovo's kicking, which has been a quiet but effective weapon throughout the year.
My lurking concern is Varner being successful throwing to Mumbrue & Wheeler; hopefully those two can be contained.
The program is 20-4 in Semifinal games with the only home Semifinal loss being to Montini in 2012.
A number of the Hilltoppers are baseball players and surely remember too well that Morris knocked them out of the playoffs last Spring.

UPDATED PER USD24 BRINGING MY ERROR TO MY ATTENTION!

Saint Ignatius 24 Notre Dame 10 (+14): I don't know what to say about the Prep Bowl Catholic Finals other than I hope everyone has fun

Montini 23 (+3) Wilmington 21: . This may be the Environment of the Week. If this game was under the lights, I may have taken Wilmington, but I am staying true to my Catholic Faith and going with the Broncos. This really could be an all time classic.

DePaul Prep 35 (+4) Coal City 24: Now I may be saying something foolish here, but is Coal City actually better than St. Laurence? DePaul has been battle tested and Coal City has not played much competition and they lost to the 2 decent teams they have played.

Nazareth 34 Saint Francis 28 (+13): My Lord in Heaven...history has repeated itself a second straight year! And it will repeat in similar fashion when the Roadrunners clip the Spartans again.


Joliet Catholic 35 Morris 10 (-35): One of the State's great playoff rivalries renewed! Unfortunately for the Redskins, they don't have the Jimmy's and Joe's this year to compete with the Joliet Machine.


Saint Rita 30 (+10) Mount Carmel 28: GOTW! I was such a buffoon when I questioned St. Rita in week 2 when they didn't pack 79th and Western and got whooped up by the Brown. Since that game, it seems like both teams have been on opposite trajectories (Relax Caravan, you're not down sliding, you're just not yourselves). I am expecting this to be an all time classic in this Mount Rushmore rivalry and I am taking the Ponies to end years of playoff frustration against MC.

Lincoln Way East 32 (-7) Loyola 21: I see this being a close contest into the 4th quarter with LWE covering late. Loyola has too much pedigree to let this not be a close game, but LWE has been essentially the undisputed best team all year and I just don't see their season stopping now.

Dave Brody said:

Anyone know the week 9 spread for the SF/Naz game? We know the result of that game.

+13 for SF is high for the Semis.

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Naz @ SF
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Nazareth Academy (LaGrange Park, IL) 44 (92%), [2024] St. Francis (Wheaton, IL) 22 (8%)

ChicagoRambler said:

Thanks for putting these together! I've been busy the last couple months so haven't been able to participate as much as I want.

However... I'm recently married so I feel I might have gained a clairvoyance around CCL spreads.

Iggy -14
Montini +3
DePaul +4
St Francis +13
Morris +35
Rita +10
LA +7

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Congratulations on getting married. We will see you more often around these parts. Bathroom time increases directly proportional to length of marriage. I’ve been married a long while

Anyone know the week 9 spread for the SF/Naz game? We know the result of that game.

+13 for SF is high for the Semis.

colin2229 said:

Very very very impressive young coach. That place is going to explode with him

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Going to be hard to keep this guy a secret anymore. Great interview Tim , really captured what CJ is all about

Thanks for putting these together! I've been busy the last couple months so haven't been able to participate as much as I want.

However... I'm recently married so I feel I might have gained a clairvoyance around CCL spreads.

Iggy -14
Montini +3
DePaul +4
St Francis +13
Morris +35
Rita +10
LA +7

EdgyTim said:

Get to know Chicago Christian HC CJ Cesario a very impressive first year head coach and a name to watch.

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Very very very impressive young coach. That place is going to explode with him.

Some surprising spreads from Gambletron this week. I might be able to get more than 1 right. Hope springs eternal.

