All things SWP.
1st on my list was the shock of Yorkville losing to Plainfield S.
1st on my list was the shock of Yorkville losing to Plainfield S.
Southwest Prairie thread
- Thread starter Cross Bones
- Start date
Yorkville was starting to get a little puffy chested
Bones, where do you see the 5 winnings coming from? Romeoville is a win. After that, who you got them beating? I would say HC, Minooka and Oswego are losses. So that means beating PN, PE, Yorkville and OE? Is that doable?
The last 3 are, PN is always tough, but I think that’s his point they have to steal a win
If we can steal the PN game.
Yes. The Minooka game frightens me the most. They'll be out for blood after the last two matchups.
Joliet West looked like they could have knocked off Morris, will they get a test in the East?
Same question for Oswego in the West after Minooka struggled with NV.
Same question for Oswego in the West after Minooka struggled with NV.
The Brook will not lose a game in the East.
Minooka will be the only test for Oswego in the west up should win.
Sadly.
They need to adjust it next year so it's geographically correct!
Plainfield north and Oswego is going to be a close game regardless of talent levels. Always is. It’s Imbordino’s Superbowl.
I think that JT West will get tested against Plainfield South. South could even win. We will see how good 2-0 South is when they take on Plainfield North 0-2 tomorrow night at Plainfield South.
South should have always been in the west as they are, geographically, west of north.
Agreed. It's a really weird league in both makeup and how they divide it. Not sure how long they will stick with the "good" and "bad" division, but it's interesting that it's lasted this long.
If I was Joliet West or Plainfield South I would be kind of frustrated that I may find my way to 6-8 wins and then get the doors blown off in week 1 of the playoffs because weeks 5-9 of the regular season offered all of 1 game that wasn't a mismatch.
Joliet West has benefited by making the playoffs at four and five on the bad side of the division. A few times that side of the division didn’t win any crossovers.
Hell, you can go 9-0 on the good side and be rewarded by playing at Loyola in the second round of the playoffs
Hell, you can go 9-0 on the good side and be rewarded by playing at Loyola in the second round of the playoffs
This is the ultimate Catch 22 situation though. Probably more so for Plainfield South, but they need the "bad" side of the division to hit 5 wins most years. Joliet West can sometimes steal a crossover win or 2.
I think it's a tiered thing. The good division/bad division thing is bad for Joliet West and Plainfield South. This is because they are programs that might not be good enough for the good division but are way better than the other four in the bad division. PFC. PFE, Joliet Central, and Romeoville NEED the bad division to have a chance at 3-4 wins and maybe an outside prayer at 5 wins.
If I were West of PFS and was dreaming about more than just winning 4-5 games, I would be very dissatisfied in the bad league. The expectation there is to win your terrible division and, in doing so, you probably coast for 4 of the final 5 regular season games. They are beyond that as a goal for their program. I would think they are looking to win playoff games. I know going 7-2 or 8-1 in the bad league means you might have a chance to steal a round one victory. But really playing nobody for over half your schedule makes it unlikely to every win more than the lucky first round game. I realize going 5-4 in the good side leaves you likely against an undefeated team in round 1, but at least you would be playing traditionally decent programs like Oswego, the Brook, and Plainfield North each week to leave you with some callouses and a chance at a run.
But this all gets back to this league having a weird track record. The Brook is new to the league, so their history doesn't count. Oswego has a proud tradition, but hasn't been "Oswego" for much of the last decade until this season. Other than that, I believe I can recall Plainfield North making one run to the state finals. I know 7A and 8A can be meat grinders, but I really feel like this league should have quite a few more semifinal and quarterfinal runs on the regular. I can't put my finger on how to get that level of achievement, but would be curious to hear suggestions. Ultimately, an infusion of new blood is probably the answer. The Brook was a good start if they can ever right the ship. Would love to see the Lincoln Ways or Lockport added to the mix, however unlikely that may be. Or perhaps the DVC is a better merger partner with the SWP.
“Oswego has a proud tradition, but hasn't been "Oswego" for much of the last decade until this season.”
Huh? I’ll give you 21, 22 and 23 we’re off years (even though they made the playoffs two of those years). The seven years before that, however, they won the conference six times, had a couple quarterfinal runs and typically lost to some of the top-tier programs in 8a (LWE, Bolingbrook, Loyola)
Huh? I’ll give you 21, 22 and 23 we’re off years (even though they made the playoffs two of those years). The seven years before that, however, they won the conference six times, had a couple quarterfinal runs and typically lost to some of the top-tier programs in 8a (LWE, Bolingbrook, Loyola)
I count 3 quarterfinal appearances and 0 semis since Hoinkes left after 2006.
Perhaps he set an impossibly high standard, but 3 quarterfinal appearances and zero semis in nearly 2 decades isn't up to the (very) high standard of the previous two decades.
Not a criticism of their last two decades as much as it is a nod to the zenith. And yes, I know the zenith was largely in lower classes, so it's not apples to apples.
Perhaps the compliment here is that I consider them like Maine South in that I expect them to win their conference just about every year. So that feather in the cap really doesn't count. Unfair I am sure, but when you are like Maine South or Owego and just have so much more tradition and expectation than all the "peers" in your league, the measurement tends to come exclusively from postseason success. Again, I am sure this is unfair, just an explanation of why I used those words.
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In order to right the ship they're going to need the conference to reconfigure. No matter how they slice it "good/bad" or "east/west" Brook belongs in the bad/east. Hopefully after a few years of week in week out games where they have a chance they can start to improve.
As a long time SWP fan I think it's essential to the health of the conference!
After that maybe inviting Matea and AA Stagg.
Romeoville jumped out to a quick and early 13 - 0 lead behind their WR who was probably the best player on the field. Then Raiders showed the resilience and responded by feeding the soph running back who is a throwback to Tailback High days so then it was 20-13. Next Spartans went back to the well for a 79 yard TD pass into double coverage, WR made a nice catch and the defenders just fell down, not sure why -- 20-19. Raiders respond on the ground 27-19 half (for the 3rd game in a row stopped on 4th and 1 at the goalline). In the 2nd half Raiders just kept pounding the rock. 48-19. Back ups got some tick. Hopefully we will be healed up for week 4 as some key players were out that we'll need if we want to get to 5 wins.
