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Week 4 The Underclassmen Report

Each week I will prepare the Underclassmen Report which is a look at which underclassmen names I saw in person and makde a positive impression at each game I cover this season. This week I take a deeper look into some of the better underclassmen names for Rochester/Glenwood and GB West/Lyons Townhip

Rochester Rockets

2026 TE/DE Tanner Beal (6-foot-5, 190 pounds)
Wound up coming in and playing most of this loss to Glenwood at quarterback. Beal has very good height and length and has a frame that will allow him to add more good weight and sze. Runs pretty well and I'll definitely look harder at Tanner's remaining season video hopefully getting reps at TE/S.

2026 RB Kaiden Stout (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) Just another good sized kid here with some potential and upside. Will definitely dig into his fim later this season and this winter.

2027 WR/TE Eli Cox (6-foot-5, 190 pounds) - Maybe the best recruit name here for the Rockets. Cox also has a good sized frame and very good length. Shows to have good on the field instincts and balll skills and hopefully will be able to add more good tape this remaining season. No question Eli is a name to watch in recruiting circles here.

2027 OL/DL Dylan Durocher (6-foot-1, 230 pounds) Overall just a good player and an inside grinder for the Rockets. Could develop into a nice NG/OC type at the next level. Showed to have a good motor and effort and basically just goes hard on every play.

2026 RB/DB Khorbin Gregory (5-foot-8, 145 pounds) Nice running back and defensive back for the Rockets. Needs to add some considerable weight and strength this winter but his overall game. speed and athletic ability is worth keeping tabs on this coming off season.

2026 DB Brooks Gavin (6-foot-3, 175 pounds)
Another good sized kid here who made some nice plays especially in pass protection. Yet another name here that I will do a deeper dive on this fall/winter.


Glenwood Titans


2027 OL Parker Loveless (6-foot-4, 265 pounds)
Good sized kid here who nom question looks the part and passes the eyeball test. Still looks a bit raw and Loveless has work to do in the fundamentals area including improving his pass rush technique....but that's pretty common place for basically every high school defensive linemen.

2026 QB Colten Knoedler (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) Very impressed with not just Colten's game here in beating Rochester, but also impressed with his physical changes and development from a season ago. Knoedler has added considerable weight and muscle, his arm talent is at a high level and Knoedler just played with a ton of poise and confidence. Knoedler still has room to grow, develop and get better but his development continues to rise in my opinion and he has a chance to draw increased recruiting attention this season and beyond.

2026 DT AJ Ferguson (6-foot-0, 234 pounds) Just a good player here who was just a pain to block down in and down out. Ferguson was able to beat opposing offensive linemen pretty consistenly with a nice mix of speed and power moves.

Glenbard West Hilltoppers

2027 QB Omar Valdez (6-foot-2, 170 pounds)
- Still has a ton of work to do but Omar Valdez also has the look and physical tools to continue to grow and improve. I'm planning to look at Valdez remaining video thru this season and also in winter workouts.

2026 RB JaMarcus Kelly (5-foot-11, 184 pounds) Nice running back here who I was not really aware of until this game. Kelly has good size and strength, runs hard and also showed some burst and wiggle.I still need to see more here via video the remainder of the season and I'm excited to see Kelly's development this off season.

2027 TE Brady Johnson (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) Another eyeball passing name to watch here. Didn't get much of a chance to show his pass catching ability in this loss but has the look and feel of an athlete who could play a few different positions in my opinion.

2026 LB Maximus Hetlet (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) Maximus Hetlet has maybe a Top 5 coolest name in IHSA football, and Hetlet is a name to watch. Hetlet plays the linebacker position at a high level, is a coaches son who plays like a coaches son and has a high football IQ. Hetlet is a bit undersized right now for the higher D1 schools but has a chance to play at the next level in my opinion. Has a great motor and is a great tackler and finisher.

2026 LB Jack Davis (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) Part of a pretty strong linebacker group for the Hilltoppers this season. Davis is a name to watch this winter has the frame and build to allow him to add much more good weight and power.

2026 DL Jonah Singh (6-foot-1, 208 pounds) Another name that caught my attentiuon on Saturday and a name to watch this off season and I get the feeling he will be a much bigger and stronger kid a year from now.

