CCL Fresh/Soph Scores (Week 3)

Looks like CG and PR are on another level compared to the other teams in the conference this year. CG and PR looking good so far.

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Com 27 Providence 24

Some interesting results to say the least

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High school football Friday night will harken back to autumn evenings past, when Belleville’s three high school teams squared off annually for city bragging rights at historical Township Stadium.

Two of those local schools will renew an old rivalry back at the place where the likes Rusty Lisch and Hickey Thompson made themselves local legends. It’s been 29 years since the Lancers and Crusaders last faced each other on the gridiron.

The city championship series came to an end when Edwardsville joined East and Belleville West in the Southwestern Conference in 1996. Althoff’s three-time state champion coach Glenn Schott said the addition forced a scheduling change that would pit his Crusaders against the Lancers and Maroons on consecutive weeks and leave his players battered and bruised for competition against programs their own size. So in 1997, Althoff dropped East from the schedule.

The intra-city matchup between Belleville West and Althoff continued annually until 2013. West won the final game between the two schools 53-20 in 2013. Any reboot of the traditional rivalry game won’t happen for at least four more seasons – if at all – because West’s schedule is set through 2027, according to Athletic Director Joe Muniz.

(I SAW THE WEST PRINCIPAL AT STL BREAD CO AND I ASKED ABOUT THE CHANCES OF THEM PLAYING AGAIN - HE SAID NOT FOR A LONG TIME!)

Township Stadium has undergone a major overhaul which was initiated when Lindenwood University moved into the former West campus. In 2012, the university invested $2.3 million in revamping the old facility, an Art Deco-style concrete stadium built by President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.

The heavily “turtle-backed” playing field, which encouraged water drainage but made seeing from one sideline to the other difficult, also was leveled.

Just walked in the door will have video highlights and photos later this AM

I'm off to a tough start on the hunt for Upsets this year, but that all changes tonight. This week we'll go out to the West Suburban Silver for a conference schedule opening battle. This week's upset is...... The 0-2 Hilltoppers of Glenbard West over the undefeated #7 ranked Trojans of Downers Grove North. The Hitters are winless so far,but they've played 2 monsters in Batavia and Loyola. Their problem has been defense, which is usually their strong point. DGN on the other hand has not given up a point yet this year. However, they haven't been close to tested. The Hitters are not O'Fallon or DGS. I like visiting Glenbard West tonight. Final score Hitters 28 - DGN 21. That's this week's upset. What are your thoughts and who is your upset?

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Aiden Clark has another big game with 3 TDs ..QB Sabastian Hayes hooked up with DeShaun Williams on a 36 yd TD pass....Gavin Ellison kicked a 31 yd FG ....Andrew QB Drew Silvia made some nice passes to Dionte Thigpen to move the T-Bolts down the field on two scoring drives in the second half.Camden Maniatis had a 7 yd TD run.
The Redhawks move to 3-0 and will host Stagg next week. Andrew drops to 1-2 and returns home next Friday to host Metea Valley.

DGN balanced and fast. GW has no answer. They’ll be lucky to get 5 wins. Edit: it’s hard to see them getting to 5 on further review. We’ll see.

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I’m either blind or didn’t see a thread

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End of Q1. Griffins 35. Chargers 0 . Not surprising. Waiting for halftime show with the band.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfT1cvjTvfpnUz0K8yrBkSA


Note: this is also the link to all upcoming home, regular season Mt Carmel games - including sophs

Week 2, games that differed greatly from predicted outcome based on Massey formula (note, I use the ratings pre-game, not the ones *current* ones which are updates based on those games):

Start of conference play, and all games have pretty clear favorites.

Wilmo @ Lisle
Lisle has been really struggling and it sounds like they have little depth and are very young. Wilmo big. 46-6

Coal City @ Streator
Streator new staff looks to establish an identity, but they got rolled pretty good by Ottawa. Coal City will take care of business here. 35-6

Reed-Custer @ Peotone
Peotone had what looked like an impressive and certainly convincing win up at Marengo. R-C will provide little resistance. 42-7

Manteno @ Herscher
Both teams coming off nice wins. Maybe Herscher has bottomed out and is now turning the corner, but Manteno is a clear favorite here. 42-20

Not going to get excited with this matchup but the complete LW210 marching band is rumored to be attending this one. (Combined LWC/LWW/LWE ) A tribute hopefully for a past director who passed this last week. Sorry with the lack of enthusiasm on the football side. Go Griffins!

Each week I will prepare the Underclassmen Report which is a look at which underclassmen names I saw in person at each game I cover this season. This week I take a deeper look into some of the better underclassmen names for Joliet Catholic, Oswego, Homewood Flossmoor and Marian Catholic

Joliet Catholic Academy Hilltoppers

QB Lucas Simulick 5-foot-11, 175 pounds 2026- Multi sport athlete who has some speed and twitch. Did not have a great day here in this loss to Oswego but has the ability and potemntial to develop into a very good high school quarterback over the next two seasons.

LB/DE Kingston Dunagan 6-foot-0, 220 pounds 2026 - Interesting looking athlete here who could wind up playing a few different positions at the next level. Dunagan is already advanced physically and has impressive strength and power coming off the edge. Dunagan also has some explosiveness and flashed that mix of power and speed here at times. I'm really interested in seeing more on film from Dunagan the remainder of the season. In my mind for now he's a tweener positionally and I can see him playing say ILB and also OLB depending upon his testing times.

