It’s always a shame when a team is missing its star player for a playoff game. That was the case for Hillcrest in the quarterfinals. The Hawks were without injured running back Mar’Keise Irving in their 35-8 loss to St. Rita.
That’s a pretty large margin of victory, hard to say if Irving would have made a 27-point difference, but he is definitely the heart and soul of the team. He’s just a junior though, so he will have another shot at helping get Hillcrest to the state finals.
Here’s where things stand heading into the semifinals.
Dropping out
Phillips (9-2): This was a tough call, but no Public League teams has enough quality wins to crack the Super 25. The Wildcats lost to Simeon this season, which makes the Wolverines more likely to be ranked at this point. But it is impossible to ignore the score in that Cary-Grove game. It’s a sign that the top-tier Public League teams just weren’t quite up to the Super 25 standard, although I gave them the benefit of the doubt most of the season.
Sycamore (10-2): It was a glorious week in the Super 25 but the run comes to an end after losing to Rockford Boylan.
New additions
Deerfield (10-2): The Warriors are still alive after surviving Lake Forest in the quarterfinals. They’ve lost to Rolling Meadows and Maine West this season.
Huntley (9-2): That 14-7 loss at Marist in the second round doesn’t look so shabby now. The Red Raiders also beat Cary-Grove and Prairie Ridge this season.
Week 13’s Super 25
With record and last week’s ranking
1. Lincoln-Way East (12-0) 1
8A: at No. 6 Marist
2. Mount Carmel (12-0) 2
7A: at No. 9 Willowbrook
3. Nazareth (12-0) 3
7A: at No. 10 Rolling Meadows
4. Warren (12-0) 4
8A: vs. No. 5 Brother Rice
5. Brother Rice (8-4) 23
8A: at No. 4 Warren
6. Marist (8-4) 19
8A: vs. No. 1 Lincoln-Way East
7. Prairie Ridge (11-1) 12
6A: at No. 21 Deerfield
8. St. Rita (9-3) 16
5A: vs. Rockford Boylan
9. Willowbrook (11-1) 17
7A: vs. No. 2 Mount Carmel
10. Rolling Meadows (12-0) 21
7A: vs. No. 3 Nazareth
11. Loyola (8-4) 5
Season complete
12. Homewood-Flossmoor (10-2) 6
Season complete
13. Glenbard West (10-1) 8
Season complete
14. Hillcrest (10-2) 10
Season complete
15. Neuqua Valley (9-2) 14
Season complete
16. Notre Dame (8-3) 18
Season complete
17. Cary-Grove (9-3) 20
Season complete
18. Minooka (11-1) 7
Season complete
19. Bolingbrook (8-4) 9
Season complete
20. Batavia (9-3) 11
Season complete
21. Deerfield (10-2) NR
6A: vs. No. 7 Prairie Ridge
22. Richards (10-2) 15
Season complete
23. Coal City (12-0) 25
4A: vs. Richmond-Burton
24. Providence (8-4) 22
Season complete
25. Huntley (9-2) NR
Season complete
