Who is looking like the powers in 7a? What are Batavia, Lake Zurich, Mt Carmel and Benet bringing back? Who else looks to be elevating their game in ‘18? Any borderline 7a/8a schools to watch? Trying to educate myself on yet another new class.
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I had a dream I was at Gately week 2 watching MC warm up before Maine South game last week.MC has 6 on offense and 6 on defense. QB is returning, 1,000 yard rusher in Kyle Davis, D-1 prospect Mendiola on line. New offense though so stay tuned....Defense had 2 Linemen, 1 LB, 3 DB's.
WR's and TE, but they were seldom used with the veer and 80% of the passes were to Thomas last season. They are talented though, especially the TE, curious to see how they do with more passes expected this year.How could I forget ESL? When I made this thread I told myself that was the one team outside semi finalist I wanted to name. Oh well. Is GBW close to the border still? They could obviously pose some problems for people.
I expect Mt Carmel to actually do well for the new coach. Nothing against Frank but kids tend to rally around each other in these situations and the cupboard is not bare! Whether Lynch can sustain success will be the telltale sign for me. Not sure what he’ll run on O but I expect a more imaginative offense even if it’s rooted in the veer. McCaravan what positions are the other 3 returners on O?
East St. Louis might have the best 2020 class in the stateGotta include the St Charles schools here along with East St Louis, plus Edwardsville a border 7A/8A I believe lots of others as well those are just a few off the top of my head
Naz should be pretty good but who knows if they can hold up to the wear and tear of their schedule and 7a in top of it. They scheduled very aggressively but as a small school you worry about them losing guys to injury, it impacts a school of 750 way more than it does a school of 2,000+, excited for the new class and matchups though. Naz returns quite a bit from their ‘17 squad, some more informed posters may correct me but here is who I think is a returning starter after rewatching state game.
RB- Devin Blakley
WR- Michael Love
WR- Diamond Evans
WR- David Oglesby
LT- Matt Keeler
RG- Louis Stec
RT- Elijah Moscinski
DE- Nathan Lugo
DE- Cameron Leach
DT- Marcus Griffin
LB- Riley Theobald
CB- Diamond Evans
CB- David Oglesby
S- Jermaine Baker
S- Michael Love/Alex Carrillo (split time on D)
S- Devin Blakley/Breven Reifsteck (split time on D)
The question marks are at the QB position as two SR starters are exciting, the other two OL spots as OL is always a tough spot for smaller schools and replacing defensive all state kids on DT Isaiah Lee and LB Wesley Lones.
I’m not as tuned in as some of the other guys but o would think that’s a state championship caliber team if they can plug those holes and stay healthy.
I wish we played in a conference with major 7A and 8A programs.On the surface they look loaded with talent but how they adjust to coaching/play style of the major 7A programs in the playoffs will be a test. I know we all love Superman (respect) and PR (respect) but their defense was not in the same league as Batavia, Lake Zurich and MC (three of the best defensive coaching staffs in 7A).
I guess we will know after week 2.
I wish we played in a conference with major 7A and 8A programs.
On the surface they look loaded with talent but how they adjust to coaching/play style of the major 7A programs in the playoffs will be a test. I know we all love Superman (respect) and PR (respect) but their defense was not in the same league as Batavia, Lake Zurich and MC (three of the best defensive coaching staffs in 7A).
I guess we will know after week 2.
Why? Where are you going to find a better fit for Naz?I wish we played in a conference with major 7A and 8A programs.
Why? Where are you going to find a better fit for Naz?
...... it was a rhetorical, smart ass reply. Someone asked how Naz may be able to handle bigger schools... this reply was referencing: marist, Benet, and the other 7/8a teams in the conference. Indicating they are used to playing larger competition.
True. They are larger by comparison, but Marist is not Loyola, MS or Beast and Benet is not East Side, LZ or MC. If I recall they got shut out 42-0 against Marist. It’s a different ball game after the quarterfinals in 7a and 8a.
The question was, how will they fair against the usual suspects? Not just 7a/8a teams in general.
What does Naz do that will be a challenge for other teams in 7a?
