FYI

…and I think I’m gonna bail and head down to Lottie’s for a couple. Somebody post the final score please.

Rice fumbles - Iggy Scores - 7-0

Week 9 in the Central State. 2nd week of crossovers.

Please use this space as a place to not only remind me of how terrible my version of this weekly thread is, but also (most importantly) BEG on hands and knees for @rocketnation to rejoin us.

ALL games Friday

• Glenwood (6-2) vs Springfield (H.S.) (5-3) - From the outside looking in, it feels like SHS has packed it in and is happy with 5-4... Unlikely that's how they feel in the SHS camp, but I do think Glenwood rolls in this one.

• Eisenhower (1-7) vs Southeast (1-7) - Somebody gets win number two... Southeast probably.

• MacArthur (2-6) vs QND (7-1) - QND on the road, chance to go 8-1. Is Wilmo going 2A or 3A? What about Nashville? The Raiders will want to know ASAP.

• Lanphier (0-8) vs U-High (6-2) - Pioneers want that 7-2 look. Avoid the injuries this week, second season is calling. U-High with a big margin.

• Lincoln (4-4) vs Jacksonville (5-3) - Railers with a solid opportunity to steal a bid. They're going to need an above average effort. Solid season from the Crimson.

• Rochester (6-2) vs SHG (5-3) - A few weeks ago I'd have entertained a Rocket blowout here... After last week idk what to think of the Cyclones. "Rockets should, but SHG certainly could..." That's best summary of that I can make of this one.

Weather: As of 10/22/2024 16:20
Springfield - High 71 / Low 42 NW 14mph
Decatur - High 73 / Low 42 NW 15mph
Lincoln - High 72 / Low 41 NW 6mph
***AM showers at all 3 locations. Evening time partly cloudy and slightly breezy.

I will update the subject field.

Starts at 6:30.

I hope this is a good game. What is so interesting about East Side is that there is no statistical star - everyone gets their touches.

Sophomore quarterback Reece Shanklin went 5-for-6 for three touchdowns and 199 passing yards last week against Alton. ... Senior Kendrick Lyons is 83-for-116 passing for 1,228 yards and 11 touchdowns. ... Senior Larevious Woods leads team with 425 yards on the ground and 12 scores. ... Senior TaRyan Martin has 235 rushing yards on 22 carries. ... Sophomore Ronnie Gomiller leads the team with 409 receiving yards and seven scores. ... Junior Keandre McClendon has four sacks to go along with a team-high 76 tackles. ... Junior Raheem Floyd leads Flyers with three interceptions.

If this turns ugly, there is Cardinal Ritter at DeSmet. The Althoff game will be boring. Expect 300+ from Dierre in the first half if Frazier feeds him that much.

I will start you guys all know me. So I will start. What’s your big game.

8-0 LWE vs NC 8-0

Anyone know? If so where to go?

Rice Frosh 14 Larry 0
Rice Soph 54 Larry 10

Last week of regular season. rank em 12-10-8-6-5-4


Batavia at Carol Stream (Glenbard North)
St. Charles (East) at Wheaton (Warrenville South)
St. Charles (North) at Geneva
Wheaton (North) at Roselle (Lake Park)
Wilmette (Loyola Academy) at Chicago (Mt. Carmel)
Barrington at Palatine (H.S.)

Larry played some decent defense - the loss of their Senior QB is appraent. Just can't get a lot of good O going. Rice playing much better than earlier in year. Now playoff eligible. Get by Iggy next week and can go into playoffs at 6-3 and perhas a rematch vs Batavia and then MC. Oddly wish they would petition up to play Marist again.

I know it's been mentioned before, but what LWE has accomplished is unreal.

Not in any order: 49, 49, 49, 49, 48, 48, 47 & 1! Maine South and NN are not cupcakes so, to me, this is an impressive feat.

This has to be the goal every game. If we see another 49 next week, do we crown them, at least, up to the finals?

I do understand games need to be played, but this is something else.

Starting off with IMG at East Side, there is also 7-1 Cahokia on the road at 8-0 Sycamore. We got 6-2 Edwardsville against 6-2 DeSmet and also 8-0 Ritter against 7-1 Lutheran North.

