CS 8 Predictions Week 7

[rocketnation]

After two weeks full of running clocks, Week 7 offers potentially competitive contests in all five Friday night games. Both Rochester and SHG have road games which could be challenging and Springfield and Jacksonville face off with playoff implications for both teams.

Eisenhower (0-6) at U High (2-4)
Eisenhower has been running clocked five weeks straight, while U High has been the last two weeks. U High should be favored at home. U High 31 Eisenhower 12

Lanphier (0-6) at Southeast (2-4)
Lanphier has been shutout the last two weeks after coming off 2 weeks of COVID forfeits. Southeast has been running clocked three weeks in a row but has at least been able to score in those games. Southeast should get their 3rd win. Southeast 33 Lanphier 14

Springfield (4-2) at Jacksonville (3-3)
This has the potential to be the closest game of the week. Springfield has relied on the big play on offense, mostly from Rashad Rochelle but also some recently from RB Tyree Coleman, while Jacksonville has more of a grind it out offense. Both teams have had issues on defense, each giving up more than 50 points twice already. Springfield has also had issues with penalties and turnovers. Jacksonville needs to control the clock with QB Elijah Owens and RB Kam Ron Mitchell running it and keeping Rochelle on the sidelines. They can win the game, but I expect Rochelle to get loose a few times for huge gains. Springfield 36 Jacksonville 27

SHG (5-1) at MacArthur (3-3)
SHG has hammered everyone except Rochester. They are playing excellent football right now and scoring almost at the level of the Spring Cyclones. QB Ty Lott has really impressed. MacArthur has played only 4 games because of COVID forfeits in Weeks 2 and 3. Their one on the field loss was by a TD at Chatham in Week 4. Mac can be a difficult out at home. In 2014, they beat Rochester, and they have one home field win against SHG as well. This doesn’t appear to be your typical hard hitting run first Mac team. They are relying on big play passing for most of their scoring. The Mac QB is a 4-year starter. They gave up 42 points to Chatham but only 9 in their 3 wins. I don’t think Mac can win, but they might force SHG to play a full 48 minutes. SHG 50 MacArthur 19

Rochester (5-1) at Chatham (5-1)
In 2019, Chatham won the conference by punishing Rochester 56-26 in Week 9. In Week 6 of the spring season, Rochester paid them back with a no doubt 60-14 win. Neither team will need extra motivation this week. Chatham Junior QB Jack Knudson leads the conference with almost 1,500 yards passing. They have shifted their offense away from the read option and are playing to Knudson’s strengths. Chatham has beaten Jacksonville and Mac in close games and lost to Springfield by only 3 points. Their defense is not yet near the level of the 2018-19 teams. Rochester is starting to be more balanced on offense, instead of relying too much on Hank Beatty’s running. JV QB Parker Gillespie has been a standout at WR. The defense has been up and down but played their best game of the season against Springfield in Week 5. Expect lots of blitzing to try to help the Rochester DB’s, who have struggled at times. There should be a big crowd and a playoff type atmosphere. If Chatham stays close for a while, it could be a tight game. Rochester is likely to get more stops and secure the W. Rochester 54 Chatham 27

 

[rocketnation]

SJR Staff Predictions
Southeast 21 Lanphier 14
Springfield 49 Jacksonville 21
SHG 54 MacArthur 14
Rochester 56 Chatham 17

No prediction that I could find for Eisenhower and U High. Haven’t heard that the game is canceled.

 

[cornerrat]

All.... Made it back. (lol) A difficult game for the Cyclones at MacArthur. But often it is. (for everyone in the CS8) SHG wins 41-13. The Generals are big, fast and play to the death to the very end. Close at the half (21-13) when Mac scores on a long pass with 3 tenths of a second left. Credit to the Cyclones because MacArthur had the ball coming out in the second half and shut them down.

The Generals unless they have a let down are more than capable and can beat SHS and Jacksonville (both road games) to make the playoffs at 5-4. We will see.... Ratsy

 

[rocketnation]

All Finals
U High 41 Eisenhower 0. U High gets its third win of the season.

Springfield 31 Jacksonville 20. Springfield trailed early but rallied to go to 5-2. Another close loss at home for Jacksonville who will likely be 4-4 going into Week 9 against MacArthur. Springfield plays Mac next week in what could be a very entertaining game.

SHG 41 MacArthur 13. Another good win for SHG and a good effort by Mac, who only trailed 21-13 at half. The SHG defense did well holding down a dangerous offense. Huge game for Mac next week at Springfield. SHG plays U High next week and has an excellent chance of being 8-1.

Rochester 49 Chatham 28. A very strong performance by the Rocket offense with a balanced running and passing attack and two additional scores called back on penalties. One call back was on a penalty I’ve never heard in over 40 years of watching football. Hank Beatty was just missing his receivers in the 1st half, but was really on target in the 2nd half. Beatty and Austin Adcock in particular ran well but 3 or 4 others also contributed. Chatham QB Jack Knudson was injured late in the first half and did not return. Up 35-7 late in the 3rd, Rochester had a chance to finish off Chatham when a gimme interception on a 4th down wounded duck went through the hands of a Rochester DB who had an open field in front of him right to a Chatham WR for a score. The Rochester defense looked good at times but still makes too many mistakes against the better teams. Chatham played hard to the end and their backup QB generated 3 scoring drives. They have SHG Week 9 and will likely end up 6-3.

Turns out Southeast and Lanphier are playing tomorrow afternoon.

 

[rocketnation]

Saturday Final
Southeast 48 Lanphier 6. Southeast gets its 3rd win.

 

[rocketnation]

Standings after Week 7 and remaining games
Rochester 6-1 (vs Southeast and U High)
SHG 6-1 (vs U High and Chatham)
Springfield 5-2 (vs MacArthur and Southeast)
Chatham 5-2 (vs Lanphier and SHG)
Jacksonville 3-4 (vs Eisenhower and MacArthur)
MacArthur 3-4 (vs Springfield and Jacksonville)
U High 3-4 (vs SHG and Rochester)
Southeast 3-4 (vs Rochester and Springfield)
Lanphier 0-7 (vs Chatham and Eisenhower)
Eisenhower 0-7 (vs Jacksonville and Lanphier)

Rochester and SHG are both in position to finish 8-1. Chatham losing their starting QB to injury hurts their chances against SHG in Week 9, but they would have been a signifcant underdog even with him being healthy. Springfield will be at least 6-3 and could be 7-2 if they get by MacArthur next week, which will be the best game of Week 8. Chatham likely to end at 6-3. Jacksonville will be 4-4 heading into Week 9 against MacArthur. MacArthur has a shot at 5-4 but it will take 2 road wins against playoff caliber teams. U High and Southeast both should end at 3-6.

Week 9 will allow either Lanphier or Eisenhower to get their first win. I feel for the Lanphier and Eisenhower kids. In my opinion, football is the hardest sport to play when your team is bad. In my one year of high school football, our entire program of Varsity, JV, and Freshman won a total of 4 games and most losses were blowouts. It takes guts to keep taking the field knowing your probably going to be beaten down and running clocked.