Who is your top rival?
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I had a conversation with a JCA fan 2 weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about this since. Nice guy, we talked about the game and programs and he informed me that JCA had this game circled. Makes perfect sense as it was a title game rematch that Naz won so JCA wanted it. I was a little surprised when he told me that Naz was JCA’s biggest rival, I assume he’s a father that hasn’t been around the program for too long but recent history would indicate a rivalry.
When I expressed that I was surprised he asked me who Naz’s biggest rival was. I didn’t have a great answer. The program has evolved so much and conference realignment changes things almost yearly. For a long time the answer was Riverside Brookfield but that game went the way of the dinosaurs. Benet would be a logical answer but that’s more of a school thing. The rivalry is very one sided. Fenwick, IC and St Francis seem like decent choices but there’s just not enough history there. So I didn’t have a good answer for him, still don’t and with the ever changing CCL I’m not sure we’ll see a consistent rival either way.
I am definitely interested to hear what other people think and why, because for most this is really shaped on their experiences.
When I expressed that I was surprised he asked me who Naz’s biggest rival was. I didn’t have a great answer. The program has evolved so much and conference realignment changes things almost yearly. For a long time the answer was Riverside Brookfield but that game went the way of the dinosaurs. Benet would be a logical answer but that’s more of a school thing. The rivalry is very one sided. Fenwick, IC and St Francis seem like decent choices but there’s just not enough history there. So I didn’t have a good answer for him, still don’t and with the ever changing CCL I’m not sure we’ll see a consistent rival either way.
I am definitely interested to hear what other people think and why, because for most this is really shaped on their experiences.
Kids want to beat who has been the thorn in their side in recent years, that is natural. For JC kids, that was likely Montini from 2009-2015 and Naz of more recent vintage.
It was definitely PC and MC throughout much of the 90s and 00s with Morris a frequent playoff rival.
I think, schoolwide and programwide, the biggest rival feel is still PC. They have to keep playing semi regularly to keep that feel, but if they do, it is definitely Providence. Too many connections between the programs and too close geographically for it to not be. And the traditions are second to none.
There are two reasons why it is not MC any longer. One is obvious in that they haven't played in 17 years. The other is simply because MC is a legitimate 7A/8A program that can play with LWE, LA, etc each year. JC has years where they CAN do that, but it is not a given every single year. The enrollment disparity is real.
So yes, just like Ty Isaac most wanted to beat Montini because it is frustrating to lose to them, I am sure the current Hilltoppers would most love to play Naz in a rematch.
But overall, it has to be the Celtics as the Hilltoppers' biggest rival.
Yeah PC was the school that came to mind when he responded with Naz. My mind also went to Morris because I’m that old. I guess I’m not old enough to remember JCA-MtC as anything more than a novelty type game, intense for sure but not like the venom of the Providence/Morris/Montini series or at least that’s how it seemed to this outsider. When he was able to rattle off that Naz was now 7-1 against JCA since 2014 I knew the disdain was there lol.
That’s my one gripe about the ESCC-CCL merger and subsequent evolving divisions, you don’t really get those intense rivalries yearly. Sure new ones develop but some games you need every year.
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For Rochester, it's (1) SHG and (1A) Chatham.
With SHG, you had the annual Leonard Bowl from 2010-2022 along with 3 rematches in the playoffs during that period. Each of the playoff games wasn't decided until late in the 4th quarter. I look back at the initial 2010 game, which was Rochester's first year in the CS8, and wonder what would've happened going forward had the Cyclones won decisively instead of the Rockets eking out a 13-10 victory. That win was a huge confidence boost for the program.
Chatham is the only other team in the CS8 with multiple wins against Rochester. The rivalry with the Titans starts at an early age with JFL games beginning in the 3rd grade and you see it in other sports like baseball and basketball as well from a young age.
With SHG, you had the annual Leonard Bowl from 2010-2022 along with 3 rematches in the playoffs during that period. Each of the playoff games wasn't decided until late in the 4th quarter. I look back at the initial 2010 game, which was Rochester's first year in the CS8, and wonder what would've happened going forward had the Cyclones won decisively instead of the Rockets eking out a 13-10 victory. That win was a huge confidence boost for the program.
Chatham is the only other team in the CS8 with multiple wins against Rochester. The rivalry with the Titans starts at an early age with JFL games beginning in the 3rd grade and you see it in other sports like baseball and basketball as well from a young age.
It has to be such a different feel to that game without Ken patrolling the sidelines.
