BLUE DIVISION
Naperville North 63 Homewood -Flosmoor 62 2OT

RED DIVISION
Naperville Central 22 Sandburg 8

GREEN DIVISION
Bradley-Bourbonnais 42 DeKalb 39
Lincoln-Way Central 29 Waubonsie Valley 13

DIVISION CROSSOVERS
Lincoln-Way East 49 Andrew 20
Lincoln-Way West 40 Lockport 39 OT
Neuqua Valley 49 Metea Valley 20

NON CONFERENCE
Stagg 20 Thornwood 14

Happy homecoming ... gads!

Tons of police going up and down Nameoki road ... yikes!

LF 24, LVille 21 Half

Warren beats LZ 10-3

Lake Forest is up in Lib 42-21 late

I can’t figure it out

No. 2 in 4A Dixon leads No. 1 in 3A Byron 28-21 with about 2:30 to go. Listening on radio watching silent camera feed. Not synched.

ESL starting QB not playing. Not sure if he’s hurt.

no points. Happy now?

Sorry but this is going to be brief. This week's upset is #25 York over the #7 ranked Lyons Township. Final score Dukes 24 - LT 21. I'll try to add more later. Enjoy your day

A consequential week with two games with major playoff implications and three others that should be interesting for different reasons.

West Division
QND (5-1) at Jacksonville (4-2)
The Crimsons are coming off a difficult defeat to Springfield, where they lost a one-point lead in the game's final minute. They ran for over 300 yards against the Senators but also gave up 400 yards passing. QND's 2nd road game of the year, with the 1st being a close 14-9 victory over Springfield. With a win Friday, the Raiders have an excellent chance of going 8-1. The Crimsons would love to pull off an upset for their 5th win and then would have a decent chance of ending the regular season 7-2. QND has found a way to win since Week I and I like them in a close one. QND 29 Jacksonville 23. Massey prediction: QND 32 Jacksonville 21.

SHG (4-2) at Springfield (5-1)
The battle of Washington Street has been pretty one-sided recently in favor of the Cyclones. After losing to QND in Week 4, SHG has had two games to adjust to having a new QB and utilizing their former QB at RB. SHG's defense takes a hit as it will be without two starting Defensive Ends who were ejected in last week's game and have to serve a suspension. Springfield is coming off an emotional last-minute victory over Jacksonville, where they passed for over 400 yards but allowed over 300 yards in rushing. An important question is whether the Senators can come out on top in a difficult emotional game for the second week in a row. Springfield would prefer not to need to throw over 40 times again this week and would like to get their hard to tackle main RB more carries. Expect SHG to run first to then set up the pass. The Cyclones should win in a tight contest. SHG 31 Springfield 26. Massey prediction: SHG 41 Springfield 14.

Lanphier (0-6) at Southeast (0-6) Saturday 1 pm at Memorial Stadium
Someone will get their first win of the season. The Eastside has been marginally better than the Northend so far this season. Southeast 34 Lanphier 16. Massey prediction: Southeast 42 Lanphier 14.

East Division
U High (4-2) at Eisenhower (0-6)
The Panther's starting QB was injured last week against Rochester and taken off by ambulance. His status is unknown. The Pioneers should score early and often and get a quick running clock. U High 54 Eisenhower 0. Massey prediction: U High 49 Eisenhower 12.

Lincoln (4-2) at Chatham (4-2)
Lincoln had their best win of this season last week against MacArthur, while Chatham had their worst loss to U High. Homecoming week in Chatham. The Railers will try to run the ball and take time off the clock. Last week showed that the Titans really need to get WR Blake Lehnen healthy and back on the field. His speed and deep threat ability will be crucial if Chatham is to a make a playoff run. The Railers still have a chance at 5 wins, but this is not their week. Expect a big bounce back by the Titans. Chatham 53 Lincoln 14. Massey prediction: Chatham 42 Lincoln 7.

Rochester (4-2) at MacArthur (2-4)
The Rockets did not start well at all against Eisenhower last week, with the defense allowing several long drives and the offense only scoring in the last minute of the 1st quarter to lead 7-0. MacArthur has played well at home against Rochester in past years. A fast start for the visitors is essential as is a consistent 4-quarter effort. If Rochester starts like last week, expect the Generals to gain confidence. Mac lost 43-33 on the road at Lincoln last week but played better against both Springfield and Chatham, particularly on defense, at home in earlier season losses. Rochester 38 MacArthur 12. Massey prediction: Rochester 42 MacArthur 7.

Caravan fumbles opening snap; F recovers on 7

Crazy week, glad to be able to get this out there before hoping on a bus for 5 hours (yay!). Getting down the nitty gritty with 2 games left. Two teams have locked up spots with three others looking to get to 5 wins.


