Another weekly features I've started for today....obviously not a ton of team news these days in the middle of winter but thought I would provide some variopus thoughts/insights on various teams here weekly.
Feel free to add your thoughts etc here as well.
Teams With Something to Prove in 2022
East St.Louis- The Flyers are coming off a 2021 Class 6A state runner up season...and while that might sound nice for several other schools and football programs....anything not a state title doesn't work for the East Siders. Look for the Flyers to once again have a stacked roster (12 starters back from 2021 including 8 back on offense) and they will be everyone's favorite with a roster also stacked with major D1 dudes (2023 OL Miles McVay/2023 OL Paris Patterson/2024 QB Pops Battle/2025 RB Taryan Martin and 2023 WR Ryan Boyd just to name a few). Yet the goal is always winning at minimum a state football title for East St Louis regardless of the schedule. Can the Flyers get past the handful of power running teams in 6A (Cary Grove/Prairie Ridge to name a few)? Still lots of questions here for the East Side this off season for sure.
Bonus: Is it just me or why haven't very many fans at least addressed the possibility of the 2021 Flyers being a bit overrated last season? Sure, the regular season schedule was strong with losses to nationally ranked powers IMG Academy and St. John Bosco.....and I felt the Flyers rankings reflected and respected the schedule strength....but the Flyers also rolled thru a not very good Southwestern conference slate in 2021 and really didn't get challenged in 6A until the state title game...and the Flyers again were beaten by a team that uses a power option run game (go back and see the Flyers playoff losses over the years and who they lost to) and is proving that the Flyers are vulnerable here. No question Cary Grove played a great 6A state title game...and sure I get people rankings them as the overall #1 team (which I still disagree with FYI) but it's pretty interesting how really NO ONE really questioned the Flyers in 2021.
Montini Catholic- The Broncos had some talent, had some real positives in 2021 but the team just was never able to put things together and had zero consistency and posted a rare losing season (3-6 in 2021). I don't expect to see that happen again in 2022 and the Broncos welcome back 17 starters for 2022. FYI Montini is slated to play in Class 3A in 2022.
Providence Catholic- The Celtics welcome in a new head coach in former Providence alum Tyler Plantz who will be asked to reload and rebuild a very proud football program. Plantz comes over from the college side and will need to get kids back into the building and excited again about Celtics football coming off a 3-6 season in 2021. Seeing nearby schools such as JCA, Lockport, Lemont, the Lincoln Ways and others having a strong year in 2021 will not make things any easier for Plantz in trying to land fresh faces into the building right away.
Wheaton St. Francis- The Spartans and head coach Bob McMillen have run into some bad late season luck over the past few years...including losing a handful of key names due to injury last post-season as well as in the 2019 post-season. The Spartans have a stacked roster, a very strong coaching staff and one of these days they will catch a break or two and will make a big run and will challenge for a state title. That can happen in my opinion as soon as 2022.
St. Ignatius The Wolfpack and head coach Matt Martin had a memorable 2021 season, stunning Mount Carmel 27-0 in Week 5 along with posting an 8-0 record. St. Ignatius however lost two out of it's final three games and was knocked out of the 6A second round to Crete-Monee to end the 2021 season. Can the Wolfpack have staying power in 2022?
Stevenson- The Patriots had been a power and a key mainstay program in the North Suburban conference for decades....yet the last handful of years has not been good for Stevenson (9-15 record) and in my opinion not good for the North Suburban conference either. Stevenson always has numbers and always seems to have some talent....yet to be fair I also see/notice where the higher level talented kids just hasn't been on the roster over the past few seasons at Stevenson. The stronger the Patriots program the stronger I feel the North Suburban Conference will be....and can 2022 see a reversal of fortune for the better for head coach Brent Becker and his staff? Fingers crossed here.
Lockport- The Porters are coming off a state title and pretty much a dream scenario in 2021 winning the Class 8A IHSA state football title. The 2022 Porters you ask? Lockport welcomes back just one returning starter on each side of the football, so this will be an inexperienced team to start the season. Yes, head coach George Czart and staff has this program clicking, the overall numbers and talent level has never been stronger. I'm looking at Lockport to be a challenger for a conference title and also to be one of the better teams in Class 8A.....but it can also look not so pretty especially early on in the 2022 season as this lineup gets it'a sea legs under them this fall.
South Elgin- I had a chance to see the Storm this past playoffs....well....playing in a storm in a win over Edwardsville in Round 1. South Elgin head coach Dragan Teonic has this program headed in the right direction, the Storm has talent and has developed more depth and overall numbers. No question the conference (Upstate 8) isn't great and the Storm will continue to wear that conference rep with them....yet this program I feel has never been closer to a bigger move up and winning say a handful of 8A playoff games sooner rather than later.
