CS8 Predictions-Week 2
- Thread starter rocketnation
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All.... "Shangri-La" , the old Griffin Wood tailgate area owned by the diocese which had been closed since late last season having been washed out with ruts, construction mud dumped in the area and torn out grass was reopened Friday.
Monster numbers of Cyclone supporters and even some of the Indian faithful arrived in that area to tailgate. (the rodent was holding court as usual🐀) I would thinka big crowd to show up Friday. It was nice to see the SHG side loaded up again and expect because the Crimsons travel well their side loaded up. Especially since they come in 2-0. Should be another fun one.Ratsy
All.... Weak as usual your response carpetbagger. Times are tough for you falling further and further behind. lol Rasty. P.S. All too easy.
Derek Paris Twitter announcing “major coaching news out of Chatham tomorrow…”
Anybody got the scoop?
Anybody got the scoop?
Yeah was thinking that too, but what qualifies as “major” during football season? Varies by school I suppose. To me for glenwood that means football, baseball, or softball.
Softball coach has been there a long time and won at least 1 state title. Could it be an early announcement that it's his last year?
Derek disclosed in his weekly schedule he was referring to volleyball coach
Just because the topic kind of presented itself here...
How much of a hot seat is David Hay in at Glenwood if he can't find a way to win the CS8 this year? I know hot seats aren't necessarily a thing in this state in HS FB but... SHG is down. Rochester is down. Chatham has struggled a bit, relatively speaking, out the gates in '24, sitting at 1-1. The Edwardsville loss is acceptable, imo. And much more respectable than the struggle they had with a far inferior opponent in W2.
This is the year for Glenwood it seems to really set themselves up with a solid seed in 6A... I think anything less than 8-1 is kind of a let down.
How much of a hot seat is David Hay in at Glenwood if he can't find a way to win the CS8 this year? I know hot seats aren't necessarily a thing in this state in HS FB but... SHG is down. Rochester is down. Chatham has struggled a bit, relatively speaking, out the gates in '24, sitting at 1-1. The Edwardsville loss is acceptable, imo. And much more respectable than the struggle they had with a far inferior opponent in W2.
This is the year for Glenwood it seems to really set themselves up with a solid seed in 6A... I think anything less than 8-1 is kind of a let down.
All.... Yes sir. ☺️ The new senior parents group that tailgate next door arrived shortly after. A lively group. Ratsy
Seems unlikely to me I guess that the seat could be that hot. 21 and 11 over the last three years with with one more win each season over those three. I believe their player numbers have been trending up as well.
I would agree, honestly. I just feel like after this week and the conversation I had at the Lincoln/SE game with a Glenwood guy gave me vibes that folks were a little unsettled in Chatham at the moment. Again though, that could primarily stem from just this week alone. I also picked up a current from this gentleman that many in the Titan camp felt like they should have beaten Edwardsville. Which, is all fine and well but like I said, that loss doesn't hurt that bad. It's a barometer contest. The concern should be the 1st half this past week against much weaker opposition.
I oft get the feeling that Glenwood, at least fans, think they should beat everyone by virtue of being Glenwood. Hell, I heard a radio interview before the season where a player (I think) referred to their program as the premier one in the area that almost caused me to swerve off the road. I could see grumblings from the fan base, but imagine the AD has a more sensible view of the situation.
100%. I'm not as familiar with the Glenwood fan base as a whole. Just the few I've gotten to speak to this year in regards to the CS8 and how they were looking. I gave the guy a smile at least towards the end of our conversation. He needed it, I felt at the time. I told him I was a QND guy and he chuckled and said "good luck." A common sentiment we've been blessed with by a number of CS8 fans I've come across.
I've liked everything coach Hay has said to this point and I think he's got the kids buying in as you referred to with their numbers ticking up. That's the ultimate goal. Asking that program to be an annual 6A contender is a stupid tall task for a downstate program. Ask ESL... even they don't win 'em all come playoff time. It's only fair to point out that there's a considerable gap in program talent from ESL down to Glenwood in the 6A market.
The one thing from Hay and his staff that I heard that I didn't like was a few years ago when they talked about having 6A numbers and finally being able to have all one-way players. I have no idea if they stuck to that plan but if so you are really hamstringing yourself. I get it, you may not want your studs playing 100% of snaps in a game, but don't limit them to 50% either. Again - not sure if that was something they stuck to, but I recall it striking me as odd.
Wasn't around for that. And, I'd have assumed Glenwood had very few two-way guys from the outside looking in.
At the end of the day I've always just assumed the real complex at play was the fact that SHG and Rochester, one being another "county" program like themselves, have buckets full of trophies and Glenwood has but a couple. At least their stadium is nicer than the Rockets! I'd rank it 3rd amongst CS8 stadiums.
And while we're here, I'll just give my rank for CS8 stadiums...
1. U-High
2. SHG
3. Glenwood
4. QND
5. Lanphier/SHS/SE (Currently) - Memorial needs parking
6. Lincoln
7. Mac
8. Jax
9. Rochester
10. Ike - although a neat older facility.
I saw you pull in friday as we departed for dec mac. I said to the guys, 'that must be cornerat'. lol.
you obviously have not seen their new stadium.it is really nice. we christened it friday with the first win ever.
sehs has their own home field. it is being redone and should be open for 2025.
and you overrated your stadium. lol.