Quincy (7-0) @ Geneseo (4-3): Last season Quincy won 35-7. The Quincy murder tour roll on, this time against Geneseo who is looking for that 5th win that will get them to week 10. Sadly, not happening this week as Quincy has proved to be the big bully this season and will prove it again this week.

Prediction: Quincy by running clock



Rock Island (1-6) @ Sterling (4-3): Last season Rock Island won 14-7. Sterling was humbled by Quincy last week while Rocky got it’s first win. Sterling needs to win this one if it want to make the post season as they go to Moline week 9. For both teams, the question will be which version of their team will show up?

Prediction: Sterling by 3



Moline (5-2) @ Galesburg (1-6)L Last season Moline won 41-10. I thought Galesburg had a good shot at getting it’s 2nd win last week, but couldn’t get the job done. Now this get a Moline teams fresh of a hard fought win over UT. Moline looks to lock up the auto playoff bid in this one.

Prediction: Moline by running clock



United Township (3-4) @ Regis Catholic, WI (8-0). Honestly, I know nothing about Regis other than it’s a Catholic school that has won all it’s games. Regis will catch UT’s best effort though as the Panthers need this one to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Prediction: UT by 1

All - I built a model for the NCAA March Madness last year to predict the winners, and half-time and final scores. Reasoning and history show, bet the under for the first round. Everyone is on the road and everyone is amped up to play tough D. I made money following that model.

I am starting to load in data for the IHSA series and it is bare bones presently, with only regular season results loaded.

I need to collect the following:
To improve the accuracy of score predictions for upcoming Illinois High School football games, here are additional types of data that would be useful:

1. Team Stats:
   • Offensive stats (points per game, yards per game, turnovers).
   • Defensive stats (points allowed per game, sacks, interceptions).
   • Special teams performance (field goals, kick returns).
2. Individual Player Stats:
   • Key player performances (quarterback completions, rushing yards, receiving yards).
   • Injuries or players missing games.
3. Game Location:
   • Home vs. away games, as home-field advantage can affect outcomes.
4. Weather Conditions:
   • Past weather conditions during games and forecast for upcoming games (rain, wind, etc.).
5. Historical Matchups:
   • Previous meetings between teams, including head-to-head results.
6. Team Trends:
   • Recent form (winning streaks, losing streaks).
   • Momentum shifts over the season.
7. Coaching Changes:
   • New coaches or changes in team strategy.
8. Strength of Schedule:
   • Quality of opponents faced in previous weeks.

If you have any of this data, it can help improve predictions. Let me know what data you can provide!

Tonight 7 pm Kankakee Bishop McNamara host Chicago Hope for the last ever home game at their current stadium. They are tearing it down after the season for a new state of the area stadium & field. Though the magic is not like it used to be there so so many great moments,players,coaches & teams there!!! Some classic games between the Irish & the K3 Raiders of Eastridge & The Irish vs the KKK Westview K-Hawks!!!! The Fighting Irish also had some classics vs the Kankakee Kays & BBCHS Boilermakers among many other teams

Friday: Byron at Dixon

Saturday: Harlem at Boylan

Rank em 12-10-8-6-5-4


Carol Stream (Glenbard North) at Wheaton (North)
Geneva at St. Charles (East)
Roselle (Lake Park) at St. Charles (North)
Wheaton (Warrenville South) at Batavia
Maine West @ Niles West
St. Ignatius @ Montini

Surprised this hasn't been brought up yet or I just missed it. Saying DeLasalle doesn't have enough to field a team.

It's truly a zero tolerance deal. It's not welcomed here whatsoever and I will continue to delete then ban anyone who doesn't get it.

Every Monday(-ish), I bracket the 256 playoff teams using the IHSA Playoff Outlook. This is NOT a prediction. These are NOT my opinions. It is simply the most logical way the playoffs would be bracketed, using the IHSA's specific system, if today's standings were the final standings.

Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion/representative falling below the cutoff. It also rewards forfeit victories before the week that match-up would've been played. I take care of that before proceeding.

The cutoff on the Playoff Outlook is 4-3 with 24 playoff points. This was almost exactly cutting off above .500 versus below .500.
Only 3 teams were above .500 and didn't make the field.
-- Team 257 -- 5A Marion 4-3 / 23
-- Team 258 -- 1A Bridgeport (Red Hill) 4-3 / 19
-- Team 259 -- 5A Noble/Bulls 4-3 / 18
-- Team 260/261 -- 5A Carmel 3-4 / 41
-- Team 260/261 -- 8A St. Ignatius 3-4 / 41

My adjustments....

Check the forfeits first. None that I noticed.

Next, let's check to see if every conference has at least one team representing it in the playoff field. Praise Jesus, THEY ALL DO!

NO ADJUSTMENTS!

