2023 Preseason Top Twenty

[EdgyTim]

CPL 2023 TOP 10

1. Kenwood
2. Morgan Park
3. Simeon
4. Taft
5. Phillips
6. Lane
7. Westinghouse
8. Payton
9. Amundsen
10. Perspectives

Ok here's a hot take.....I need to see it on the field from Kenwood before I rank them over MP and Simeon....Kenwood has a ton of talent back but both MP and Simeon are still pretty strong and I think people might be sleeping especially on MP....then again I'm an admitted huge fan of Chris James so maybe I'm a bit biased....we'll see excited for the CPL top schools this fall.

 

[Coach Percy]

Ok here's a hot take.....I need to see it on the field from Kenwood before I rank them over MP and Simeon....Kenwood has a ton of talent back but both MP and Simeon are still pretty strong and I think people might be sleeping especially on MP....then again I'm an admitted huge fan of Chris James so maybe I'm a bit biased....we'll see excited for the CPL top schools this fall.

I get it but I'm a firm believer that Kenwood has the best coaching staff in the city. But we will see on the field this year.

 

[McCaravan]

CPL 2023 TOP 10

1. Kenwood
2. Morgan Park
3. Simeon
4. Taft
5. Phillips
6. Lane
7. Westinghouse
8. Payton
9. Amundsen
10. Perspectives

What ever happened to Hubbard?

 

[Coach Percy]

I think the former coaching staff is gone

What ever happened to Hubbard?

 

[mc140]

What ever happened to Hubbard?

The players they used to get started going to Phillips. They slowly detioriated after that. Elton was at TFN last year as OC.

 

[Cross Bones]

One of the hardest hitting games I ever saw was Rita vs Hubbard at Soldier Field for the preseason prep bowl. Rita was what you expect from a Blue team, but Hubbard was out there with bad intentions. Low scoring affair Rita won if I remember correctly.

 

[McCaravan]

The players they used to get started going to Phillips. They slowly detioriated after that. Elton was at TFN last year as OC.

Looks like those players are now going to Kenwood too.

 

[DadCoachSports]

I can agree with you regarding the ill-advised penalties that have jumped up and bitten the Blue Devils in recent years.
That said, there is, I believe, zero reason to believe that that Blue Devils will NOT be the dominant football team in Lake County in 2023. The changing demographics feeding into Stevenson High I suspect are changing that program which is the only other 8A program in the county that is meaningful in football.
Warren's school district is geographically huge, and there are opportunities to move into the district that do not cost two arms and two legs, which means many parents with a talented middle-school-age football player can move into the Warren district at a lower cost than, let's say, moving to Lake Forest or Libertyville or Stevenson or Highland Park or Deerfield, etc.
So, as of now and I suspect into the future, Warren can be a so-called collector school for talented young football players in Lake County. There is nothing illegal about that and Warren does not have to recruit talented players. It's a destination school for talented football players.
When you add to that the thought that the varsity head coach is really, really good and that the school's academic reputation is not in the dumpster, and you have a situation where recruiting doesn't have to be done by Warren.
I predict that if you are in the stands watching an eighth-grade heavyweight division football game in the county and you see a kid on a team that is really really good, that while that kid may not currently live in the Warren High School district, that parents of other kids in the stands would tell that star kid's parents that they really need to move to Warren so the kid will get maximum coaching and maximum exposure to colleges.
For top-end young football players in the county, I suspect that Warren is the destination school. Can they win a state title? Reality says the school has yet to develop a Division 1-calibre passing QB which in today's world, is a negative.
I actually thought that when the kid who is currently a QB at the University of Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference transferred from Carmel to his home city of Antioch, that an opportunity for Warren to win a state title had eluded them. The kid went to Antioch and developed his many skills, but the team was never a state-title threat in his three years there. At Warren, it might have been different. But who knows?

I can agree with you that Warren might be the best option for lower income families in Lake County but it is not a destination. With the crime that is currently going on in Zion, Waukegan and North Chicago it is certainly leaking into Gurnee.

With that said I feel Carmel is going to start making some noise and they will start to get some of the talent from Lake County that they have not gotten in the last decade.

North Suburban Rankings for 2023
1. Warren
2. Libertyville
3. Stevenson
4. Lake Zurich
5. Lake Forest
6. Mundelein
7. Zion
8. Waukegan

 

[pjjp]

With that said I feel Carmel is going to start making some noise and they will start to get some of the talent from Lake County that they have not gotten in the last decade.

