Bracket Dark Horses (spoilers)

[MMA_Det]

Every year a team with a few losses gells right before the playoffs and makes an incredible run.

Who in your opinion has the potential to be currently under the radar bit with the potential to win state this year.

8A Edwardsville
7A St Charles North
6A Libertyville

 

[Alexander32]

As true dark horses that have at least a small chance of winning a title, I will go with:

1A - LeRoy (Everyone seems to have Althoff and Lena-Winslow ahead of them, so this should qualify.)
2A - Chicago Christian (They have a difficult path and no playoff pedigree, but their only loss was to 4A Wheaton Academy.)
3A - St. Joseph - Ogden (Although unbeaten, clearly both Byron and Montini would be considerable favorites over them.)
4A - Normal University High School (They are battle tested in the Central State Eight.)
5A - Morgan Park (Forget the Chicago Catholic League, let's go Public League here.)
6A - Geneva (I will stay away from the Flyers as long as possible and go with a DuKane co-champ.)
7A - Downers Grove North (The Trojans regain early-season form and sweep to the title.)
8A - West Aurora (Do you believe in miracles?)

Edit: After posting the picks above, I checked the CalPreps rankings to make sure the teams could reasonably be viewed as dark horses. I believe they all can be viewed that way. Here are the CalPreps rankings within their respective classes:

LeRoy - 3rd
Chicago Christian - 6th
St. Joseph - Ogden - 4th
Normal U-High - 11th
Morgan Park - 7th
Geneva - 3rd
Downers Grove N. - 7th
West Aurora - 18th

All are ranked 3rd or worse, and even where they are as high as 3rd or 4th, they are ranked behind powerhouses such as: Althoff and Lena, Byron and Montini, East St. Louis and Cary-Grove.

 

[ODirty1]

not quite a dark horse but Sycamore seems over looked

 

[SiuCubFan8]

not quite a dark horse but Sycamore seems over looked

I agree, I have been looking ahead at that game for SF (I can cause I am a fan) and it scares the crap out of me.

 

[all4theillini]

not quite a dark horse but Sycamore seems over looked

I’d love to see another original Little Seven team get a ring.

 

[kpjasion]

I'll have to agree with Mike O'Brien in 8A:

Previewing and predicting the Class 8A state football playoffs

Who will win that possible Loyola vs. Lincoln-Way East semifinal and what is the likely title-game matchup?

chicago.suntimes.com

 

[forlouann]

As true dark horses that have at least a small chance of winning a title, I will go with:

1A - LeRoy (Everyone seems to have Althoff and Lena-Winslow ahead of them, so this should qualify.)
2A - Chicago Christian (They have a difficult path and no playoff pedigree, but their only loss was to 4A Wheaton Academy.)
3A - St. Joseph - Ogden (Although unbeaten, clearly both Byron and Montini would be considerable favorites over them.)
4A - Normal University High School (They are battle tested in the Central State Eight.)
5A - Morgan Park (Forget the Chicago Catholic League, let's go Public League here.)
6A - Geneva (I will stay away from the Flyers as long as possible and go with a DuKane co-champ.)
7A - Downers Grove North (The Trojans regain early-season form and sweep to the title.)
8A - West Aurora (Do you believe in miracles?)

Edit: After posting the picks above, I checked the CalPreps rankings to make sure the teams could reasonably be viewed as dark horses. I believe they all can be viewed that way. Here are the CalPreps rankings within their respective classes:

LeRoy - 3rd
Chicago Christian - 6th
St. Joseph - Ogden - 4th
Normal U-High - 11th
Morgan Park - 7th
Geneva - 3rd
Downers Grove N. - 7th
West Aurora - 18th

All are ranked 3rd or worse, and even where they are as high as 3rd or 4th, they are ranked behind powerhouses such as: Althoff and Lena, Byron and Montini, East St. Louis and Cary-Grove.

Thanks for the shout out for Chicago Christian . Yes, we do have a tough road ahead, but this team is ready . Let's see what happens

 

[Alexander32]

As true dark horses that have at least a small chance of winning a title, I will go with:

1A - LeRoy (Everyone seems to have Althoff and Lena-Winslow ahead of them, so this should qualify.)
2A - Chicago Christian (They have a difficult path and no playoff pedigree, but their only loss was to 4A Wheaton Academy.)
3A - St. Joseph - Ogden (Although unbeaten, clearly both Byron and Montini would be considerable favorites over them.)
4A - Normal University High School (They are battle tested in the Central State Eight.)
5A - Morgan Park (Forget the Chicago Catholic League, let's go Public League here.)
6A - Geneva (I will stay away from the Flyers as long as possible and go with a DuKane co-champ.)
7A - Downers Grove North (The Trojans regain early-season form and sweep to the title.)
8A - West Aurora (Do you believe in miracles?)