NOTES:
The classes "got smaller", if that makes sense. Bigger schools fell below the cut-off, and several schools jumped up into classes I've never seen them in before. DGN, Schaumburg, Glenbard East haven't ventured it 8A recently. Also in 8A but outside the bracket were Glenbard North, St. Charles East, and McHenry.

Another thing I've noticed.... not sure how to word it.... A lot of schools in the "lower" side of a double conference with better records than the more traditional winners in the "higher" divison. Addison Trail, Maine West, Plainfield South, and West Chicago outpacing Glenbard West, Maine South, Bolingbrook, and South Elgin. Makes sense that it happens, but feels like a theme this year.

** is the smallest team in the class
^^ is the biggest team in the class

~~~ 8A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#32 Leyden at #1 Naperville Central
#17 Sandburg at #16 Minooka
#25 Warren at #8 Marist
#24 Maine South at #9 Edwardsville

#29 Huntley at #4 Oswego
#20 Naperville North at #13 York
#28 South Elgin at #5 West Aurora
#21 Downers Grove South at #12 Fremd

Lower Bracket
#31 Niles West at #2 Lincoln-Way East
#18 Loyola at #15 Taft
#26 Belleville East at #7 Barrington
#23 Plainfield South at #10 Glenbard East

#30 Waubonsie Valley at #3 Lyons
#19 Schaumburg at #14 Downers Grove North** (2156)
#27 Homewood-Flossmoor at #6 Palatine
#22 Andrew at #11 Stevenson


~~~ 7A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#32 West Chicago at #1 Libertyville** (1784)
#17 Pekin at #16 Prospect^^ (2155)
#25 Collinsville at #8 Normal
#24 Lincoln-Way West at #9 Hononegah

#29 Lincoln-Way Central at #4 Lincoln Park
#20 Hoffman Estates at #13 Maine West
#28 Guilford at #5 St. Charles North
#21 Rolling Meadows at #12 Bradley-Bourbannais

Lower Bracket
#31 Reavis at #2 Quincy
#18 Jacobs at #15 St. Rita
#26 Brother Rice at #7 Batavia
#23 Wheaton-Warrenville South at #10 Harlem

#30 Willowbrook at #3 Whitney Young
#19 Moline at #14 Mount Carmel
#27 Hersey at #6 Fenwick
#22 Shepard at #11 Addison Trail


~~~ 6A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Senn at #1 Geneva
#9 Grayslake North ** (1289) #8 Glenbard South
#13 Riverside-Brookfield at #4 Antioch
#12 Lake Zurich at #5 Wauconda

#15 Deerfield at #2 Cary-Grove
#10 Fenton at #7 Lake Forest
#14 Grant^^ (1782) at #3 Belvidere North
#11 Kaneland at #6 Mather

Lower Bracket
#16 Eisenhower at #1 East St. Louis
#9 Normal West at #8 Washington
#13 Dunlap at #4 Kankakee
#12 Oak Forest at #5 Kennedy

#15 Centenniel at #2 Richards
#10 Springfield at #7 Glenwood
#14 Lemont at #3 Bloomington
#11 Crete-Monee at #6 Simeon


~~~ 5A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Marmion at #1 Sycamore
#9 Burlington Central^^ (1285) #8 Prairie Ridge
#13 Perspectives/Leadership at #4 Woodstock North
#12 Westinghouse at #5 St. Laurence** (844)

#15 Sterling at #2 Nazareth
#10 Payton at #7 St. Francis
#14 Goode at #3 Rochelle
#11 Prosser at #6 Benet Academy

Lower Bracket
#16 East Peoria at #1 Peoria
#9 Highland #8 Joliet Catholic
#13 TF North at #4 Morris
#12 Centralia at #5 Sacred Heart-Griffin

#15 Jacksonville at #2 Morgan Park
#10 Corliss at #7 Metamora
#14 Tinley Park at #3 Triad
#11 Hillcrest at #6 Mahomet-Seymour


~~~ 4A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Noble/Rauner at #1 Dixon
#9 Coal City #8 Boylan Catholic
#13 Marengo at #4 South Shore** (561)
#12 Sandwich at #5 DePaul

#15 Noble/Comer^^ (842) at #2 Sullivan
#10 Ag Science at #7 Richmond-Burton
#14 Johnsburg at #3 Manteno
#11 Clemente at #6 Wheaton Academy

Lower Bracket
#16 Mt. Zion at #1 Breese Central
#9 Macomb #8 Columbia
#13 Geneseo at #4 Cahokia
#12 Effingham at #5 Murphysboro

#15 Lincoln at #2 Richland County
#10 Normal University at #7 Carterville
#14 Kewanee at #3 Waterloo
#11 Peo. Notre Dame at #6 Rochester