DL Ian Campbell 6-foot-3 230 pounds 2026 Yet another good sized and strong kid here who also knows where Rudys Gym is located. Was impressed as well with Campbell's first step quickness and his hand usage in his pass rush bag of tricks. Look to be a kid who will also get bigger and stronger down the line and a name to watch for sure.

DE Adonis Hicks 6-foot-1, 185 pounds 2026 Looks a bit undersized to play as a full time defensive end but in my mind can easily play as a hybrid DE/OLB type. Has good frame and length and has ther potential to add more good weight and strength down the line. Has a very good nose for the football and I'll be watching his video this remaining season.

LB Derrick Pomatto 5-foot-11, 215 pounds 2027- Young guy and a name to watch here over the next season or two. I will definitely dig more into Pomatto over the remainder of the season and the winter.

S Parker Mores 6-foot-1, 185 pounds 2026 Good sized kid who looked comfortable in both run nsuppoort along with in pass defense. Moves pretty well in the open field and has soem upside. Another name I'll look at closer once he has move in game video available.

Oswego Panthers (note: Oswego game roster did not include heights/weights)

WR Teddy Manikas 2026 (Listed in Hudl at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds) Very solid all around receiver who is also an effective slot back and wing in the Panthers offense this season. Has good hands and runs good routes. Shows no fear going over the middle and plays with a high motor at all times. Manikas is just a hard nose kid and player who will get the football in to his hands a toon thus season for the Panthers.

DB Mariano Velasko 2026

Marian Catholic Spartans

RB Kyle Scott 6-foot-0, 173 pounds 2026 Showed some ability running the football here. I will need to see morte video this fall and winter but Scott is a name on my radar screen.

OL/DL Jonathan Dortch 6-foot-1, 295 pounds 2026 One of the bigger and stronger inside linemen for the Spartans this season. Could develop into an interior defendive tackle and had good strength and moved devent for a bigger kid here. Another name to watch over the next year plus.

OL/DL Sylvester Wilson 5-foot-9, 238 pounds 2026 Undersized for the next level....but his motor was 100 percent at all times and he just kept battling. Could wind up developing into a really nice higher level D2 or D3 DT or OC down the line.

DL Gavin Neal 6-foot-2, 256 pounds) 2026 Easily the best looking "on the hoof" prospect for Marian Catholic in it's underclassmen group. Has good size and strength and a frame thjat will also allow Neal to add more strength and power down the line. Could use to get a bit quicker and more explosive and once that happens this kid could become a name on the rise. Has potential FCS/D2 ability in my opinion.

DB Braxton Henry 6-foot-1, 184 pounds 2026 Has nice size, runs pretty well and also seemesd to have a good nose for the football as well as strong instincts. Looked pretty fluid in pass coverage, could flip hisd hips, plant and explode out pretty naturally. Need to see more video from this season but another name here that has a chance to play on Saturdays.

LB Roosevelt Griffin 5-foot-11, 183 pounds 2027 Young guy who made a handful of nice plays in this loss to H-F. Again this is another name I'll need to re-evalute at the end of the season.

Homewood Flossmoor Vikings

WR Myles Ellis 5-foot-9, 150 pounds 2026 Quick twitch and speedy receiver who showed really good hands, can start and stop on a dime and also was just fearless over the middle. Ellis is already holding a few early offers and I can see him as a really nice slot receiver type in the 2026 class.

OL Kellen Gamble 6-foot-4, 270 pounds 2026 Big, strong kid with the frame that will allow him to add much more good weight and muscle. Moves pretty decent but also can improve his overall feet/hands and footwork. Looks to be much more comfortable playing down in and down out compared to his sophomore season on varsity. Lots of upside here and has the potential,to become a higher D1 name to watch with more impressive tape his fall.

OL Kyle Bryant 6-foot-2, 290 pounds 2026 Great sized interiot OL here who is already advanced physically. Bryant moved pretty well. understands leverage and bend and is just a locked on blocker om the Vikings interior. Excited to see his remaining season video and his progression this fall.

LB Khamryn Beaver 6-foot-2, 220 pounds 2026- No question Beaver already passes the eyeball test. and his size and overall straight line speed is evident in his play. Beaver will need to continue to refine his game/reads and be better at anticiparting plays but his overall raw physical ability and potential is also evident. This is another name who college coaches will watch this fall pretty closely.

LB Tyreese Whitcomb 6-foot-1, 200 pounds 2026 Long and lanky athlete her who also has the frame that will allow him to add more weight and muscle over the next year plus. His raw physical tools will no question get Whitcomb on several early college radar screens as well as my own radar. Still need to see more on film this fall.

DB Camren McCellan 5-foot-11, 155 pounds 2026 A transfer in from Marian Catholic who has good length and was a locked on defender in pass coverage in this win. I'm goign to look hard at his mid season video and this is another H-F player with some athletic skills and upside,.

They got smashed 56-6 by HF, how can they be that bad. HF was 5-5 last year so it’s not like they were some super elite team.

A reminder...these stories are from the Daily Herald and the focus is on the Daily Herald area schools and players.

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Daily Herald: Undefeated football teams led by Player of the Year candidates​