My view for what it's worth. Due to their enrollment, history, solid JFL program, football as a Junior High (7th/8th grade) sport with paid coaches instead of JFL volunteers, and a veteran coaching staff, the Titans should challenge for the CS8 title every year.
For whatever reason, they tend to rise to the top of the conference only every 3-5 years and then drop back down a bit. The Titans still make the playoffs each year, so it's not like the program is in poor shape. Dan Rourke took them to two state title games in '98 and '10 but the program had seemed to plateau near the end of his tenure.
Their '26 class is the one that has the buzz of being the next major contender. This Titan roster has 19 Seniors and 44 (!) Juniors. As a comparison, I don't think the Rockets has ever had more than 30 Seniors play and had 22 last year. I think next year is a pivotal year for the program if they don't win or seriously contend for the CS8 title. But I doubt Coach Hay is in any real jeopardy because they get 6-7 wins a season regardless.
The '19 Titans squad was as good IMO as any Cyclone or Rocket state champion team. They ruled the CS8 that year and simply had the misfortune of running into a dominant East St Louis team in the semi-finals.
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I have seen Mac's new digs. Many times. I'm in Decatur often for work. I drove by a number of times during construction on DPS "Phase II"
It's nice, but the away support isolation (with two port-a-potty's) really drags Mac's setup down the list. We'll see how they do for "tailgating" Week 9. Might move them up a bit.
SE isn't complete. I can't rank what I can't see, sir.
QND is ranked appropriately. It's on the smaller end, but it makes Rocket Booster look like 1A Mendon-Unity...
One could argue, and perhaps more of us should argue, that with all the things you listed they should be expecting CS8 titles annually. Tough to sell what you've got when a 4A private and a 4A cornfield are leaps ahead of you in terms of success both within the conference and in the playoffs. I'm sure Hay feels that. But when you're the 3rd, you have to be 1 when the normal 1 and 2 are down.
One quibble. Lincoln's field/stadium seems no different than when I played there in '83.
Personally, I like the aesthetic more at Lincoln. Having only been there once, I would agree it's older. It's certainly, though, more updated than Jacksonville, Rochester, Ike. I like Lincoln more for the parking and concession setup at the endzone/entrance. Honestly, Lincoln and Mac are 7a and 7b for me.
I just wanted to make sure you knew that se is only using memorial for this season. I explored se's new field this summer and got to see the plans and design. it'll be really, really nice.
I’ll admit, after playing in Hancock for 4 years, it feels so empty during the games, even during high attendance games like homecoming. It’s hard to fill a D1 stadium with a high school crowd that doesn’t play many teams that will travel well. However, the field is a very nice facility to have available for the high school.
Per Derek Parris, Rockets QB Bryan Zulauf is out for the season with a knee injury.
Derek has several choices to replace Zulauf but each comes with questions.
Senior Eli Carlson spilt snaps with Zulauf as a Freshman and Sophomore and took some snaps last season mostly as a wildcat QB. He is currently sharing time at RB and also starts at DB/LB. Carlson is a big part of the Defense.
Junior Tanner Beal was the JV QB last season. He replaced Zulauf last week and played the final 2 and 1/2 quarters against Ritter. Beal also starts at DB and has played well there in Weeks 1 and 2.
Derek is unlikely to keep his new QB also playing defense. Can't remember him ever doing it going back to 2010.
Current JV QB JP Leonard started for the Freshman team last year and is playing well at the JV level. His arm strength and accuracy has improved from Year 1 to 2.
Freshman QB Khordell Gregory has been very impressive in limited game time. He is very fast and has a big arm.
Going with Leonard or Gregory would not require changing the makeup of the starting defense but runs the risk of putting someone out there who may not be ready to play at the Varsity level and deal with all that goes with the position.
Derek has several choices to replace Zulauf but each comes with questions.
Senior Eli Carlson spilt snaps with Zulauf as a Freshman and Sophomore and took some snaps last season mostly as a wildcat QB. He is currently sharing time at RB and also starts at DB/LB. Carlson is a big part of the Defense.
Junior Tanner Beal was the JV QB last season. He replaced Zulauf last week and played the final 2 and 1/2 quarters against Ritter. Beal also starts at DB and has played well there in Weeks 1 and 2.
Derek is unlikely to keep his new QB also playing defense. Can't remember him ever doing it going back to 2010.
Current JV QB JP Leonard started for the Freshman team last year and is playing well at the JV level. His arm strength and accuracy has improved from Year 1 to 2.
Freshman QB Khordell Gregory has been very impressive in limited game time. He is very fast and has a big arm.
Going with Leonard or Gregory would not require changing the makeup of the starting defense but runs the risk of putting someone out there who may not be ready to play at the Varsity level and deal with all that goes with the position.
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It's ironic that Brian who stepped in after Parker's summer injury last year himself will be replaced due to injury.
Sorry for Brian to have his senior season ended so early. He was fun watch.
Rocketnstion, nice summary of QBs in the program.
I enjoyed watching him play as well. Bryan's swagger as a smaller QB reminded me a lot of Nic Baker. He was close to perfect in the championship game last year.
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