~~~ 3A ~~~

Upper Bracket
#16 Carver at #1 Byron
#9 Dyett at #8 King
#13 Oregon** (417) at #4 North Lawndale
#12 Herscher at #5 Princeton

#15 Prairie Central at #2 Monmouth-Roseville
#10 Phoenix^^ (559) at #7 Montini
#14 Stillman Valley at #3 Du-Pec Coop
#11 Peotone at #6 Marshall

Lower Bracket
#16 Harrisburg at #1 St. Joseph-Ogden
#9 Roxana at #8 New Berlin
#13 Fairfield at #4 Williamsville
#12Staunton at #5 DuQuoin

#15 Clinton at #2 Sullivan-Okaw Valley
#10 Tolono Unity at #7 Monticello
#14 Olympia at #3 Eureka
#11 Benton at #6 Greenville

Week 8? More like Week GREAT! On to the picks!

Steinmetz vs North Grand
Steinmetz has played 4 games. Nothing more CPL than starting a week late, forfeiting two games, and somehow pulling out a win as well. North Grand has only played 6 games. They have forfeited one game and won two. Fittingly, this game is going to be played on the campus of one of these two schools. Keep in mind that neither of these two schools have stadiums, they have "turf fields" behind the schools. Yes, these fields have lines. No, these fields don't have stands. Bring a lawn chair. If it's played at North Grand, hit up a bar called Uncle Mikes at Armitage and Pulaski. Cool vibe, but one of those Chicago bars that has a drop ceiling and fluorescent lights that always seem to be on.
Pick...NO ADMISSION FEES!

Kelly vs Washington
I once had a guy tell me that drinking Bud Heavy was like having George Washington march the Continental Army down your throat. I think he meant that in a positive way.
America!

Taft vs Clark
Not sure why I was thinking about this the other day, but there was a diner at the corner of Nagle and NW Hwy by Taft that had the best fries. It isn't there anymore. 2 or 3 places have been in there since... Ned's? Nancy's? I know it was a person's name... Anyway, I miss those fries.
Extra Salt!

Sullivan vs North Lawndale
I've gone my whole life thinking Sullivan is a last name. Never even gave a thought that it could be a first name. Until this week, that is. Since Monday, I've met two people, a man... and a woman named Sullivan. It's given me a lot to think about...
Lawns!

I was listening to Edgy's video on YouTube last week when he had the Farmington Head Coach (I believe) on and Edgy asked him "if he were the Czar of Illinois football what changes would he make?" He answered with something like "I would end teams running the ball (Wing-T, Wishbone)!" At first I just giggled but as I though on what he said I became a bit unsettled because I love running the ball and of course I love teams that run the ball. In life, if you give Thoughts words, they seem to become reality.

College football hamstrung running teams with blocking restrictions and many coaches were against this because it limits their running ability, but in reality, BlueBlood teams hate playing these teams because they are difficult to stop due to the demand on players (today) being disciplined against the run.

So my question is: Will the IHSA ever end teams from running the ball under the guise of "Safety?" Before you giggle like I did please give this question some thought.


College example: 2021 The Citadel upset Georgia Tech 27-24 OT. Citadel ran the ball 71 times for 320 yards. Completed 1/4 passes for 30 yrds.

When I looked at the Service Academy's from 2004-present I checked what Power 5 teams they played and either won or lost close games:

Army (4508) 8-11
Navy (4528) 22-14 Beating Notre Dame in 2007, 09, 16
Air Force (4124) 12-13 They were in a conference while Army and Navy were mainly Independent.

There were many more running teams but the NCAA made changes that directly hurt schools that run the Triple Option last season. I know why and its not good for the game.

Back on the high school level. We see what Cary Grove, Prairie Ridge have done over the last few seasons and we see what Byron does year in and year out.

Will the IHSA make such a rule that bans teams from running the ball in the future?

Well this was another one of “those weeks.” The playoffs will be cra cra

1 - That we still need to be aware of Loyola
2 - That Lyons Twp is really that good
3 - That the FVC is just wildly entertaining
4 - That LZ and Warren are in an elimination game
5 - That Maine East just might make the playoffs.
6 - That Neuqua Valley has gone missing
7 - That Fenwick and DePaul Prep are making good teams look not good.
8 - That regardless of the opponent, it’s nice to see Joliet Central get the dub
9 - That the field entrance at Wilmington is about the best I’ve seen.
10 - That just when we thought we knew and had learned all we needed to know about the MSL, we didn’t know nothin

That’s all for now kids.

Perusing the IHSA open date list https://www.ihsa.org/Schools/Open-Dates

Week 2 opening request from LWE and Loyola

1st ever regular season matchup? Not sure if it's happened before

Play in late August, great weather...would be a massive turnout I'm sure for fans

Make it happen!

What is this and what is he talking about?

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