Edit: After posting the picks above, I checked the CalPreps rankings to make sure the teams could reasonably be viewed as dark horses. I believe they all can be viewed that way. Here are the CalPreps rankings within their respective classes:

LeRoy - 3rd
Chicago Christian - 6th
St. Joseph - Ogden - 4th
Normal U-High - 11th
Morgan Park - 7th
Geneva - 3rd
Downers Grove N. - 7th
West Aurora - 18th

All are ranked 3rd or worse, and even where they are as high as 3rd or 4th, they are ranked behind powerhouses such as: Althoff and Lena, Byron and Montini, East St. Louis and Cary-Grove.

So far so good; all the dark horses are through to the second round, even much maligned West Aurora.

 

[4Anorth]

I’d love to see another original Little Seven team get a ring.

You must be old too.....Little Seven

 

[scrapper329]

St Francis Wheaton I’d worry about.

 

[4Afan]

St Francis Wheaton I’d worry about.

I think they need to worry about the road ahead. PR and Sycamore are no joke.

 

[CIMRY90]

4A Peoria Notre Dame. I am not and X and O guy and will leave it to the experts whether Rochester could have defended the run better. Their offense is less impacted by poor weather that becomes a greater issue as playoffs continue. Their game plan of kicking onside after each score can steal possessions and be demoralizing after giving up a score if onside is successful.

PND comes out of Big 12 conference which the exception of itself for and Manual are 5A and 6A teams. Common characteristic of a 4A team advancing out of the South to state over at least the last 15 years has been a team that "played up" during the regular season.

They were one score away from winning 2 games against a 5A and a 6A playoff teams. Finally, they played St Louis Christian Brothers, 5th ranked Max Preps in MO, to a half time score of 27 to 14 halftime score before CB pulled away to win 62 to 28.

 

[SiuCubFan8]

I think they need to worry about the road ahead. PR and Sycamore are no joke.

I’m sure they are focused on PR…

 

[tuccs]

I’m sure they are focused on PR…

Franny by 2 scores...They are one of if not THE favorite to win it all.

 

[SiuCubFan8]

Franny by 2 scores...They are one of if not THE favorite to win it all.

And it begins….

 

[Alexander32]

As true dark horses that have at least a small chance of winning a title, I will go with:

1A - LeRoy (Everyone seems to have Althoff and Lena-Winslow ahead of them, so this should qualify.)
2A - Chicago Christian (They have a difficult path and no playoff pedigree, but their only loss was to 4A Wheaton Academy.)
3A - St. Joseph - Ogden (Although unbeaten, clearly both Byron and Montini would be considerable favorites over them.)
4A - Normal University High School (They are battle tested in the Central State Eight.)
5A - Morgan Park (Forget the Chicago Catholic League, let's go Public League here.)
6A - Geneva (I will stay away from the Flyers as long as possible and go with a DuKane co-champ.)
7A - Downers Grove North (The Trojans regain early-season form and sweep to the title.)
8A - West Aurora (Do you believe in miracles?)

Edit: After posting the picks above, I checked the CalPreps rankings to make sure the teams could reasonably be viewed as dark horses. I believe they all can be viewed that way. Here are the CalPreps rankings within their respective classes:

LeRoy - 3rd
Chicago Christian - 6th
St. Joseph - Ogden - 4th
Normal U-High - 11th
Morgan Park - 7th
Geneva - 3rd
Downers Grove N. - 7th
West Aurora - 18th

All are ranked 3rd or worse, and even where they are as high as 3rd or 4th, they are ranked behind powerhouses such as: Althoff and Lena, Byron and Montini, East St. Louis and Cary-Grove.

Six of the eight dark horses are through to the quarterfinals; but no miracle for West Aurora.

 

[cenrik71]

4A - People still sleeping on DePaul College Prep.

 

[4Afan]

4A - People still sleeping on DePaul College Prep.

I have them winning 4A in the bracket challenge

 

[Alexander32]

As true dark horses that have at least a small chance of winning a title, I will go with:

1A - LeRoy (Everyone seems to have Althoff and Lena-Winslow ahead of them, so this should qualify.)
2A - Chicago Christian (They have a difficult path and no playoff pedigree, but their only loss was to 4A Wheaton Academy.)
3A - St. Joseph - Ogden (Although unbeaten, clearly both Byron and Montini would be considerable favorites over them.)
4A - Normal University High School (They are battle tested in the Central State Eight.)
5A - Morgan Park (Forget the Chicago Catholic League, let's go Public League here.)
6A - Geneva (I will stay away from the Flyers as long as possible and go with a DuKane co-champ.)
7A - Downers Grove North (The Trojans regain early-season form and sweep to the title.)
8A - West Aurora (Do you believe in miracles?)

