ESCC Week 12 Predictions

[ESCC fan]

A clean sweep for the ESCC as four teams march on to the quarters. Quite the swan song for the beloved conference! How about four semifinalists?

Marist - 27 HF - 21...man, 8A is just STACKED this year. A week after surviving Naperville Central, the RedHawks face a much stiffer defense. I think they have just enough to get by...but this one is a bit of a toss-up.

JCA - 49 Highland - 35...No one has been able to slow down Highland yet. I think they'll be able to move the ball on the Hilltoppers...but won't be able to keep up down the stretch as JCA's running attack will prove to be enough.

ND - 31 Antioch - 10...The undefeated Sequoits make the trip down 94 to take on the Dons. This will be Antioch's toughest test on the season. I am not sure their schedule has prepared them for a team of ND's caliber. Winner gets to take on CG/Phillips....fun.

*GOTW* Naz - 31 Simeon - 21...Have people forgotten that Simeon is 11-0 with a win over Phillips? This is a GOOD team and they have the athletes to play with Naz. I think this one is close throughout.

Updated Playoff Standings

1. lkhammer57 (8-1) (lw: 4-0)
1. DigitalCy (8-1) (lw: 4-0)
1. PowerI66 (8-1) (lw: 4-0)
2. ESCC fan (7-2) (lw: 3-1)
2. pjjp (7-2) (lw: 3-1)
2. JolietWest 89 (7-2) (lw: 3-1)
2. goomsback (7-2) (lw: 4-0)

Week 11 saw quite a few newcomers--so instead of giving them all 0-5 records for week 10, because I am feeling benevolent with my Dons in the quarters, here are separate standings that begin week 11

1. Southland Fan 2016 (4-0)
1. PowerI66 (4-0)
1. DigitalCy (4-0)
1. lkhamm57 (4-0)
1. mchsalumni (4-0)
1. goomsback (4-0)
1. OPRF Illini 96 (4-0)
2. ESCC Fan (3-1)
2. pjjp (3-1)
2. JolietWest 89 (3-1)
2. Voodoo Tatum (3-1)
2. ThunderPapa (3-1)
2. ChiCathLeagueFan (3-1)
2. SilverHelmets (3-1)
2. Mr. T (3-1)

 

[pjjp]

Marist over H-F....great matchup here. The RedHawks go on the road again after the thriller in Naperville. H-F's defense is very good and will test the Marist offense. If my source (the one and only DOS) is correct, H-F's #1 offensive threat, RB Leon Tanna, was at Marist his Freshman year. Could be an interesting side note to this game. Marist's defense will need to play better than last week.

JCA over Highland....I picked Highland in the Edgy Challenge in this game, but I expected it to be at Highland. The long trip and possible bad weather could impact this game. The Hilltoppers are playing very well on both sides of the ball. They have carried the momentum forward from Week 9 in Niles. They will need to slow down the high powered Highland offense. JCA's play action passing game has been very successful the last few weeks. Even Jchill has to be impressed.

ND over Antioch....Antioch pulled out a close one against Lakes last week. ND's defense has been outstanding the first two rounds. Is Gavin getting healthier? The game is in Niles. I like the Dons' chances in this one.

Naz over Simeon....this is another interesting match up. Both teams are loaded with athletes. LWW put up a lot of points on Simeon last week. The Roadrunners need to limit the big plays and take advantage of the special team opportunities Simeon will present. How is the Naz running game? If the weather is bad, it may be very important in this game.

I picked ND to lose last week, but I think they may be the most prohibitive favorite this week.

 

[mchsalumni]

Marist
JCA
Antioch
Simeon

 

[pjjp]

Marist
JCA
Antioch
Simeon

Antioch eh? Interesting.

 

[mchsalumni]

Antioch eh? Interesting.

I like this team. A little homework will show they can play!

 

[ThunderPapa]

Appreciate the kind hospitality towards the newcomers!

Marist over HF... oh my was Markett impressive last weekend against central. Ever since week 2 Marist has not looked back, and I don’t expect them to start now. I just can’t get over that HF vs LWE game, they haven’t been the same team since.

JCA over highland... although, no one has been able to keep the Bulldogs below 21 points this year, I believe JCA will fire on all cylinders and make this a higher scoring game with JCA coming out on top.

ND over Antioch .... don’t see an untested Antioch team stopping the infamous Ty Gavin even if he only has one functioning ankle.

*GOTW* Naz over Simeon... running clock. YES I SAID IT FOLKS... RUNNING CLOCK... hard for me to have faith in a CPS school despite the talent they’ve displayed. I just think this Nazareth team isn’t the same team we saw week 8 against Marist.

 

[ThunderPapa]

Waiting for the good ol @mchsalumni AND THE POSSE RIDES remark. Never fails to bring a smile to my face.

 

[No Bias---Just Reality]

Waiting for the good ol @mchsalumni AND THE POSSE RIDES remark. Never fails to bring a smile to my face.

He already got his trolling in by picking Simeon to win in the first place.

 

[goomsback]

Give me HF but not confidently
Naz
ND although I think it will be close.
JCA

 

[Rockers_82]

Marist over HF.... Great matchup that will come down to the wire just like the battle of the Redhawks last week I see Marist pulling away late by 1 score.

JCA over Highland.... This one will be an offensive slug fest but I don’t see Highland being able to stop the Hilltoppers run game.

ND over Antioch.... ND’s defense has been very good lately and I question if Antioch is truly battle tested. This one will be close but if Ty Gavin is somewhat healthy the Dons come away with a win.

Naz over Simeon .... by atleast 4 TDS the Roadrunners running clocked 6 out of 7 ESCC opponents along with a very good Heresy team. (that was supposed to be a close game?) I would love for someone to explain why Simeon has a chance.