Hasn't McKie already started making noise in acquiring higher end talent? Seems as if Carmel has been on a climb, since he was hired. I'll be interested to see if they take the next step this year.

 

[CCHS-Fan]

Arrow.
Pointing.
Up.

They have turned the corner.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

I get it but I'm a firm believer that Kenwood has the best coaching staff in the city. But we will see on the field this year.

Coach,

So, Kenwood at Rita would be a pick 'em? I honestly don't know much about KW.

 

[Cross Bones]

Coach,

So, Kenwood at Rita would be a pick 'em? I honestly don't know much about KW.

Too early to be sandbagging, WM.

 

[Spankwagon]

June has arrived and so has this poster's preseason top 20 teams.

1. Mount Carmel (The state's best in back-to-back seasons.)
2. Lincoln-Way East (Reasserts itself as 8A's best after just missing last year)
3. East St. Louis (Looking forward to the showdown with Mt. Carmel)
4. Loyola (New coach and new quarterback means a slight drop in the rankings.)
5. Nazareth (A young team has grown up.)
6. Batavia (This program seems to be its best when expectations are not too high.)
7. Marist (Just a very solid 8A program)
8. Cary-Grove (Looking for a huge rebound)
9. Maine South (Controversy makes them tougher) [Bolingbrook sure seemed scared.]
10. Prairie Ridge (This program never falls too far.)
11. Brother Rice (The transition to a new coach wasn't too rocky... at least in year one.)
12. St. Rita (A new coach, but there never seems to be much separation between St. Rita and Brother Rice)
13. York (A top-notch coach equals a top-notch team.)
14. Glenbard West (If not York, then Glenbard West wins the West Suburban Silver.)
15. Lockport (Perhaps ranked too high here)
16. Joliet Catholic (Same thing... perhaps too high here)
17. Wheaton North (The DuKane League is strong.)
18. Prospect (Has excellent prospects)
19. Lake Zurich (Either they or Warren deserve recognition here.)
20. Crete-Monee (Always seems to be hanging around on the fringe of the top twenty)

Rochester, Byron, and Lena-Winslow deserve special mention as the only programs in the state to reach the semifinals in each of the last five playoffs. IC Catholic's three championships in the last five playoffs is exceeded only by Lena-Winslow's four.

You forgot Lyons. I'm not a fan but they deserve a place this year pre season.

 

[crusader_of_90]

Interesting nugget: The last three teams to beat Edwardsville last year were East St. Louis (Illinois Class 6A state champion), CBC (Missouri Class 6 state champion - our 8A) and Wilmette Loyola Academy (Illinois Class 8A state champion).

 

[cornerrat]

All.... SHG has scheduled CBC for the next two years (24 & 25) week one in an away and home series. God Save the Queen! Ratsy

 

[Alexander32]

You would know the personnel far better than I would, so I will defer to your judgment. Still, I will provide my thinking.

When evaluating some high school teams in the preseason, it is best to look at the players (returning talent). When evaluating other teams, it is best to look at program history and evaluate the current state of the program in the context of that history. This second set of teams generally does an excellent job of developing players to suit their specific style of play. It is not that the level of talent is irrelevant; but it is not as important. Cary-Grove falls into the second set of teams.

Brad Seaburg has an .813 winning percentage in the 12 seasons he has been head coach. That includes a 28-8 record in the playoffs. That is an outstanding winning percentage, particularly when one considers he must go up against Prairie Ridge every year and deep playoff runs also result in difficult games. Two of his eight playoff losses have been to Prairie Ridge. Cary-Grove has made it to the semifinals five times, the championship game four times, and won the championship two times in Seaburg's 12 seasons. The program is very solid. However, coming off a 3-6 season one must still evaluate the current state of the program.

The 2021 state champions were a senior laden team that meant the following season would likely show regression. I believe the entire starting 11 on offense, and 8 out of the 11 on defense were seniors that 2021 season. Nevertheless, the regression to 3-6 was more severe than I had anticipated. On closer examination though, there were only two games where Cary-Grove seriously underperformed. Those were the games against Jacobs and Hampshire. They were very competitive in the other games. But, now, it is time to look at the historical context.

The two worst seasons (prior to last year) under Seaburg's tenure were 2013 and 2017. In both of those years Cary-Grove had a 6-3 regular season record and lost in the second round of the playoffs. The question, then, is, how did the program respond the following year? In 2014 Cary-Grove went 9-0 during the regular season and lost in the championship game of the playoffs (13-1 overall). In 2018 they went 9-0 during the regular season and won the state championship (14-0 overall). There is at least some evidence suggesting Cary-Grove will bounce back nicely.