Lyons Township Lions

2026 DL Ayman Soltan (6-foot-0, 300 pounds)
Inside mauler for the Lions defense who also showed to have good strength and power.

2026 TE Brady Rusk (6-foot-0, 210 pounds) Could develop in to a go to guy for the Lions the remainder of this season and next. One of a handful of underclassmen starters this season for Lyons Township.

What HS team do you root for

Anybody who can field a team I like. My tops are any old Sica Teams & throw in Rich Township with that & The non Sica Lincoln Way Teams as well as any ex Illini 8 teams. Sica when started wanted to take the Illini 8 & rename it the Sica Southwest. The deal breaker was they didn’t want Joliet Catholic or Marian Catholic so it was a no go.
I also had to add I like various other teams from neighboring states like all past & present from the region/northern Indiana, teams such as Brother Rice Michigan who used to play Rita,St.L & the other Brother Rice & some Iowa,Wisconsin & St.Louis schools. Coach Perry would remember some of my Wisconsin favorites that played LFA,North Shore Country Day,Mooseheart. Williams Bay for one

What team do you root AGAINST? Why?

As I have gotten older, I rarely root against other teams. The only school I really have any distaste for is Benet, and that is mostly due to the arrogance of their fans. As a parent, every time my kids played there, regardless of the sport, the Benet faithful, especially the parents, were always very condescending and insufferable.

What HS team do you root for

Anybody who can field a team I like. My tops are any old Sica Teams & throw in Rich Township with that & The non Sica Lincoln Way Teams as well as any ex Illini 8 teams. Sica when started wanted to take the Illini 8 & rename it the Sica Southwest. The deal breaker was they didn’t want Joliet Catholic or Marian Catholic so it was a no go.

What HS team do you root for

@MS4EVER Scott looks like I have to set up @PowerI66 with the red and blue starter pack!

Which reminds me of my Public Schools I root for:

Reavis: friends

LWE/Lockport: Friends. Like seeing the rosters and seeing any names from the old neighborhoods and finding if that’s so and so’s kid or nephew or whatever

Playoffs/Paths Cross
Sandburg
Bolingbrook

My North of Madison interests

Maine South since the ‘95 playoff meeting and because the equipment guy is a pretty cool guy

And now my new favorite: Palatine. Hey wait a minute, 1994 semis. Dang it. Aaargh that’s driving me nuts. But I’ve matured since then sort of

618: ESL Not many people know this but been down there a handful of times for 2 playoff games and the kick off classics. They have the crankiest, smartest old fans imaginable. It’s like hanging out with encyclopedias of high school football knowledge that spit and cuss

What team do you root AGAINST? Why?

Any team that is playing against the Yankees although I don't hate any MLB teams. I do dislike Jerry Reinsdorf and the McCaskeys intensely.

As for HS football, if you had asked this 15-20 years ago I could have given you a few teams. But now, what's the point? These are kids out there just trying to win the game.

Of course I do hope the Packers lose every game they play and the same goes for the St. Louis Blues.
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What team do you root AGAINST? Why?

Cleveland for being gutless and changing their nickname and mascot
Illinois for ditching the Chief
Washington for being gutless of ditching the Redskins name with 86% of Native Americans who supported the Redskins name!
Morris for ditching the Redskins name... Pure gutlessness!
North Dakota for ditching their mascot
Marquette for ditching their nickname "Warriors" Pure gutlessness
St. John's for ditching their nickname....
Syracuse for ditching their nickname... pure gutlessness
NBA and the NFL for numerous reasons.
RPO offenses... Arcade game scoring...
College football as a whole.... Paying players while they get a free ride without earning a degree... Shorts instead of pants...

old-man-yells-at-cloud-yelling.gif

What did we learn week 4!?!?