For St. Francis:
IC, long history.
Montini, havn’t played in recent years though.
Naz, I can see this building more especially if they meet in playoffs again (4 meetings in 2 years). but the div re-shuffles might stunt that moving forward.
Marmion
IC, long history.
Montini, havn’t played in recent years though.
Naz, I can see this building more especially if they meet in playoffs again (4 meetings in 2 years). but the div re-shuffles might stunt that moving forward.
Marmion
I would say the MC-JC games through the 80s and 90s into the early 00s were likely more emotional than any series anyone can remember from any schools. You have the "We beat Joliet Catholic" t shirts. You had JC ending MC's quest for a 5 peat. You had a new upstart JC surprising MC in 99 and then handling them fairly decisively in 2000, leaving Lenti to say he wishes they could keep playing the game in the parking lot. Then you have a top 5 nationally ranked JC on a 29 game win streak beaten by MC in 2001 to reverse the trend. All in front of roughly 10,000 and with newspaper and local TV doing extensive coverage.
Even the PC and Morris games never reached that level of emotion, coverage, and angst on both sides. The stakes just seemed higher when both teams were in top 25-50 national conversations.
I don't think disdain was there. A lot of respect with a healthy dose of a desire to beat the other guy. But your word choice of venom is probably appropriate. It was definitely intense and way more than a novelty game. In fact, for probably 5-7 years out of a 10-15 year stretch it would be the only game guaranteed to dominate the Trib, Sun Times, NBC5, etc.
With the death of the legacy media, we will likely never see anything quite like that again. Doing it weeks 1 and 2 for a long time was a huge part of the appeal as well. When both programs are top 5-10 in the state entering the year (and often top 50 nationally) then the expectations are sky high on both sides and the intensity of the game just gets ratcheted up.
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I know there’s a long way to go but we see a JC/Naz matchup in the playoffs this year. Both are exceptional programs in 5A.
I’m not discounting SF at all - I’m just saying there could be a rematch.
As Wheaton Academy keeps evolving I'd like to see a yearly matchup between those two programs.
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Great info and you certainly know better than me. My perception was that those games weren’t as intense mostly because they were early and not in playoffs but I was an outsider and not around as much, I’m pretty interested in this version having seen both teams but I do feel a healthy MtC is a different beast. Naz had to play perfect to pull that one off and ultimately made some key mistakes.
HS football is better with games like JCA-MtC!
I’m enjoying 5a lately. Some fun playoff rivalries brewing and rather solid football. I think the class is in good shape but JCA will be in a good spot if they go south again.
Althoff has no rival.
Sadly, that is kinda true. Used to be West - but they have not played for two decades. We have bounced from 4/6A (title), to 3/6A (two titles) and downward to 1/8A.
Playoff rivals were Aleman ... 1986 team pissed it away and my 1990 team got revenge.
We had some tilts with Rochester - but we shrank.
I guess you could say Camp Point and man, I hope we get them again. I know that name has become a mantra of sorts since last fall.
Sadly, that is kinda true. Used to be West - but they have not played for two decades. We have bounced from 4/6A (title), to 3/6A (two titles) and downward to 1/8A.
Playoff rivals were Aleman ... 1986 team pissed it away and my 1990 team got revenge.
We had some tilts with Rochester - but we shrank.
I guess you could say Camp Point and man, I hope we get them again. I know that name has become a mantra of sorts since last fall.
The IC St. Francis rivalry has always been great. Back in the day the St. Francis game was usually the one that made the difference between IC making the playoffs or not. Best part of this was that it was always a hard hitting, tough game. Respectful though. Went away for a while with IC in that terrible conference, but that rivalry seems to be renewed now that McMillen is at St. Francis.
When I was at Loyola back in the 70s, I'd say our big rival was Gordon. That started to change once the CCL joined the IHSA and, later, when Gordon's male enrollment got down to about one-fifth of the size it was in the 70s.
For a long while after that, I would say that Loyola's big rival was New Trier. It still is to some extent, especially in sports like hockey and lacrosse and, to a lesser degree, basketball, soccer, and baseball. It's really too bad that a school like New Trier is such a perennial lightweight in football. If that program was more successful, I think that LA/NT rivalry would be stronger. It would be off the charts if there was an annual non-con football game between the two schools that featured competitive games.
I see the Loyola and Ignatius rivalry, while always solid since Ignatius rejoined the CCL in the late 70s, gaining momentum in recent years now that Ignatius football is more respectable.
