Was there one game that put your school on the map?

[all4theillini]

Do you remember what the tie breaker at the time was? I'm picturing all 3 coaches flipping coins in a diner like in Friday Night Lights 🤣

I do not but my assumption is that Geneva was first out because they had a non-con loss @Benet making them 7-2 leaving Morris’ head-to-head defeat of Plainfield the deciding factor.
If you’re really interested I can ask a few of my friends that played on that 1980 Geneva team.

Geneva:
Pete Temple
Mark Searcy
Britt Cesarone

Morris:
Frank Varner
Bill Button
Mark Sharp

Not sure about Plainfield (Scott Davis / Illini / Raiders possibly) but a lot of talent in the conference those days.

 

[Sparty Jones]

Buffalo Grove 24 Mount Carmel 20 at Gately in 1985

Propelled the Bison to the semis where they lost to national champ East Saint Louis, then broke through with a state championship the following year.

 

[all4theillini]

Buffalo Grove 24 Mount Carmel 20 at Gately in 1985

Propelled the Bison to the semis where they lost to national champ East Saint Louis, then broke through with a state championship the following year.

I had a fraternity brother that played in that game. He wasn’t much of an athlete but was on the kickoff team.

He said he picked out the smallest East St Louis player on their kickoff return team and ran right at him.

He said he got hit harder than anytime in his life. Got knocked backward two yards and flat on his back.

 

[1111SouthFirst]

Nailing down just one is definitely tough. I'd say the 2011 regular season W against Joliet Catholic though. First W against JCA was defining for them. That was ultimately one of two decisive games that led to Naz's first ESCC title. That year they then beat a good Cary Grove team in Rd2 before falling to eventual state champ Prairie Ridge in the quarters (and PRs only loss that year was to CG). Before that year I think the total playoff victories in program history was like 4 or 5. They had flirted with a run to quarters in 07, but that was the first year that really solidified that everything Racki was doing there had taken hold and a long term program was built that could compete for titles one day. 3 years later they captured their first title.

Good point on that ‘07 Naz team. That senior class had won a grand total of 5 games in 3 years before going 8-4 that season. That season marked Nazareths first ESCC wins vs. SV, SP, MC, and Benet.

 

[SiuCubFan8]

Good point on that ‘07 Naz team. That senior class had won a grand total of 5 games in 3 years before going 8-4 that season. That season marked Nazareths first ESCC wins vs. SV, SP, MC, and Benet.

Seems so long ago Naz was just a run of the mill HS team…no disrespect.

 

[Sparty Jones]

I had a fraternity brother that played in that game. He wasn’t much of an athlete but was on the kickoff team.

He said he picked out the smallest East St Louis player on their kickoff return team and ran right at him.

He said he got hit harder than anytime in his life. Got knocked backward two yards and flat on his back.

May I ask who it was?

 

[crazylegs777]

Do you remember what the tie breaker at the time was? I'm picturing all 3 coaches flipping coins in a diner like in Friday Night Lights 🤣

Wasn't it the same for everybody? In 82 Reavis,Sandburg & Eisenhower all went 8-1. Sandburg beat Reavis 28-27 OT. Eisenhower beat Sandburg 17-14 so Sandburg -2. Reavis beat Eisenhower 23-7 so Reavis +15. Eisenhower -13. So Reavis champs & won state & Sandburg At large & Eisenhower no playoffs. Ironically Sandburg got drilled at Parsons by the Flyers 52-10. Reavis who lost to Sandburg then beat the Flyers at Reavis 25-13 after Reavis needed a late pass interference against Thornton in round 1 that helped the Rams beat the Wildcats

 

[4Afan]

Wasn't it the same for everybody? In 82 Reavis,Sandburg & Eisenhower all went 8-1. Sandburg beat Reavis 28-27 OT. Eisenhower beat Sandburg 17-14 so Sandburg -2. Reavis beat Eisenhower 23-7 so Reavis +15. Eisenhower -13. So Reavis champs & won state & Sandburg At large & Eisenhower no playoffs. Ironically Sandburg got drilled at Parsons by the Flyers 52-10. Reavis who lost to Sandburg then beat the Flyers at Reavis 25-13 after Reavis needed a late pass interference against Thornton in round 1 that helped the Rams beat the Wildcats

I honestly don't know what the tie breakers were back then. My question is how was Sandburg an "at large" team if only the conference champs made the playoffs?

 

[crazylegs777]

I honestly don't know what the tie breakers were back then. My question is how was Sandburg an "at large" team if only the conference champs made the playoffs?

