1. I forgot how cool of a setting Jacobs football stadium is- Yeah it had been a while since I was at Jacobs for a Friday night game and yeah....this is one of the nicer settings in Chicagoland. The Golden Eagles stadium is built basically in the bottom of a valley (wait there is a valley in Illinois?) and the field is surrounded by roughly half of an embankment. Watching the game from the visitors side (which are the size of Brother Rice visitor stands unfortunately) is a great view and between the great crowd, noise and the overall vibe on a Friday night is pretty awesome in person.
2. Jacobs is indeed the real deal- I picked the Golden Eagles to get this win at home and they hung tough, found a way to get it done and looked impressive in the 42-35 win.I'll get into much more details and perspective on what Jacobs does offensively/defensively in the 2022 Breakdown early next week....but the Golden Eagles ran the football pretty effectively then was able to find the forward pass and a few key down the field passing game when it was most needed. Let's just say that I saw a lot of LW East influence in the Golden Eagles attack and approach (HC Brian Zimmerman played at the combined Lincoln Way then started his coaching career with Coach Z at LWE) and the last time I looked, that's still a very winning formula. Jacobs has the chance to become a very strong 7A team that can make some noise in the post-season.
3. Prairie Ridge will win a lot of games in 2022 - Despite the loss to Jacobs here....the Prairie Ridge Wolves will still win a ton of games and they will still be a bitch to slow down and stop with it's vaunted wing option attack. The Wolves will be one of the few teams in 6A (stop talking 5A PR fans it won't happen...I think) who will be a pretty big favorite....that is until they get past Cary Grove in what....the second/quarterfinal round in it's annual playoff Super Bowl? FYI I still hate geographically balanced playoff brackets.....gas prices be damned.
4. Can we always have on time 7PM kickoffs? Please? I know stop sounding like an old man (and after sloooooowly making my way down the Rolling Hills of Alqonquin to get to the field on Friday night I feel like I'm 102) but having a 7PM kickoff actually kickoff on time is a treat from the football Gods. That is all.
5. So how good is Jacobs 2024 4 star ranked TE Grant Stec? I'll have much more on Stec in the coming week ot so....but the 4 star ranked TE has a ton of upside and also the physical tools to become a Power 5 tight end. Stec has impressive size (listed as 6-foot-6, 225 pounds) and length, runs really well and was able to show his hands and down the field ability on a 4th quarter back breaking 61 yard touchdown pass, Stec won't be putting up a ton of catches and yards in the Jacobs 75-25 percent run to pass offensive mix, but he will be a constant threat every time he's on the field. Stec also played a considerable amount of defensive end and showcased his ability on defense as well.
6. I like the sweet new uniforms from Prairie Ridge- Nice new Maroon uniforms for the Wolves in this game and it might be the first sorta change of the uniform in quite some time. It's not a major/drastic overhaul mind you....but the look with some added piping and style looked really strong here.
7. Prairie Ridge senior QB/KR Tyler Vesey will become a Player of the Year candidate- Tyler Vesey would have easily been the headline and the main story if the Wolves would have won this game. Vesey plays quarterback and runs the Wolves triple option as well as any QB I've seen at PR (Yes even as well as Samson Evans). Unlike the other QB's over the years at PR, Vesey has greasy speed and serious explosiveness. He ran for over 200 yards and had two rushing touchdowns and two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the loss. Most importantly, Vesey's performance and video will scare the hell out of every potential opponent in the post-season.
8 West/Northwest traffic seems a lot more tolerable these days compared to.... Where I live in the I80 and I55 area. In you were not made aware, the greater Joliet area is finally getting some serious road rebuilds done and right now this area looks like it was carpet bombed. When the ole 355 to 290 NW route seems like a decent drive on a Friday early rush hour....you know I'm getting use to how bad things are out my way this summer and fall. FYI avoid traveling through this I80 area if at all possible....and it's also a full time 24-7 hours a day ordeal so you are never not running into a delay day or night.
9. I just now got out of the parking lot at Jacobs - Ok I hate bitching and lets face it I'll drive and and sit in worse this season..but the entire parking situation and especially clearing the lots at Jacobs is a train wreck. The layout of the school...it's basically located in the middle of a commercial/light industrial area surrounding the school so it's not exactly easy in and out....and especially out. The parking lot is pretty much one way in and one way out....never a good thing when everyone leaves at once. Ok I'm done sounding like an old man now.