If you are coming to the area, maybe consider Thompson's Souled Out Cafe, which is staying open until 6:00 to feed hungry fans. Catfish, two-bone Buffalo and Jack Fish, plus all the sides you could expect!

Open at 11:00 at 7915 State Street East Saint Louis IL - and yes, this is Hickey's place.

All.... I'm very curious by those in the know about this upcoming game. Do the Celtics have a chance? At 4-4 they are fighing for their playoff lives. I don't believe should they finish 4-5 they have enough PP's to make it in. If they manage a victory the win will change the landscape of 5A postseason . In a big way should when the qualifiers are announced they go 5A. If I recall corretly they were the largest team in the 2023 class 5A playoffs. Of course all of this moot if they do not win. Ratsy

Kudos to Marian Catholic.

They are having another losing season (their 13th in the last 14). They could have called it quits after getting spanked last week by Providence, not played in week 9, taken their forfeit win against DLS, and finished at 3-6. Instead, they are chartering busses and going over 100 miles after school on Friday to play an 8-1 Rochelle squad that has been knocking the snot out of its last four opponents since dropping their lone loss of the season to 9-0 Sycamore.

I was just on Instagram and Sloche lists 10 Outstanding games!!

How about East St Louis vs IMG Academy?

MC vs LA. (On TV, the U or UToo)

De Smet vs Edwardsville

St Francis vs Naz

Rochester vs SHG

And more!!

This is the hardest week to pick where to see a game. This week's matchups will blow away the matchups you will see in the first two weeks of the playoffs.

Friday: Warren Township at Libertyville

Saturday: IHSA TV Playoff Pairings Show

Each week I will prepare the Underclassmen Report which is a look at which underclassmen names I saw in person and made a positive impression at each game I cover live in person this season. This week I take a deeper look into some of the better underclassmen names for Dixon/Byron/Boylan and Harlem.

The Week 7 Underclassmen Report
The Week 6 Underclassmen Report
The Week 5 Underclassmen Report
The Week 4 Underclassmen Report
The Week 3 Underclassmen Report
The Week 2 Underclassmen Report
The Week 1 Underclassmen Report

Dixon Dukes

2026 RB Landon Knigge (5-foot-9, 178 pounds) Nice overall two way player here for the Dukes. Showed to have good hands, speed and quickness and was also a very good defensive back who was strong in run support.

2026 LB Jake Whelan (6-foot-2, 192 pounds)- Nice sixe here and a name to watch this off season. Has the frame and look of a kid who will be able to add much more good weight and size over the next year plus.

Byron Tigers

2027 QB/DB Andrew Talbert (5-foot-9, 170 pounds)- incredible speed and quickness here and Talbert is simply a high level athlete with some really impressive skills and tools. Still not sure on a potential position for Andrew at the next level but he's such an advanced player and athlete he could become a monster player in college at a school and a level that's a good fit. Love this kid's motor and overall mentality. Scary to think he still has two more high school, seasons ahead of him.

2026 FB/LB Caden Considine (6-foot-0, 210 pounds)- Impressive kid both at linebacker and fullback. Has the obvious family bloodline and it already looks like the game has slowed down for him considerably in my opinion. Plays with a high motor, has great overall instincts and ability. Considine just goes hard on every play and every rep and I can easily see him playing at a high level in college and becoming a highly productive player.

2027 RB Kole Aken (6-foot-0, 175 pounds) - Good overall speed and quickness here and the Byron kids also know where the weight room is located. One of a handful of very good underclassmen backs for the Tigers.

2028 RB Kaden McGough (6-foot-0, 195 pounds)- Any time a freshman can get reps on the varsity at Byron you take notice right away. McGough is already physically advanced and looks to have good speed and runs hard. No question this is a name to watch in the Class of 2028.

Rockford Boylan Titans

2027 QB Dominic Cacciatore (5-foot-10, 160 pounds)- Nice overall player here who does some things well including having an accurate arm and is also a threat running the football.

2026 QB Jaden Williams- Impressive all around athlete who has some quickness and twitch. Still looks to be a work in progress as a pocket passer but his physical tools and ability make Williams an athlete type of prowpect to watch.

2026 RB Donzelle Ingram-Love (5-foot-11, 195 pounds)- One of a handful of pretty solid running back types for the Titans. Showed to have pretty good speed, burst and vision.