A handful got in at large. One year there was a 3 way tie. I'll have to find the article but basically a team got in by losing on purpose. The game went to OT on a saturday. They figured it out from the game the night before where if they lost by 6 or 7 they were out. So in OT they gave up a touchdown a extra point. On 4th down they kicked a field goal & even though they lost they got in as conference champs because they lost by 4 only

 

[PowerI66]

Wasn't it the same for everybody? In 82 Reavis,Sandburg & Eisenhower all went 8-1. Sandburg beat Reavis 28-27 OT. Eisenhower beat Sandburg 17-14 so Sandburg -2. Reavis beat Eisenhower 23-7 so Reavis +15. Eisenhower -13. So Reavis champs & won state & Sandburg At large & Eisenhower no playoffs. Ironically Sandburg got drilled at Parsons by the Flyers 52-10. Reavis who lost to Sandburg then beat the Flyers at Reavis 25-13 after Reavis needed a late pass interference against Thornton in round 1 that helped the Rams beat the Wildcats

More of us than you think we're not even born yet when this happened

 

[tjjrr]

For SHG the game I would say that stands out is the 2008 semi-final win over Providence Catholic, at Providence. The Celtics came out extremely confident, thinking they had an easy win coming and would move on to the championship game. They had come down to Springfield the previous year and defeated the Cyclones in the first round. SHG was pretty loaded that year with some great skill position guys as well as a fairly good sized and talented line and some good linebackers as well. Probably overall one of SHG's best teams ever. We outplayed the Celtics for 3 quarters plus and then held on for a 24-17 win. The Cyclones went on to win the championship game easily 37-15 over Lemont. That was a hard hitting, good ole' playoff game between 2 solid programs. I honestly was not expecting to come out of there with a win. It was a happy trip home for Cyclone fans.

 

[crazylegs777]

More of us than you think we're not even born yet when this happened

Sorry was just trying to contribute. Seems I can't win

 

[doctor_d]

Sorry was just trying to contribute. Seems I can't win

I like the old school stories. Most of my stories are becoming old school nowadays 😆

 

[Silver Rain]

old school

"My man Blue!"

 

[all4theillini]

May I ask who it was?

Mark Morris R.I.P.

 

[Sparty Jones]

Mark Morris R.I.P.

Sorry to hear that

 

[wolverine55]

I'm in Iowa now, but coached at Jacksonville from '02-04. 2004 was the year we upset SHG in the second round of the playoffs after losing to them 41-7 (I think it was) earlier in the season. I was a lowly freshmen coach so I didn't have much to do with it, but man it was fun being a part of that season!

 

[cornerrat]

For SHG the game I would say that stands out is the 2008 semi-final win over Providence Catholic, at Providence. The Celtics came out extremely confident, thinking they had an easy win coming and would move on to the championship game. They had come down to Springfield the previous year and defeated the Cyclones in the first round. SHG was pretty loaded that year with some great skill position guys as well as a fairly good sized and talented line and some good linebackers as well. Probably overall one of SHG's best teams ever. We outplayed the Celtics for 3 quarters plus and then held on for a 24-17 win. The Cyclones went on to win the championship game easily 37-15 over Lemont. That was a hard hitting, good ole' playoff game between 2 solid programs. I honestly was not expecting to come out of there with a win. It was a happy trip home for Cyclone fans.

All.... Never did get my flag back that they swiped. That was a good win. I have watched this thread since the start and knew immediately what my pick would be. And it wasn't a win. It still stings to bring it up and it also involves NLP. The 95 championship game. SHG dominates ("meat" was a terror on the field that day) for over 3 and half quarters and is up by 10 and have the ball late. Self implosion denied the Cyclones their first state championship. The Celtics ended up ranked #10 in the country that year. Ratsy

 

[zoocp67]

A couple stands out for Althoff—the 4A 1980 state finals after losing to the winners in the playoffs the year before. Althoff just joined the IHSA after playing in the Bi-State league until 1978.

Then the 1986 win over Granite Ciy the week after they broke ESL's nation-leading winning streak. (Later, that team pissed away the semis hung over and high after a night in a Rock Island hotel.)

The 1989 team's mid-season win over Paducah Tilghman - reminded us we can play with the biggest of big boys after losing the opener by a score to Hazelwood East, which was top 5 in the nation at the end of the s

A couple stands out for Althoff—the 4A 1980 state finals after losing to the winners in the playoffs the year before. Althoff just joined the IHSA after playing in the Bi-State league until 1978.

Then the 1986 win over Granite Ciy the week after they broke ESL's nation-leading winning streak. (Later, that team pissed away the semis hung over and high after a night in a Rock Island hotel.)

The 1989 team's mid-season win over Paducah Tilghman - reminded us we can play with the biggest of big boys after losing the opener by a score to Hazelwood East, which was top 5 in the nation at the end of the season.

Gotta give Alleman some credit. Think they threw the ball 8 times all year, and threw it 30 times in the first half. Totally shocked Althoff. Who would think they could throw the ball with success?