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.
7a teams to beat in ‘18
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I had a dream I was at Gately week 2 watching MC warm up before Maine South game last week.
Batavia be fine. Very strong sophomore group coming in, they made the scout teams much better for the playoff run. Defense will have the right pieces. Our offensive playbook is dynamic enough to adjust to what we have with new personal.
Stay healthy throughout the season in one of the best conferences, top to bottom, next season and see where we fall for the playoffs. We’ll be on that 6A/7A border again.
Stay healthy throughout the season in one of the best conferences, top to bottom, next season and see where we fall for the playoffs. We’ll be on that 6A/7A border again.
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?
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?
Benet brings back QB, most of their stable of RBs, and 2 on OL. All top WRs graduated, so will need to rebuild there. Sophomores on OL have good size coming up.
On defense, 3 on DL, 1 LB, and 2 DBs are all back. A starting junior LB from last season transferred back to California which will hurt.
Has the building blocks of a good team. St. Laurence opener is big. You don't want a loss in non-conference with Naz, Marist, ND, and an improved JCA that you only beat by 3 staring you in the face.
On defense, 3 on DL, 1 LB, and 2 DBs are all back. A starting junior LB from last season transferred back to California which will hurt.
Has the building blocks of a good team. St. Laurence opener is big. You don't want a loss in non-conference with Naz, Marist, ND, and an improved JCA that you only beat by 3 staring you in the face.
Lake Zurich will return 10 starters and 5 contributors from the state team last year (most of them on defense). They will most likely be replacing Sanborn with... wait fot it... a younger Sanborn. As a freshman he saw a ton of time during the playoff run leading up to state. LZ will be fast as usual and looks to be sending another LB to the D1 college ranks. LM will have a ton of athletes to pick from on the offensive side. They will have a lot of size at the WR position and a group of dual threat QBs in the program.
Don't sleep on: SCN and St. Rita
How will NAZ fit into the 7a landscape?
Don't sleep on: SCN and St. Rita
How will NAZ fit into the 7a landscape?
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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.
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.
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 think the Mustangs from Rita can be very good next year. I am not sure if they're in the Top Five, but I think a Top Ten in 7A (maybe in the 7 - 10 range) would be plausible at this point.
Anybody in the know from Rita's perspective willing to chime in here to confirm or deny my statement?
Off the top of my head: ESL, LZ, GW-Eddieville (borderline 7/8A), Naz, MC, Batavia, SCN, LWC and Benet.
Anybody in the know from Rita's perspective willing to chime in here to confirm or deny my statement?
Off the top of my head: ESL, LZ, GW-Eddieville (borderline 7/8A), Naz, MC, Batavia, SCN, LWC and Benet.
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.
-Marist is a very good team as of late
-Benet has been a constant in 7a but can’t get over the hump.
...... 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?
Well loyola, ms, beast will not be a concern for them as they aren't playing 8a. Benet was semi finalist in 7a same season they lost to Naz. Beyond that it's speculation and that's why they play the games.
Your comments are doing something I thought was pretty much impossible....motivating me to root for Naz to win 7A.
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?
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?"
Yah, but most of the time it does. Ill take the team with the most talent every time. Do you think the staff at JCA just forgot how to coach the last two years? Its about talent. Naz was a mediocre program until they got the players.
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.
Totally agree. The bottom bracket was stacked too: Normal, PN, LZ, MC, East Side, Rita, SCN
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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.
They may one of the teams to beat in the public league, but I would not consider them a team to beat in 7A
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.
Pretty spot on analysis..... hard for Maine West to compete with the demographics and resources of the private schools in that case.... I think Maine West will be able to hold their own a lot better with another year of experience under their belts at this level of football. Growing a program takes years to get the buy-in of the kids, parents, faculty, and the entire community.... looks as if they are on the right path and another playoff appearance (and getting a W in the first round) would go a long way.
Which game did you see them play in person?
The good thing is we will no longer have to speculate about what Naz will do since they'll be in the class. You guys know me, I'll take the team with the players 99% of the time, but I'm not talking about the team with a few FBS guys, I mean the team with the 22 legit football players.
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