Next: 5 Conferences with Something to Prove in 2022
Feel free to add your thoughts etc here as well.
Teams With Something to Prove in 2022
East St.Louis- The Flyers are coming off a 2021 Class 6A state runner up season...and while that might sound nice for several other schools and football programs....anything not a state title doesn't work for the East Siders. Look for the Flyers to once again have a stacked roster (12 starters back from 2021 including 8 back on offense) and they will be everyone's favorite with a roster also stacked with major D1 dudes (2023 OL Miles McVay/2023 OL Paris Patterson/2024 QB Pops Battle/2025 RB Taryan Martin and 2023 WR Ryan Boyd just to name a few). Yet the goal is always winning at minimum a state football title for East St Louis regardless of the schedule. Can the Flyers get past the handful of power running teams in 6A (Cary Grove/Prairie Ridge to name a few)? Still lots of questions here for the East Side this off season for sure.
Bonus: Is it just me or why haven't very many fans at least addressed the possibility of the 2021 Flyers being a bit overrated last season? Sure, the regular season schedule was strong with losses to nationally ranked powers IMG Academy and St. John Bosco.....and I felt the Flyers rankings reflected and respected the schedule strength....but the Flyers also rolled thru a not very good Southwestern conference slate in 2021 and really didn't get challenged in 6A until the state title game...and the Flyers again were beaten by a team that uses a power option run game (go back and see the Flyers playoff losses over the years and who they lost to) and is proving that the Flyers are vulnerable here. No question Cary Grove played a great 6A state title game...and sure I get people rankings them as the overall #1 team (which I still disagree with FYI) but it's pretty interesting how really NO ONE really questioned the Flyers in 2021.
Montini Catholic- The Broncos had some talent, had some real positives in 2021 but the team just was never able to put things together and had zero consistency and posted a rare losing season (3-6 in 2021). I don't expect to see that happen again in 2022 and the Broncos welcome back 17 starters for 2022. FYI Montini is slated to play in Class 3A in 2022.
Providence Catholic- The Celtics welcome in a new head coach in former Providence alum Tyler Plantz who will be asked to reload and rebuild a very proud football program. Plantz comes over from the college side and will need to get kids back into the building and excited again about Celtics football coming off a 3-6 season in 2021. Seeing nearby schools such as JCA, Lockport, Lemont, the Lincoln Ways and others having a strong year in 2021 will not make things any easier for Plantz in trying to land fresh faces into the building right away.
Wheaton St. Francis- The Spartans and head coach Bob McMillen have run into some bad late season luck over the past few years...including losing a handful of key names due to injury last post-season as well as in the 2019 post-season. The Spartans have a stacked roster, a very strong coaching staff and one of these days they will catch a break or two and will make a big run and will challenge for a state title. That can happen in my opinion as soon as 2022.
St. Ignatius The Wolfpack and head coach Matt Martin had a memorable 2021 season, stunning Mount Carmel 27-0 in Week 5 along with posting an 8-0 record. St. Ignatius however lost two out of it's final three games and was knocked out of the 6A second round to Crete-Monee to end the 2021 season. Can the Wolfpack have staying power in 2022?
Stevenson- The Patriots had been a power and a key mainstay program in the North Suburban conference for decades....yet the last handful of years has not been good for Stevenson (9-15 record) and in my opinion not good for the North Suburban conference either. Stevenson always has numbers and always seems to have some talent....yet to be fair I also see/notice where the higher level talented kids just hasn't been on the roster over the past few seasons at Stevenson. The stronger the Patriots program the stronger I feel the North Suburban Conference will be....and can 2022 see a reversal of fortune for the better for head coach Brent Becker and his staff? Fingers crossed here.
Lockport- The Porters are coming off a state title and pretty much a dream scenario in 2021 winning the Class 8A IHSA state football title. The 2022 Porters you ask? Lockport welcomes back just one returning starter on each side of the football, so this will be an inexperienced team to start the season. Yes, head coach George Czart and staff has this program clicking, the overall numbers and talent level has never been stronger. I'm looking at Lockport to be a challenger for a conference title and also to be one of the better teams in Class 8A.....but it can also look not so pretty especially early on in the 2022 season as this lineup gets it'a sea legs under them this fall.
South Elgin- I had a chance to see the Storm this past playoffs....well....playing in a storm in a win over Edwardsville in Round 1. South Elgin head coach Dragan Teonic has this program headed in the right direction, the Storm has talent and has developed more depth and overall numbers. No question the conference (Upstate 8) isn't great and the Storm will continue to wear that conference rep with them....yet this program I feel has never been closer to a bigger move up and winning say a handful of 8A playoff games sooner rather than later.
Next: 5 Conferences with Something to Prove in 2022