10. Is there anything more White Sox than........ Seeing the 2022 season and playoff chances end on a road trip in Detroit? Nothing is more White Sox than that my friends.
Stay Frosty!
2. Jacobs is indeed the real deal- I picked the Golden Eagles to get this win at home and they hung tough, found a way to get it done and looked impressive in the 42-35 win.I'll get into much more details and perspective on what Jacobs does offensively/defensively in the 2022 Breakdown early next week....but the Golden Eagles ran the football pretty effectively then was able to find the forward pass and a few key down the field passing game when it was most needed. Let's just say that I saw a lot of LW East influence in the Golden Eagles attack and approach (HC Brian Zimmerman played at the combined Lincoln Way then started his coaching career with Coach Z at LWE) and the last time I looked, that's still a very winning formula. Jacobs has the chance to become a very strong 7A team that can make some noise in the post-season.
3. Prairie Ridge will win a lot of games in 2022 - Despite the loss to Jacobs here....the Prairie Ridge Wolves will still win a ton of games and they will still be a bitch to slow down and stop with it's vaunted wing option attack. The Wolves will be one of the few teams in 6A (stop talking 5A PR fans it won't happen...I think) who will be a pretty big favorite....that is until they get past Cary Grove in what....the second/quarterfinal round in it's annual playoff Super Bowl? FYI I still hate geographically balanced playoff brackets.....gas prices be damned.
4. Can we always have on time 7PM kickoffs? Please? I know stop sounding like an old man (and after sloooooowly making my way down the Rolling Hills of Alqonquin to get to the field on Friday night I feel like I'm 102) but having a 7PM kickoff actually kickoff on time is a treat from the football Gods. That is all.
5. So how good is Jacobs 2024 4 star ranked TE Grant Stec? I'll have much more on Stec in the coming week ot so....but the 4 star ranked TE has a ton of upside and also the physical tools to become a Power 5 tight end. Stec has impressive size (listed as 6-foot-6, 225 pounds) and length, runs really well and was able to show his hands and down the field ability on a 4th quarter back breaking 61 yard touchdown pass, Stec won't be putting up a ton of catches and yards in the Jacobs 75-25 percent run to pass offensive mix, but he will be a constant threat every time he's on the field. Stec also played a considerable amount of defensive end and showcased his ability on defense as well.
6. I like the sweet new uniforms from Prairie Ridge- Nice new Maroon uniforms for the Wolves in this game and it might be the first sorta change of the uniform in quite some time. It's not a major/drastic overhaul mind you....but the look with some added piping and style looked really strong here.
7. Prairie Ridge senior QB/KR Tyler Vesey will become a Player of the Year candidate- Tyler Vesey would have easily been the headline and the main story if the Wolves would have won this game. Vesey plays quarterback and runs the Wolves triple option as well as any QB I've seen at PR (Yes even as well as Samson Evans). Unlike the other QB's over the years at PR, Vesey has greasy speed and serious explosiveness. He ran for over 200 yards and had two rushing touchdowns and two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the loss. Most importantly, Vesey's performance and video will scare the hell out of every potential opponent in the post-season.
8 West/Northwest traffic seems a lot more tolerable these days compared to.... Where I live in the I80 and I55 area. In you were not made aware, the greater Joliet area is finally getting some serious road rebuilds done and right now this area looks like it was carpet bombed. When the ole 355 to 290 NW route seems like a decent drive on a Friday early rush hour....you know I'm getting use to how bad things are out my way this summer and fall. FYI avoid traveling through this I80 area if at all possible....and it's also a full time 24-7 hours a day ordeal so you are never not running into a delay day or night.
9. I just now got out of the parking lot at Jacobs - Ok I hate bitching and lets face it I'll drive and and sit in worse this season..but the entire parking situation and especially clearing the lots at Jacobs is a train wreck. The layout of the school...it's basically located in the middle of a commercial/light industrial area surrounding the school so it's not exactly easy in and out....and especially out. The parking lot is pretty much one way in and one way out....never a good thing when everyone leaves at once. Ok I'm done sounding like an old man now.
10. Is there anything more White Sox than........ Seeing the 2022 season and playoff chances end on a road trip in Detroit? Nothing is more White Sox than that my friends.
Stay Frosty!