True. They are larger by comparison, but Marist is not Loyola, MS or Beast and Benet is not East Side, LZ or MC. If I recall they got shut out 42-0 against Marist. It’s a different ball game after the quarterfinals in 7a and 8a.
The question was, how will they fair against the usual suspects? Not just 7a/8a teams in general.
What does Naz do that will be a challenge for other teams in 7a?
Your comments are doing something I thought was pretty much impossible....motivating me to root for Naz to win 7A.True. They are larger by comparison, but Marist is not Loyola, MS or Beast and Benet is not East Side, LZ or MC. If I recall they got shut out 42-0 against Marist. It’s a different ball game after the quarterfinals in 7a and 8a.
The question was, how will they fair against the usual suspects? Not just 7a/8a teams in general.
What does Naz do that will be a challenge for other teams in 7a?
Someone more familiar with Naz' schemes would have to answer the specifics of their playbook. I would just say whatever schemes or program perspective they are using has been pretty effective. I would believe they can continue their trend because they have really good players and a "scheme" and coaching staff that has been very successful in recent history.Yes, as stated previously I have recognized the talent they have. D1 talent does not always translate to trophies.
What do they do from a scheme or program perspective that makes people believe they can continue the trend of state title appearances? How are they different?
Yes, as stated previously I have recognized the talent they have. D1 talent does not always translate to trophies.
What do they do from a scheme or program perspective that makes people believe they can continue the trend of state title appearances? How are they different?
Someone more familiar with Naz' schemes would have to answer the specifics of their playbook. I would just say whatever schemes or program perspective they are using has been pretty effective. I would believe they can continue their trend because they have really good players and a "scheme" and coaching staff that has been very successful in recent history.
I think the real question is, "Why would people think they aren't going to be successful moving forward?"
I don’t know if they won’t be successful moving forward but it will be a hell of a lot harder. Last year they would have been slotted right in the 4/5 range in 7A.
The 4 seed Batavia played GBN, WN, LWC, Benet and LZ
The 5 seed was Lincoln Park who lost to Alton in the first round but the next round was LWW then Batavia.
The days of getting basically getting a bye until the quarter finals are gone.
dNaz should do just fine in 7A. They were on par with Batavia and a much better than Maine West, Rockton, and LWC. You never know how brackets will turnout but their talent and coaching will make them a force in their new class.
d
Did you see MW play in person last year?
You might be surprised at how good Maine West was last year, and how much better they will be this year. Lost to a very good Benet team in the first round last year, but it wasn't a complete walkover by any means.
This year they return their entire offensive line, 7 All-Conference first team members, and have a good group of sophomores ready to step up. 3-4 kids that can and will play at the next level, with a couple of FCS kids if they want to keep pushing hard.
Will be a fun season in Des Plaines again and you can expect them to keep building the program and tradition moving forward.
Simeon
I did see Maine West in person once and Naz in person twice. I am not taking anything away from Maine West, but Naz would have handled them pretty easy. Benet won by three TDs and the margin during the game was comfortable enough that every kid on the Benet roster got into the game. Maine West's has smaller lines that could not hold up against Benet, Naz is even more physical on the lines and has more speed in the skill positions.d
Did you see MW play in person last year?
You might be surprised at how good Maine West was last year, and how much better they will be this year. Lost to a very good Benet team in the first round last year, but it wasn't a complete walkover by any means.
This year they return their entire offensive line, 7 All-Conference first team members, and have a good group of sophomores ready to step up. 3-4 kids that can and will play at the next level, with a couple of FCS kids if they want to keep pushing hard.
Will be a fun season in Des Plaines again and you can expect them to keep building the program and tradition moving forward.
I did see Maine West in person once and Naz in person twice. I am not taking anything away from Maine West, but Naz would have handled them pretty easy. Benet won by three TDs and the margin during the game was comfortable enough that every kid on the Benet roster got into the game. Maine West's has smaller lines that could not hold up against Benet, Naz is even more physical on the lines and has more speed in the skill positions.
Not sure what you mean.The good thing is we will no longer have to speculate about what Naz will do since they'll be in the class.