Edit: After posting the picks above, I checked the CalPreps rankings to make sure the teams could reasonably be viewed as dark horses. I believe they all can be viewed that way. Here are the CalPreps rankings within their respective classes:

LeRoy - 3rd
Chicago Christian - 6th
St. Joseph - Ogden - 4th
Normal U-High - 11th
Morgan Park - 7th
Geneva - 3rd
Downers Grove N. - 7th
West Aurora - 18th

All are ranked 3rd or worse, and even where they are as high as 3rd or 4th, they are ranked behind powerhouses such as: Althoff and Lena, Byron and Montini, East St. Louis and Cary-Grove.

Two more dark horses fall in the quarterfinal round (Morgan Park and Downers North), but that leaves four others that are moving on (LeRoy, Chicago Christian, Normal U-High and Geneva). A couple of the dark horses have a decent chance of moving on to the championship game in their class.

 

[MMA_Det]

St Ignatius is still alive

 

[Alexander32]

As true dark horses that have at least a small chance of winning a title, I will go with:

1A - LeRoy (Everyone seems to have Althoff and Lena-Winslow ahead of them, so this should qualify.)
2A - Chicago Christian (They have a difficult path and no playoff pedigree, but their only loss was to 4A Wheaton Academy.)
3A - St. Joseph - Ogden (Although unbeaten, clearly both Byron and Montini would be considerable favorites over them.)
4A - Normal University High School (They are battle tested in the Central State Eight.)
5A - Morgan Park (Forget the Chicago Catholic League, let's go Public League here.)
6A - Geneva (I will stay away from the Flyers as long as possible and go with a DuKane co-champ.)
7A - Downers Grove North (The Trojans regain early-season form and sweep to the title.)
8A - West Aurora (Do you believe in miracles?)

Edit: After posting the picks above, I checked the CalPreps rankings to make sure the teams could reasonably be viewed as dark horses. I believe they all can be viewed that way. Here are the CalPreps rankings within their respective classes:

LeRoy - 3rd
Chicago Christian - 6th
St. Joseph - Ogden - 4th
Normal U-High - 11th
Morgan Park - 7th
Geneva - 3rd
Downers Grove N. - 7th
West Aurora - 18th

All are ranked 3rd or worse, and even where they are as high as 3rd or 4th, they are ranked behind powerhouses such as: Althoff and Lena, Byron and Montini, East St. Louis and Cary-Grove.

Two more dark horses fall in the semifinal round (LeRoy and Normal U-High), but that means two others advanced to the championship game. As noted above, I tried to stay away from East St. Louis for as long as possible with my 6A pick. Now, there is nowhere to hide. Geneva's chances seem slim because I doubt they can keep the Flyers from pressuring their quarterback. Chicago Christian seems to have a better chance. I do not think they are better than Maroa-Forsyth, but Maroa has had some big, unexpected playoff setbacks over the last decade. Hopefully Chicago Christian can break through so at least one of my dark horses goes all the way.

 

[Alexander32]

As true dark horses that have at least a small chance of winning a title, I will go with:

1A - LeRoy (Everyone seems to have Althoff and Lena-Winslow ahead of them, so this should qualify.)
2A - Chicago Christian (They have a difficult path and no playoff pedigree, but their only loss was to 4A Wheaton Academy.)
3A - St. Joseph - Ogden (Although unbeaten, clearly both Byron and Montini would be considerable favorites over them.)
4A - Normal University High School (They are battle tested in the Central State Eight.)
5A - Morgan Park (Forget the Chicago Catholic League, let's go Public League here.)
6A - Geneva (I will stay away from the Flyers as long as possible and go with a DuKane co-champ.)
7A - Downers Grove North (The Trojans regain early-season form and sweep to the title.)
8A - West Aurora (Do you believe in miracles?)

Edit: After posting the picks above, I checked the CalPreps rankings to make sure the teams could reasonably be viewed as dark horses. I believe they all can be viewed that way. Here are the CalPreps rankings within their respective classes:

LeRoy - 3rd
Chicago Christian - 6th
St. Joseph - Ogden - 4th
Normal U-High - 11th
Morgan Park - 7th
Geneva - 3rd
Downers Grove N. - 7th
West Aurora - 18th

All are ranked 3rd or worse, and even where they are as high as 3rd or 4th, they are ranked behind powerhouses such as: Althoff and Lena, Byron and Montini, East St. Louis and Cary-Grove.

Chicago Christian, the 2A dark-horse pick, rolls to the title. CalPreps had them ranked 6th in 2A prior to the start of the playoffs.

 

[forlouann]

Chicago Christian, the 2A dark-horse pick, rolls to the title. CalPreps had them ranked 6th in 2A prior to the start of the playoffs.

Good call. I really wasn't sure when the playoffs started how good this team was. After we went on the road and beat Tri Valley, I felt we could make the finals. Thanks for the confidence in us ! It's been quite a season.