Ignatius -14....picking these Prep Bowl games is a bit like picking the games in the last week of the NFL season. Who is actually trying to win?
Montini +3...what was Gambletron smoking in coming up with this spread?
DePaul +4....Gambletron still with some altered perception on this one?
St Francis +13....seems like too many points. Rivalry game played a second time. Should be close.
Morris +35....can Morris compete at the LOS? They didn't last year. IF the compete better, they will cover this spread.
Rita +10....another rivalry game played a second time. MC's pass defense is very suspect. Does Rita have the passing game to exploit that? Rita's defense is stout, but MC will score. Can Rita score enough to keep this one close and possibly pull it out at the end? I like their chances at home. (Hopefully, that's not the kiss of death for the Mustangs).
LWE -7....went into this expecting to take LA and the points. But, I thought the spread would be higher. Just seems like a tall order for the Ramblers in Frankfort only getting 7. This LWE team just seems too good.

Iggy -14
Montini +3
Depaul +4
SF +13
Morris +35
MC -10
LWE -7

Swc1919 said:

It’s a little bit of a look ahead with both still having to take care of business this weekend but I was able to catch some of Cary grove games online and I can’t help but wonder if them losing the fullback will matter in a match with estl because seems they are trying to get the edge much more now and that’s a recipe for disaster against estl

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I said before that won’t work but they’ll have a plan. Not saying it’ll work but I wouldn’t hang my hat solely on what they are doing now. Need to get by Geneva first, which will be tough.

tuccs said:

Not sure Franny will have to worry about being in the lead on Saturday. They may do what they did in week 9 and give Naz some false hope and string them along but no way they are not resting their starters late into the 3rd quarter looking forward to JCA next week. Naz has to be at least a 22 point dog AT LEAST

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Almost there - just 10 to 20 more points and the sandbagging will be complete.

Swc1919 said:

It’s a little bit of a look ahead with both still having to take care of business this weekend but I was able to catch some of Cary grove games online and I can’t help but wonder if them losing the fullback will matter in a match with estl because seems they are trying to get the edge much more now and that’s a recipe for disaster against estl

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Yes, yes - losing one of your best players does indeed matter in a big time matchup.

12. Batavia
10. Mount Carmel
9. LWE
8. Cary-Grove
6. York

cornerrat said:

All.... Sounds intriguing. Will await on tailgate announcement info. 🏈 I forgot to ask. Does Hickey ever show up for a game? Go Crusaders! Ratsy

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Tailgate is on - food should be ready by 11:00!

12 - Batavia
10 - LWE
9 - Carmel
8 - Geneva
6 - Nap Ctrl

Iggy
Montini
DePaul
Naz
JCA
MC
LWE

Notre Dame (Niles, IL) at St. Ignatius (Chicago, IL) Fri., Nov. 22, 7:00 pm
Iggy Covers in this one.

Wilmington (12-0) at Lombard (Montini) (10-2), Sat., Nov. 23, 1:00 pm
Give me points and Bronco all day and twice on Sunday.

Chicago (DePaul) (9-3) at Coal City (10-2), Sat., Nov. 23, 1:00 pm
DePaul rolls onto the 9A errrr 4A title game.

Wheaton (St. Francis) (10-2) at LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy) (10-2), Sat., Nov. 23, 1:00 pm
I will gladly take the point and Sparty but tucs wins and heads to Normal for a rematch with JCA.

Morris (8-4) at Joliet (Catholic Academy) (9-3), Sat., Nov. 23, 2:00 pm
JCA covers and has a rematch with tucs.

Chicago (Mt. Carmel) (9-3) at Chicago (St. Rita) (10-2), Sat., Nov. 23, 3:00 pm
I will go with my 2nd favorite CCL team, 'Stangs with the points.

Wilmette (Loyola Academy) (10-2) at Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) (12-0), Sat., Nov. 23, 6:00 pm
Ramblers and the points.

privatone said:

A group of St. Rita students traveled to Bedford Park today for the Special Olympics. They showed a lot of character giving up their time to go out there to help out today.
I also want to congratulate them on their fourth place finish!

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Cool move, no question. But let’s be real—schools and students pull off nice stuff all the time. Cut the hype parade and gear up for the real main event: taking on your big brother this Saturday.