I also see a bigger rivalry on the horizon between Loyola and DePaul Prep.
The really interesting thing to me is that the closest Catholic high school to Loyola with a football program is NDCP, but the Loyola and NDCP rivalry is pretty much a non-entity. Their big rivalry is with Pat's, but I still think that Loyola and NDCP could and should be a bigger rivalry than it is.
For a long while after that, I would say that Loyola's big rival was New Trier. It still is to some extent, especially in sports like hockey and lacrosse and, to a lesser degree, basketball, soccer, and baseball. It's really too bad that a school like New Trier is such a perennial lightweight in football. If that program was more successful, I think that LA/NT rivalry would be stronger. It would be off the charts if there was an annual non-con football game between the two schools that featured competitive games.
I see the Loyola and Ignatius rivalry, while always solid since Ignatius rejoined the CCL in the late 70s, gaining momentum in recent years now that Ignatius football is more respectable.
I also see a bigger rivalry on the horizon between Loyola and DePaul Prep.
The really interesting thing to me is that the closest Catholic high school to Loyola with a football program is NDCP, but the Loyola and NDCP rivalry is pretty much a non-entity. Their big rivalry is with Pat's, but I still think that Loyola and NDCP could and should be a bigger rivalry than it is.
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I'll let Hub Arkush explain it. This is old, but it never changes. (And for the record Palatine won that homecoming game 24-17 )
They even acknowledge the Tracks ... one is the right side, the other is the wrong side!!!
(My ex and my twins went to Fremd, so I am biased.)
When did you play for Hazelwood East? We played them in 1988 and 1989 to open the season. In 1989, we were driving in the 4th for the win and were picked by Terrel Fletcher for six. Both he and his brother played in the NFL. There was also a 380-pound D-Lineman. Never have I felt a body so smooshy. Dude's cheeks were spilling out of the helmet and his feet were close to two feet long!!!!
That 1989 loss was the last of my high school career and East was top-5 USA Today squad.
Fenwick/Ignatius. I’ll root for any CCL team in the playoffs except for them. Some good games between the two especially that 2021 Week 9 game. Glad to see they kept it alive by playing regularly during non-conference games.
Fenwick/Naz feels like it could be a good rivalry due to proximity but it just hasn’t caught on. Personally I would have preferred if Fenwick stayed in the Orange. Felt like interesting rivalries could have developed with Naz and St. Francis.
Fenwick/Naz feels like it could be a good rivalry due to proximity but it just hasn’t caught on. Personally I would have preferred if Fenwick stayed in the Orange. Felt like interesting rivalries could have developed with Naz and St. Francis.
For Sterling (and correct me if i'm wrong other Sterling folks) but historically it was Dixon (who we do not play anymore) and Geneseo (still a big week). As of more recent times, I feel Moline has become that week 9 rival as we have kept each other out of the playoffs/played for the WB6 title.
Feel similar to Crusader on this one... Not one or two true rivals for QND, who was playing as an independent the majority of the past 25 years.
QND has had rivals in the past... Pittsfield vs. QND in the 90s as a part of whatever conference they were in was a big one. Bill Connell, QND's old coach from 1992-2018ish was good at getting opposing coaches all worked up. QND v. Beardstown is another old 90s one. Add Hamilton (now West Hancock) to that one. All stem from the conference these schools were all a part of back then.
More modern versions of "rivals" for QND would be Breese Mater Dei. The two have met a number of times in the playoffs and regular season games have always been the test of whether either was going to make a run to the quarterfinals or further. No real bad blood so to speak, although the altercations in 2005 and 2006 likely caused a few to have negative thoughts about the other very briefly.
QND v. Palmyra, MO was a big one well into the 2000s. Palmyra Missouri for those unaware used to be quite the little NEMO powerhouse. This one had lots of bad blood.
QND v. Hannibal, MO - geographical, the two sit 20 miles apart across the river from each other. The instant classic that was "The miracle at 10th and Jackson" also attached to this rivalry. Game was played for 6 years I believe, that's all. Hannibal had won 2 straight I believe coming into the miracle year. QND trailed by 18 well into the 3rd quarter before ripping off 20 unanswered including a late Bruns TD catch, like less than 2 mins on the clock, that burned a hole in mine and many others memories for life. Cool moment for sure. ***Should also be noted, I left this one early. Had checked in at the Tailgate House prior to heading out and they asked if I could make a bev run. By the time I got through the checkout at the bev store, QND had put up two scores. I hauled the mail back to QND to catch the final 4 mins of game clock.