2026 RB Caiden Gates (5-foot-11, 185 pounds)- See above. A name I'll go back and watch season ending video this winter.

2026 RB Alex Hernandez (5-foot-11, 180 pounds)- See above above. Also plays defensive back and is a solid two way starter.

Machesney Park Harlem Huskies

2027 WR Jackson Cook (6-foot-0, 157 pounds)- I was impressed with Cook and that was before his 102 yard interception return for touchdown. Cook honestly looks bigger than his listed height and weight, is a quick and athletic play maker who also has some twitch and explosiveness. Cook was equally strong at defensive back as he was at wide receiver and I can see more schools taking a much closer look at him this winter. Has D1 level potential.

2027 OL Jesse Grider (6-foot-4, 250 pounds)- Good sized kid here who I will need to watch more tape of this winter. FYI Harlem had maybe some of the biggest JV linemen I've seen all season so expect the Huskies to bring a long a really big OL group over the next few seasons and that also includes Jesse Grinder.

Preliminary Week 9 EDGYTIM Class 8A thru Class 4A Top 10 polls

Class 8A

1. Lincoln Way East 8-0 (1) vs Naperville Central
2. Loyola 6-2 (2) @ Mount Carmel
3. Naperville Central 8-0 (3) @ Lincoln Way East
4. Oswego 8-0 (4) @ Oswego East
5. Palatine 7-1 (5) vs Barrington
6. Maris/Lyons Township 7-1/8-0 (6/7) vs Niles ND/vs Proviso East
7. Barrington 7-1 (7) @ Palatine
8. Maine South 5-3 (8) @ Evanston
9. York 6-2 (9) @ Proviso West
10. Naperville North 6-2 (10) vs Sandburg

Out: None

Class 7A

1. Chicago Mount Carmel 6-2 (1) vs Loyola Academy
2. Edwardsville 6-2 (2) @ Desmet
3. Batavia 7-1 (3) @ Glenbard North
4. St Rita 6-2 (4) vs IC Catholic Prep
5. Downers Grove North 7-1 (5) @ Hinsdale Central
6. Prospect 6-2 (6) vs Buffalo Grove
7. Normal Community 7-1 (8) vs Peoria
8. Fenwick 6-2 (7) vs Carmel
9. Hononegah 7-1 (9) @ Belvidere
10. Quincy 8-0 (10) @ Jefferson City

Out: None

Class 6A

1. East St Louis 8-0 (1) vs IMG Academy
1. Cary Grove 8-0 (1) vs Dundee Crown
3. Geneva 8-0 (3) vs St Charles North
4. Kankakee 7-1 (4) @ Crete-Monee
5. Libertyville 7-1 (5) vs Warren Township
6. Simeon 7-1 (6) vs Morgan Park
7. Lake Forest 6-2 (7) @ Mundelein
8. Washington 6-2 (8) vs Morton
9. Glenwood 6-2 (9) vs Springfield
10. Oak Lawn Richards 7-1 (10) vs Reavis

Out: None

Class 5A

1. Nazareth Academy 7-1 (1) @ St Francis
2. Wheaton St Francis 6-2 (2) vs Nazareth Academy
3. Joliet Catholic 5-3 (3) @ Providence Catholic
4. Sycamore 8-0 (4) vs Cahokia
5. Peoria 7-1 (5) @ Normal Community
6. Morgan Park 7-1 (6) vs Simeon
7. Rochelle 7-1 (7) vs Marian Catholic
8. Mahomet Seymour 6-2 (8) @ Richwoods
9. Prairie Ridge 6-2 (9) vs McHenry
10. Burlington Central 6-2 (NR) @ Huntley

Out: Morris

Class 4A

1. Rochester 6-2 (1) @ Sacred Heart Griffin
2. Wheaton Academy 7-1 (2) @ Marian Central Catholic
3. St Laurence 6-2 (3) @ Montini Catholic
4. DePaul Prep 6-2 (4) @ Benet Academy
5. Murphysboro 7-1 (5) vs Duquoin
6. Dixon 7-1 (6) @ North Boone
7. Breese Central 8-0 (7) @ Herrin
8. IC Catholic Prep 4-4 (NR) @ St Rita
9. Coal City 6-2 (10) vs Manteno
10. UHigh 6-2 (NR) @ Lanphier

Out: St. Viator/Boylan

Keep hope alive!
SI ICP SV CoM all holding on with 4 losses while ND SP M,H have 5 and need a miracle. Our Lady of Playoff Points ... pray for us!
As for the big boys, LA hopes to even up the all-time series under the high-voltage lines at Baker Stadium; meanwhile MC hopes to extend their 20-game winning streak against Fenwick which goes back to 1979, where both teams finished at 4-5 on the year.


