I don't want any part of ESL. Bad memories of our 6A Runner-up banner from years ago. Some bad mammer-jammers on that squad.
Maybe all of 6A will forfeit to avoid the bludgeoning. It’s like signing up for the Squid Game.
Is the point where I say someone like CG has a chance and the ESL faithful say I’m crazy? I’m just reading all the accolades and coming to a conclusion that the game is over. I’m giving you props, enjoy it.
Not one ESL faithful has come on here and said anything of the sort. Everyone is entitled to their opinion which is cool. Just interesting. Also to be clear there is nothing to enjoy. Rankings and opinions don't mean anything. ESL has been around the block a few times to know this.
They beat us like 46-3 in 6A title game in ‘85. Legend has it they reached out to Da Bears and “offered to travel to EVERY NFL team. Try having someone that can make a decision come with the same confidence and schedule a game. ESL has opening week 1,2,3, and 9 for next year. Put up or shut up!”
I think we are all sick of you. The fact that you have outrage over this says a lot.
OK, outrage is an exaggeration. Annoyance is more appropriate. I just want a level playing field, that's all, for all the kids.
Krock, not Rock because I agree with you @corey90
Then some 5A team that made the semi's would be ranked above them because they made the semi's. Not that rankings matter, but since they don't at least do them right!
I am hoping Loyola accepts the challenge. I am thinking they probably dont have a week 2 next year since they didnt have one this year. Depending on who we have I'd probably go to that. Or have Loyola at the Classic.
Well, a class will tend to look balanced when it is full of teams who lack any consistent historical tradition beyond the quarterfinals. I had thought mascoutah may be the best of the bunch, but their recent loss gives pause. Sycamore, fenwick, Marmion, Morris all look like fine teams, but none seem to scream “championship” caliber this season. But one of them likely will win by default.
Thats because youre looking through the prism of an 8A team that plays 5A so to you 5A championship teams look like 8A contenders. The reason those teams in 5A dont have consistent championship tradition is because real 5A teams dont look like 8A teams so they struggle to get by them. This is what the class would look like in it's natural form (minus Naz).
That long list of could win it all's is what makes the class great. When I look at a class and I see 29 schools with no chance and 3 that do, that class is automatically garbage. Not that the teams are garbage, but the class is uninteresting to me. So when IC is running through 2A with two D1 running backs and lines that look 6A, it is a bad look.
They were never blown off the field by anyone, including Marist and Rita, then playing in 5A. If they were in 7A/8A I dont think we'd see them as a favorite at all.
Rock/paper/scissors.... Rock/Witty/Tom wasn't 5 out of their top 6 sitting for SR? 2-DB's WR OL RB?
I wholeheartedly agree if you say that it makes the class have parity or be wide open. I don’t think it is great or even close to it as all of the favorites can point to a handful of teams their own program has fielded over the last decade as being significantly better than this years version, except maybe Morris. I think there is parity and it is wide open and perhaps even exciting. But it is roundly mediocre by most of these schools standards.
Sure, key players were out but I contended that week that people didn’t understand how much of a quality win for St. Rita that was.
I dont know if those programs in that class can point to a handful of teams that are better than this year's edition. And even if that is true not every school's best team wins a championship and not every championship team is special. For example do you really buy into the narrative that the 2018 JCA team was special? Really? Or just an average team that dropped into a class they didnt belong?
The 2018 JCA team's run starting in Week 9 against ND was special. The team did not have special talent. After all, they got running clocked earlier in the year by a team that was in a lower class, IC.
So, to illustrate my point to @JCHillmen maybe the teams in 5A that he sees as not special will begin their special run and be seen as special by their fans or fans in general after November. Or maybe not, like how that JCA team looked extremely average to me. That was a very entertaining game against Montini though.
Someone said Batavia people were tired of their season ending at Nazareth so maybe IHSA threw you a bone to give you guys a chance 🤷🏼♂️
Lucky for Naz I guess.. I guess they're scared to end our season again..
Sycamore and Peoria have had special teams over the last decade. Same with sterling and Rochester. This year is not that special group for any of them. Sometimes that leads to a title and sometimes it doesn’t . They may win a title this year, but it will be against a bunch of other programs also not having a special year, so a pretty good program will get a title with a less than dominant group. Even removing naz, Montini, JC, these are just not these schools’ best or anywhere near it from the recent past, except for maybe Morris.
I agree. Kankakee will be a factor In Either 5A or 6a this year.
Naz clocked them in week 8 iirc if you would have told me that JCA team would win state I would have said you were nuts. That’s a testament to their leadership and coaching,