For the future, I'm really hoping that QND joining a league will facilitate some natural league rivalries. The first, being SHG. Most especially after QND shocked themselves even with a 37-7 win in Quincy a few weeks back. QND is 1-0 against the Cycs. Will likely be the only time this game goes in that direction but hey, we'll f'ing take it baby!
Also really hoping the QND/Jacksonville game takes off into a sort of rivalry. I know QND played Jax back in the 80s, before I was born. They were a part of a conference at that time. Geographically and program-wise I think this could be the one that turns into that "I can't stand losing to them" type of rivalry. Although the QND/Springfield High game will also feel like that after the 14-9 barn burner the two put us through this year.
QND has had rivals in the past... Pittsfield vs. QND in the 90s as a part of whatever conference they were in was a big one. Bill Connell, QND's old coach from 1992-2018ish was good at getting opposing coaches all worked up. QND v. Beardstown is another old 90s one. Add Hamilton (now West Hancock) to that one. All stem from the conference these schools were all a part of back then.
More modern versions of "rivals" for QND would be Breese Mater Dei. The two have met a number of times in the playoffs and regular season games have always been the test of whether either was going to make a run to the quarterfinals or further. No real bad blood so to speak, although the altercations in 2005 and 2006 likely caused a few to have negative thoughts about the other very briefly.
QND v. Palmyra, MO was a big one well into the 2000s. Palmyra Missouri for those unaware used to be quite the little NEMO powerhouse. This one had lots of bad blood.
QND v. Hannibal, MO - geographical, the two sit 20 miles apart across the river from each other. The instant classic that was "The miracle at 10th and Jackson" also attached to this rivalry. Game was played for 6 years I believe, that's all. Hannibal had won 2 straight I believe coming into the miracle year. QND trailed by 18 well into the 3rd quarter before ripping off 20 unanswered including a late Bruns TD catch, like less than 2 mins on the clock, that burned a hole in mine and many others memories for life. Cool moment for sure. ***Should also be noted, I left this one early. Had checked in at the Tailgate House prior to heading out and they asked if I could make a bev run. By the time I got through the checkout at the bev store, QND had put up two scores. I hauled the mail back to QND to catch the final 4 mins of game clock.
For the future, I'm really hoping that QND joining a league will facilitate some natural league rivalries. The first, being SHG. Most especially after QND shocked themselves even with a 37-7 win in Quincy a few weeks back. QND is 1-0 against the Cycs. Will likely be the only time this game goes in that direction but hey, we'll f'ing take it baby!
Also really hoping the QND/Jacksonville game takes off into a sort of rivalry. I know QND played Jax back in the 80s, before I was born. They were a part of a conference at that time. Geographically and program-wise I think this could be the one that turns into that "I can't stand losing to them" type of rivalry. Although the QND/Springfield High game will also feel like that after the 14-9 barn burner the two put us through this year.
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The old Greater Midwestern Conference from the 80's, which included Chatham, QND, Jacksonville, Macomb, and Hannibal MO back in the "Forgotonia" days of country roads in Western IL. Our bus broke down one time coming back from Macomb in Basketball season. We rolled in about 2 am with an 8:30 practice awaiting us.
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Forgotonia... that's a word I don't hear much anymore. There are still folks in Quincy that use that term often, and I believe there's a pub in town with a sign proudly displaying that name. That's good stuff, rocketnation.
I'll tell you this, it's easy from the Q nowadays they've got it 4 lanes all the way, but there ain't no easy way to get to Macomb, Illinois. It's a through the river and over the woods (I said what I said) 2-lane roller coaster from any other direction. Macomb was definitely a rival early on for QND in football and those round ball games were always heated. We used to make 2 signs for basketball games for the Bomber faithful, they hated us for our dad joke but we didn't care. First sign read "Where's Macomb?" second sign read "In ma pocket"
That old conference sounds pretty sweet though...
LOL I remember my cousin talking about that d-lineman. I played there 1978-81 for Coach Gorzo. I moved in 1984 and been up here ever since.
I always thought St Fran had better rivalries with Montini, Marian and Marmion more than IC. Guess I was wrong.
For Morris, right now I'd say Sycamore. Historically, Oswego.
If you have not been to a Triad vs Highland game ur missing out!! Incredible atmosphere..
At the 2017 semifinal game between Rochester and Highland, I stood next to several Triad players who had made the trip up to root against the Bulldogs.
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