 

[godfthr53]

Marist over HF.... Great matchup that will come down to the wire just like the battle of the Redhawks last week I see Marist pulling away late by 1 score.

JCA over Highland.... This one will be an offensive slug fest but I don’t see Highland being able to stop the Hilltoppers run game.

ND over Antioch.... ND’s defense has been very good lately and I question if Antioch is truly battle tested. This one will be close but if Ty Gavin is somewhat healthy the Dons come away with a win.

Naz over Simeon .... by atleast 4 TDS the Roadrunners running clocked 6 out of 7 ESCC opponents along with a very good Heresy team. (that was supposed to be a close game?) I would love for someone to explain why Simeon has a chance.

You guys need to watch more film. Alonte Brown is electric and can easily take over this game vs Naz. Hope they aren't looking to the semis. I'm sure Racki will have them ready. If Naz gets up early and Simeon is forced to throw then I can see some of these predictions but right now I don't buy it.

 

[ChiCathLeagueFan]

Marist-close game but they pull away at the end
JCA-team is on a roll and won’t be stopped
ND-Antioch hasn’t been tested and with Gavin having a few weeks to get healthy I don’t see this being much of a game. Next week against CG or Phillips will be.
Naz-too good for Simeon.

 

[mchsalumni]

ND although I think it will be close.

I think this is going to be a good one and close. Would really love to see NND pull it off so heart is NND, head is Antioch.

 

[mchsalumni]

You guys need to watch more film. Alonte Brown is electric and can easily take over this game vs Naz. Hope they aren't looking to the semis. I'm sure Racki will have them ready. If Naz gets up early and Simeon is forced to throw then I can see some of these predictions but right now I don't buy it.

I think this game is close either way and you're right about Brown.

For anyone who hasn't seen this guy in action, check out his Hudl film from last year:

 

[JolietWest89]

Homewood-Flossmoor because my father taught there.

Highland on a last-minute touchdown pass

Niles Notre Dame

Simeon

 

[FballDaddy]

I like this team. A little homework will show they can play!

I always get a kick out of how untested gets transformed right into not good enough. I always though untested meant you don't know how good they can be.

True they haven't played much in the way of competition, but they also haven't flinched in any game other than their rivalry game (which is can happen regardless of records). I don't know if I favor either team too much over the other, but it's always fun to see someone just look at a score history and say "not much of a game".

Now if you noted that a large number of the team is young, I'd give you more credit. There are only a couple seniors on offense and that would more likely be a reason to hesitate. They will hit the wall at some point this year, but they're going to have some good runs for the next 2 years too.

 

[DigitalCy]

Marist over HF: This will be another great game and I have flip flopped on this matchup, but Marist just seems a tad more battle tested than HF

JCA over Highland: The Hill runs this game into the ground

ND over Antioch: Again, 6A North Bracket has been nothing short of weak, but I think Antioch is better than people are giving them credit for. With that, the ESCC hardens teams up for the playoffs and the Dons pull away in the 4th

Simeon over Naz: Going on a bit of a limb with this one, but Simeon has been exceptional all year. This will be a great game

 

[PowerI66]

Marist
Highland
Antioch
Naz - The Simeon offensive line will not hold up. Had really big issues last week against LWW last week. I also think Naz will score a lot more than LWW did against Simeon. Naz by 2 or 3 scores. Simeon sure is fun to watch though!

 

[Southland Fan 2016]

Marist (Chicago) Redhawks
Joliet Catholic Academy Hiltoppers
Notre Dame of Niles Dons
Nazareth Academy Roadrunners

 

[MR. "T"]

I predict a clean sweep for the ESCC to!
Marist, again in a close one
Nazareth, the only way they lose is by beating themselves with turnovers
ND, They play a tougher schedule and they proved me wrong last week
JCA, still my pick to play in the finals from the south side of the bracket

 

[lkhammer57]

Alright lets keep this rolling

Marist over a very good HF team- I continue to be nervous about this because 8a is an unbelievably good class this year. I still think Marist moves on. I continue to say it, when they took it to Naz in the regular season it opened up my eyes. I picked them to be in the state championship.

Naz over Simeon- being a fan of competitive balance and loving to see good stories, I would love to Simeon win, but I just don't see it happening. Similar athletic ability but a tough regular season schedule and a legendary head coach, in Racki, does it for me. Naz by 2 touchdowns.

ND over Antioch- First of all, what a draw ND has gotten. The rest of the North Bracket has been decently challenging. I don't know if I would have seen them beat PR, CG, or Phillips, but hey props to them for getting a good draw and beating the teams they were supposed to beat. Second, I am very interested in this game, I have become a believer in ND after this regular season, but I still can't help think of years past where they blew playoff games in which they were favored. I think they are a very safe pick, but if this turns into a shoot out I think Antioch can pull it off, with some good offensive talent and Proffitt calling the D. Even with this doubts, I still take the Dons.

JCA over Highland- JCA keeps rolling. If Hillcrest's QB is back by next week, this will be a hell of a match up. I have liked Hillcrest all off season in 5a.

Hope everyone can make it out to at least one game this weekend, a lot of really good matchups all over the state!

 

[ThunderPapa]

“eScC iS dOwN tHiS yEaR”

Looking like an ESCC sweep across the board!

(On a side note it took me about 3 tries to correctly attach the image)

 

[mchsalumni]

“eScC iS dOwN tHiS yEaR”

Looking like an ESCC sweep across the board!

(On a side note it took me about 3 tries to correctly attach the image)

Who said that?

 

[ThunderPapa]

Who said that?

I’ll have to go back and find it... tried looking for it earlier, but no luck.

 

[mchsalumni]

I’ll have to go back and find it... tried looking for it earlier, but no luck.

Strong finish, happy the Catholic schools are showing up!