BR @ SL
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Brother Rice (Chicago, IL) 31 (87%), [2024] St. Laurence (Burbank, IL) 14 (13%)
MC @ F
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Mount Carmel (Chicago, IL) 28 (65%), [2024] Fenwick (Oak Park, IL) 21 (35%)
SI @ MCHS
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] St. Ignatius (Chicago, IL) 27 (61%), [2024] Montini Catholic (Lombard, IL) 22 (39%)
LA @ CoM
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Loyola Academy (Wilmette, IL) 41 (98%), [2024] Carmel (Mundelein, IL) 8 (2%)
SP @ SR
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] St. Rita (Chicago, IL) 41 (>99%), [2024] St. Patrick (Chicago, IL) 0 (<1%)
SV @ ICP
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Immaculate Conception (Elmhurst, IL) 24 (74%), [2024] St. Viator (Arlington Heights, IL) 14 (26%)
BA @ Naz
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Nazareth Academy (LaGrange Park, IL) 48 (97%), [2024] Benet Academy (Lisle, IL) 19 (3%)
DP @ SF
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] St. Francis (Wheaton, IL) 30 (57%), [2024] DePaul College Prep (Chicago, IL) 28 (43%)
MA @ Marist
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Marist (Chicago, IL) 50 (>99%), [2024] Marmion Academy (Aurora, IL) 3 (<1%)
DLS @ JC
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet, IL) 62 (>99%), [2024] De La Salle (Chicago, IL) 0 (<1%)
Marian, Heights @ PC
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Providence Catholic (New Lenox, IL) 31 (95%), [2024] Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, IL) 6 (5%)
Leo @ ND
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Notre Dame (Niles, IL) 31 (95%), [2024] Leo (Chicago, IL) 6 (5%)

Of the 11 contested games last week, Gambletron had 5 cover, 3 upsets, 2 dogs cover and 1 push. Which is to say, if you have inside information from, say, an MRI shop ... that could be useful as the season progresses. Once AI is introduced into the system, we might not have to play the games anymore.

ND @ BR
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Brother Rice (Chicago, IL) 34 (98%), [2024] Notre Dame (Niles, IL) 0 (2%)
JC @ MC
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Mount Carmel (Chicago, IL) 28 (81%), [2024] Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet, IL) 14 (19%)
Marist @ SI
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Marist (Chicago, IL) 38 (74%), [2024] St. Ignatius (Chicago, IL) 28 (26%)
PC @ LA
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Loyola Academy (Wilmette, IL) 28 (90%), [2024] Providence Catholic (New Lenox, IL) 7 (10%)
SR @ Leo
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] St. Rita (Chicago, IL) 62 (>99%), [2024] Leo (Chicago, IL) 0 (<1%
IC @ MA
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Immaculate Conception (Elmhurst, IL) 31 (93%), [2024] Marmion Academy (Aurora, IL) 8 (7%)
Naz @ DLS
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Nazareth Academy (LaGrange Park, IL) 62 (>99%), [2024] De La Salle (Chicago, IL) 0 (<1%)
SF @ Marian, Heights
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] St. Francis (Wheaton, IL) 38 (98%), [2024] Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, IL) 3 (2%)
MCHS @ SV
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Montini Catholic (Lombard, IL) 27 (88%), [2024] St. Viator (Arlington Heights, IL) 8 (12%)
CoM @ DP
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] DePaul College Prep (Chicago, IL) 35 (65%), [2024] Carmel (Mundelein, IL) 28 (35%)
SL @ SP
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] St. Laurence (Burbank, IL) 40 (98%), [2024] St. Patrick (Chicago, IL) 6 (2%)
F @ BA
regular season (neutral field)
[2024] Fenwick (Oak Park, IL) 35 (90%), [2024] Benet Academy (Lisle, IL) 14 (10%)