Southwest Prairie thread
- Thread starter Cross Bones
- Start date
I have South favored also, but you never know. West played Morris tough for 3 quarters.
After this game, Joliet West's (2-3) last 3 opponents have a combined record 2-13. Plainfield South's (3-2) last 3 are a combined 1-14.
Can't see Yorkville scoring enough to beat Minooka (not that Minooka will score a lot)
Yeah its been a lack of scoring by the whole conference against anyone with a pulse if we're keeping it 💯
Starting to question how much Oswego should be favored given a single defensive TD could change everything.
The Minooka offense is rough, and I don’t think it’s for a lack of talent. The playcalling is absolutely terrible. Belskis and McCombs days are long gone
Never a good thing when your first test of any real sort is in week 6. And that test is someone projected to finish anywhere from 3rd-5th in the division. I thought Minooka would be clearly favored against PN and Brook and an underdog against Oswego. Now I think they will be underdogs in all 3 remaining games.
Oswego has the division by the throat. Yorkville, Brook, and PN all with a shot to surpass Minooka and finish 2-3-4.
Contender for 5-0 start to a 5-5 finish.
I think they will be fortunate to win a few more games. Maybe they can knock off Plainfield North or the Brook, but I bet they will be underdogs in both games.
If they're looking to make structural changes and have next year's 3-0 or 4-0 start spark a real discussion of "is Minooka for real?" then they absolutely have to do one of two things.....Schedule not just good, but excellent 7A/8A programs in weeks 1 and 2 or, less realistically but probably more effectively, seek out a new conference.
I think Oswego is clearly ready to move on to a more competitive league, but they are probably hampered by Oswego East being a package deal with them. Minooka has no such restriction other than removing the temptation to just settle for the comfortable, local, and manageable league. The SWP is decent for a lot of sports, but football is rough. I know they likely won't upend all their sports programs for football's benefit, but that's the choice they likely have right now.
Have to get their youth program playing bigger communities too and not being content being the big fish in a pond of 3A/4A rural communities at the youth level.
I think the SPC West is a pretty solid 8A division. Not great, but pretty solid. SPC East is pretty bad.
Oswego is no longer head and shoulders above everyone else in the conference and Minooka definitely isn’t. I don’t know why they would want to leave. Just schedule better non conference games. That what Oswego and PN do. No reason to be playing Rock Island.
Oswego is no longer head and shoulders above everyone else in the conference and Minooka definitely isn’t. I don’t know why they would want to leave. Just schedule better non conference games. That what Oswego and PN do. No reason to be playing Rock Island.
The last 2 years they scheduled a Home and Away with a school (NV) that was 92-32 over the last 12 seasons. Including 10 years of play-offs, an addition year no one played in the play offs because of Covid. So 11 of the last 12 years, NV was in the play-offs.
Buf if you want to keep it recent, NV was 25-9 over just the past 3 seasons.
And the year's before that, they scheduled a home and away with Bolingbrook.
What conference would you suggest for them too? Southwest valley? Both Oswego / OE have some rivarly with WVHS.
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Agree with these sentiments. Minooka isn't even winning the conference they're in, how would leaving for a tougher conference benefit them?
Also leave and go where, the only conferences in the area are the DVC and SWSC... which is one conference and depending on the divisions they either make it more difficult to get 5 wins which will harm the program, or the schedule gets easier which is the opposite of what people are saying they need to do. I guess the Upstate 36 accept anyone but that wouldn't do the thing either, seems to be working for West Aurora though.
Their non-con scheduling has been fine. And not sure why people would want then scheduling more difficult games when they aren't necessarily running away with W's in the non-cons they've been scheduling.
The actual answer is just get better... or don't. That's why there are bad, average, good, and great programs.
I’m told somehow getting whacked by LWE/strong program in non-con, rather than playoffs, will make the program better.
I wouldn't be opposed to scheduling it as I think everything except guaranteed W's is quality scheduling. But they're not going to suddenly be a yearly semifinalist because they scheduled East in week 1.
I think my lack of clarity on their direction comes from their lack of clarity on direction. They seem to have the desire to be a real player on a high stage, but their results always seem to leave them well shy of that.
I know they aren't even dominant in their league yet, but the league as a whole is just a weird fit of programs.
The Brook has a big enrollment of over 3300. Oswego, Oswego East, and Minooka are at 2700-2900 and all three have major potential for growth in the coming years and decades.
But the other 8 programs just don't add up. The other 8 programs include Joliet West and Central (big at over 3300, but traditionally doormats) and 6 other programs with an average enrollment of 2,109, with only Plainfield North being a traditionally over .500 team with an enrollment over 2,000.
I think Oswego would be a great fit for the DVC/SWSC in whatever iteration it takes going forward. East would have to go along for the ride. As Minooka grows over 3000, a league with similar enrollment schools who desire to compete would be beneficial as well. Maybe a few years away but seeing the three of those schools migrate to the DVC would be fun and probably mutually beneficial.
But I get it, until Minooka actually starts achieving on the field what they desire to accomplish, their current league of the Joliets and other schools 33% smaller than them (and that percentage ever increasing) is probably where they belong.
As Minooka continues to grow, do you think there will ever be two Minooka schools? With the south campus opening a few years back, I thought it would eventually become Minooka South or Channahon HS.
Sad truth is it really needs to be three. Channahon, Minooka, and Shorewood should each have their own high school. Too many feeder districts and too much political division and distrust in the HS district.
I am convinced they will always be the "sleeping giant" and fall short of what they should be simply because the underlying dynamics of the district are just a mess. They get kids from Minooka, Channahon, and Troy districts.
Recent referenda for the Minooka elementary district have failed, largely due to resistance in Grundy County. Channahon and Shorewood residents (Will County) would be happy to build a third building and have three 9-12 campuses.
GOTW: The York vs Oswego
Foxes scored an impressive win over ranked Minooka and hope to keep their playoff hopes alive by upsetting another ranked team. Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't The York won a few in a row in this series?
Foxes scored an impressive win over ranked Minooka and hope to keep their playoff hopes alive by upsetting another ranked team. Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't The York won a few in a row in this series?
Agree Bones
But if you don’t know where you need to go then how do you ever get there.
Unfortunately they may never be a yearly semifinalist . It’s not like every school becomes a ESL, LWE, MC, MS or Loyola. It’s a Culture/Coach/Community thing that makes a program run.
It does but if you have the 3 things I mentioned the players will come. Emphasis on Community. You have to have it. Make no mistake the parents buy in is why it happens.
Who ya got this week?
Minooka over PFN
The Brook over OE
Oswego takes care of Yorkville
Minooka over PFN
The Brook over OE
Oswego takes care of Yorkville
Boy was I wrong. OE blowing our doors off. Had to leave 3 mins into the 2nd qtr.
While Minooka (6-1) @ Oswego (7-0) will get most of the fanfare this week....
Going off the notion that 5 wins gets a play-off berth, 2 elimination games this week:
Plainfield North (3-4) @ Bolingbrook (3-4)
Oswego East (3-4) @ Yorkville (3-4)
Joliet West (3-4) faces one last hurdle @ Plainfield East (2-5), assuming the Tigers don't stumble at home in week 9 to Plainfield Central (0-7)
Going off the notion that 5 wins gets a play-off berth, 2 elimination games this week:
Plainfield North (3-4) @ Bolingbrook (3-4)
Oswego East (3-4) @ Yorkville (3-4)
Joliet West (3-4) faces one last hurdle @ Plainfield East (2-5), assuming the Tigers don't stumble at home in week 9 to Plainfield Central (0-7)
schedule is bad but they do have some talented kids this season.....