Not sure it’s laughable a 7A runner up last year that returned a lot including stud QB being talked about as #1. Not saying I agree but laughable?
It’s laughable from an over zealous fan. If they played ESL, LWE or MC who would you put money on? I am not saying they aren’t good but to argue they are #1 in the state.
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What HS team do you root for

St. Rita



Others (when not playing America’s Team, your St. Rita Mustangs):

Leo (Mrs. Soup’s family’s school, still has her Orange sweater with the big Black L on it that she wore to games as a grade schooler)

Mt. Carmel

Brother Rice

Notre Dame College Prep

St. Patrick

Marmion Academy

Starting with the South Side, to the North Side, to the West Suburban Academy for all boy Catholic High Schools.

Providence (Ran by the Augustinian order of priests who also run St. Rita of Cascia)

What team do you root AGAINST? Why?

Lane
Cleveland for being gutless and changing their nickname and mascot
Illinois for ditching the Chief
Washington for being gutless of ditching the Redskins name with 86% of Native Americans who supported the Redskins name!
Morris for ditching the Redskins name... Pure gutlessness!
North Dakota for ditching their mascot
Marquette for ditching their nickname "Warriors" Pure gutlessness
St. John's for ditching their nickname....
Syracuse for ditching their nickname... pure gutlessness
NBA and the NFL for numerous reasons.
RPO offenses... Arcade game scoring...
College football as a whole.... Paying players while they get a free ride without earning a degree... Shorts instead of pants.. Lane Tech & TF South for ditching their nicknames & Lenont hasn’t had one in about 5 years

What team do you root AGAINST? Why?

Benet controlled our conference in the early 80s but were the largest enrollment school in the conference. So I never liked them.

Detroit Pistons in the late 80s.

Lakers.

Detroit Redwings when they had Probert and I had Blackhawks season tickets

North Stars with Dino Ciccerelli.

USSR Hockey

Danny Ainge

Chicago Sky

The current White Sox

98% Run only HS Football teams. These games end fast and I feel I don't get much bang out of my buck $$$.

Bears Love/Hate Relationshipa

Packers when the Bears are going well. When Bears are playing bad I root for the Packers since they are the closest team to Chicago.

Cavs/Heat/Lakers. You get what I mean. Jordan is the goat.
Miss the Milwaukee Packer games

CS8 Predictions-Week 5

Going to learn a lot about the character of this Raider team on the road for first time Friday. I like QND's chances if the game turns into a ground and pound slugfest due to weather. Might counter some of the speed and athleticism I've seen from the SHS WR/DB... Will be interesting to see how disciplined SHS is. QND avoided critical mistakes last week against SHG, while SHG penalties really killed a few drives for the Cycs. QND is going to need to make some extra points too. I said last week to my father that QND's inability to convert points after is going to come back to bite them...

Put up or shut up time for the Rockets. I've got one of them "feelings" U-High has something to say Friday night. We shall see....
If U-High can manage to show up and perform as best they can and win this game, not a single Pioneer will sleep until Sunday night. I imagine it’d be much, much more hype than we had last year after the upset win against MacArthur, which is still frequently talked about in U-High circles today.

CS8 Predictions-Week 5

Springfield is all giddy about their squad. But while they begin the season 4-0, it is more than likely they end 4-5. SHS has literally played absolute garbage in their first four games. Their first four opponents have a combined 3 wins. Meanwhile, QND has played a .500 schedule including only one team with a winning record, average opponent ranking #172. This week will be the test to see if the Raiders are worth anything. SHS never performs well under pressure. I see a 4th victory for the Dump Next to Hannibal.

Meanwhile, the Rockets have played 6A Simeon (3-1), 6.6667A Ritter (Division 5 of a 6 class system, #3 in Missouri, and 4-0), Lincoln (2-2), and 6A Chatham (3-1), average opponent ranking #103. Thats a 12-4 opponent's record as they begin the "easy" part of their schedule. U-High has also played a .500 schedule, average opponent ranking is #257. U-High seems to always keep it close. However since Derek's system has been in place, there have been 7 running clocks by Rochester. The two squads are NOT the same.
Every team had the chance to schedule 2 games with decent teams yet only a few actually did that. I have to salute those that did!!! SHS is in deep shit and they know it... I knew QND would get at least 4 wins but they could go 8-1. SHG is just a shadow of itself. Rochester will right the boat. UHigh has a good group of Sr's but the cupboard may be bare next season. But when peeps think about the CS8 they think about Rochester.
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