As Billy Judge (@BillJudge1) pointed out yesterday on Twitter, home teams in Class 8A, 7A and 6A were 23-1 in the second round of the playoffs. The only road winner was East St. Louis, widely considered the best team in the state.
I’m not sure if the home field advantage played a huge role in any of the three games I saw this weekend. I expected Neuqua Valley to beat Homewood-Flossmoor, even on the road, but the Vikings executed a smart game plan very well. I doubt the Wildcats’ defensive line would have had much luck against H-F’s offensive line and Sean Allen even if the game was played in on the south side of Naperville.
Plenty of movement this week.
Dropping out
Crete-Monee (10-1): This is the first Super 25 of the season that won’t contain the Warriors. Providence knocked them out of the playoffs decisively. The regular season schedule just wasn’t strong enough to keep Crete-Monee in.
Huntley (9-2): The Red Raiders beat both Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove at the beginning of the season and losing a close game to Marist is clearly nothing to drop out of the rankings for (see Loyola). Don’t be surprised if Huntley manages to reappear in the final Super 25 of the season after more teams have been eliminated.
Montini (8-3): I’ve yanked the Broncos in and out of the Super 25 all season. They were in my preseason top 10 and I expected big things. They had some big victories against St. Rita and Providence and gave Mount Carmel a tough challenge. Another team that could reappear in the final Super 25, depending how things shake out.
Simeon (7-2): The Wolverines were demolished up in Prairie Ridge. That win over Phillips still stands though, and will look even better if the Wildcats manage to beat Mount Carmel this weekend. But Simeon is gone for now.
New additions
Brother Rice (7-4): The CCL/ESCC has done very well in the playoffs, to no one’s surprise. The Crusaders have had a very fortunate draw (Bartlett, South Elgin). Next up is Minooka, which proved me wrong by solidly handling Edwardsville this weekend and earning a large bump up the rankings.
Coal City (11-0): Some faithful readers are likely shaking their heads in frustration at this. Come on, we need some new blood in these rankings. I could keep dropping and adding Catholic and western suburban schools until I’m blue in the face. Or I could go with the undefeated Coalers. Huge test up next in Class 4A against St. Francis, the only team to beat IC Catholic in ages.
Providence (8-3): The Celtics are back. This team is clearly up and down, but the highs are very high and Aaron Vaughn is a revelation.
Sycamore (10-1): More new blood. The Spartans knocked off Montini this weekend and have ripped off nine consecutive wins.
Week 12’s Super 25
With record and last week’s ranking
1. Lincoln-Way East (11-0) 1
8A: vs. No. 6 Homewood-Flossmoor
2. Mount Carmel (11-0) 2
7A: vs. No. 13 Phillips
3. Nazareth (11-0) 3
7A: vs. No. 11 Batavia
4. Warren (11-0) 6
8A: at No. 9 Bolingbrook
5. Loyola (8-3) 7
8A: vs. No. 19 Marist
6. Homewood-Flossmoor (10-1) 8
8A: at No. 1 Lincoln-Way East
7. Minooka (11-0) 15
8A: at No. 23 Brother Rice
8. Glenbard West (10-1) 4
Season complete
9. Bolingbrook (8-3) 9
8A: vs. No. 4 Warren
10. Hillcrest (10-1) 10
5A: vs. No. 16 St. Rita
11. Batavia (9-2)
7A: at No. 3 Nazareth
12. Prairie Ridge (10-1) 22
6A: vs. No. 20 Cary-Grove
13. Phillips (9-1) 13
7A: at No. 2 Mount Carmel
14. Neuqua Valley (9-2) 5
Season complete
15. Richards (10-1) 16
6A: at East St. Louis
16. St. Rita (8-3) 18
5A: vs. No. 10 Hillcrest
17. Willowbrook (10-1) 21
7A: at Lake Zurich
18. Notre Dame (8-3) 18
Season complete
19. Marist (7-4) 24
8A: at No. 5 Loyola
20. Cary-Grove (9-2) 25
6A: at No. 12 Prairie Ridge
21. Rolling Meadows (11-0) 23
7A: at Wheaton-Warrenville South
22. Providence (8-3) NR
6A: vs. Chatham Glenwood
23. Brother Rice (7-4) NR
8A: vs. No. 7 Minooka
24. Sycamore (10-1) NR
5A: at Rockford Boylan
25. Coal City (11-0) NR
4A: vs. St. Francis