Each new season is full of uncertainties and I readily admit there is no guarantee Cary-Grove will have an excellent season. Nonetheless, based on the analysis just given, I am predicting they will have such a season.

greatgig13: Having Cary-Grove ranked 8th in my Preseason Top 20 list doesn't seem too far off the mark at this point in time.

 

[crusader_of_90]

greatgig13: Having Cary-Grove ranked 8th in my Preseason Top 20 list doesn't seem too far off the mark at this point in time.

Receipts!

 

[greatgig13]

greatgig13: Having Cary-Grove ranked 8th in my Preseason Top 20 list doesn't seem too far off the mark at this point in time.

Took a long time to get there but nice call! I didn’t think they’d get this far with the youth but they surprised me.

 

[MC63]

June has arrived and so has this poster's preseason top 20 teams.

1. Mount Carmel (The state's best in back-to-back seasons.)
2. Lincoln-Way East (Reasserts itself as 8A's best after just missing last year)
3. East St. Louis (Looking forward to the showdown with Mt. Carmel)
4. Loyola (New coach and new quarterback means a slight drop in the rankings.)
5. Nazareth (A young team has grown up.)
6. Batavia (This program seems to be its best when expectations are not too high.)
7. Marist (Just a very solid 8A program)
8. Cary-Grove (Looking for a huge rebound)
9. Maine South (Controversy makes them tougher) [Bolingbrook sure seemed scared.]
10. Prairie Ridge (This program never falls too far.)
11. Brother Rice (The transition to a new coach wasn't too rocky... at least in year one.)
12. St. Rita (A new coach, but there never seems to be much separation between St. Rita and Brother Rice)
13. York (A top-notch coach equals a top-notch team.)
14. Glenbard West (If not York, then Glenbard West wins the West Suburban Silver.)
15. Lockport (Perhaps ranked too high here)
16. Joliet Catholic (Same thing... perhaps too high here)
17. Wheaton North (The DuKane League is strong.)
18. Prospect (Has excellent prospects)
19. Lake Zurich (Either they or Warren deserve recognition here.)
20. Crete-Monee (Always seems to be hanging around on the fringe of the top twenty)

Rochester, Byron, and Lena-Winslow deserve special mention as the only programs in the state to reach the semifinals in each of the last five playoffs. IC Catholic's three championships in the last five playoffs is exceeded only by Lena-Winslow's four.

Very well done.

 

[TigerforFlyers]

greatgig13: Having Cary-Grove ranked 8th in my Preseason Top 20 list doesn't seem too far off the mark at this point in time.

@Alexander32 Any insights on the Powerball??? I could use a few extra dollars this time of year…. Lol

 

[USD24]

June has arrived and so has this poster's preseason top 20 teams.

1. Mount Carmel (The state's best in back-to-back seasons.)
2. Lincoln-Way East (Reasserts itself as 8A's best after just missing last year)
3. East St. Louis (Looking forward to the showdown with Mt. Carmel)
4. Loyola (New coach and new quarterback means a slight drop in the rankings.)
5. Nazareth (A young team has grown up.)
6. Batavia (This program seems to be its best when expectations are not too high.)
7. Marist (Just a very solid 8A program)
8. Cary-Grove (Looking for a huge rebound)
9. Maine South (Controversy makes them tougher) [Bolingbrook sure seemed scared.]
10. Prairie Ridge (This program never falls too far.)
11. Brother Rice (The transition to a new coach wasn't too rocky... at least in year one.)
12. St. Rita (A new coach, but there never seems to be much separation between St. Rita and Brother Rice)
13. York (A top-notch coach equals a top-notch team.)
14. Glenbard West (If not York, then Glenbard West wins the West Suburban Silver.)
15. Lockport (Perhaps ranked too high here)
16. Joliet Catholic (Same thing... perhaps too high here)
17. Wheaton North (The DuKane League is strong.)
18. Prospect (Has excellent prospects)
19. Lake Zurich (Either they or Warren deserve recognition here.)
20. Crete-Monee (Always seems to be hanging around on the fringe of the top twenty)

Rochester, Byron, and Lena-Winslow deserve special mention as the only programs in the state to reach the semifinals in each of the last five playoffs. IC Catholic's three championships in the last five playoffs is exceeded only by Lena-Winslow's four.

Well done. Not many misses in there. Biggest miss would have to be Marist.