Oct. 30--Is it Loyola's year?
Can Homewood-Flossmoor shake of its Week 9 detour and fulfill the promise that had it ranked No. 1 for nine weeks?
What about Naperville Central?
The sometimes-weekly picks blog likes to ask questions then answer them, a lazy writers' trick that suits us just perfectly.
Loyola is going to be the 8A champion -- and if not it will be H-F or Naperville Central.
We here at the picks blog are going to go out on another limb and predict that 32 teams will be victorious in 8A this weekend. Here they are.
No. 1 Loyola vs. No. 32 West Aurora: Six of the past seven Class 8A champions beat Loyola during their playoff run. So clearly West Aurora becomes the favorite with a W here. Loyola 49-0.
No. 16 Stevenson vs. No. 17 Conant: I looked at Stevenson's loss to H-F early as an encouraging sign, and the lopsided loss to Libertyville was early enough that I still thought the defending Class 8A champs would look different come playoff time. If the Pats are looking ahead to Loyola, they probably won't get there. Stevenson 27-24.
No. 8 Homewood-Flossmoor vs. No. 25 O'Fallon: It's quite possible that five weeks from now H-F is going to be crediting the loss to Bolingbrook for its 8A title. The Vikings talent is immense, and the quarterfinal showdown with Loyola has a Game of the Year smell to it. H-F 52-9.
No. 9 New Trier vs. No. 24 Lyons: New Trier may be paying for the draw that gave the Trevians a pretty clean path to the 8A quarterfinals in 2014. They look like the better team here, but H-F in the second round is not what any 8-1 team has in mind. New Trier 28-21.
No. 4 Oak Park vs. No. 29 Fremd: If 8-1 Oak Park had given Glenbard West a better game in its 34-7 loss, there would probably be some state-championship buzz. The Huskies' resume is that good otherwise. This year, that is. The program has never been past the quarterfinals and hasn't won a second-round game since 1985. That will surely change on John Hoerster's watch. Oak Park 34-14.
No. 13 Palatine vs. No. 20 Sandburg: Sandburg was a real factor in the Southwest Suburban Blue for the first time in a minute, handling Bolingbrook, giving Lincoln-Way East all it could handle and even hanging with Homewood-Flossmoor for a little while. But is the third-place team in that conference better than the Mid-Suburban West co-champ? Palatine 28-27.
No. 5 Brother Rice vs. No. 28 Bartlett: Take away Brother Rice's 28-0 loss to Loyola in Week 3 and the Crusaders had a special season, and I'm willing to take it away because the Ramblers operated on another level all season. Cam Miller looks an awful lot like a Division I quarterback and receiver Ricky Smalling is a blossoming star. They are fun to watch. Brother Rice 42-14.
No. 12 South Elgin vs. No. 21 Evanston: Two teams that may be better than a lot of people realize, this one just missed the "Can't Miss Games" cut. South Elgin's only loss was in Week 2 to Batavia, by a touchdown at that. The Storm, though, haven't faced the caliber of competition Evanston has, and they can't match the Wildkits' Division I talent at quarterback, receiver and defensive tackle. Evanston could do some serious damage in November. Evanston 27-19.
No. 2 Huntley vs. No. 31 Minooka: Between the explosive growth of the Fox Valley area and the past playoff success of its top teams, notably Cary-Grove, Huntley is a team and program to reckon with now and in the future. The Red Raiders probably aren't quite on the level of Loyola, H-F and Naperville Central, but they're capable of a deep run. Huntley 34-13.
No. 15 Oswego vs. No. 18 Belleville East: Oswego has won its past eight first-round games, but then again its conference winning streak was in the 30s before it ended two weeks ago. The Panthers bounced back with a resounding victory last week that clinched another conference championship, and the combination of QB Steven Frank and a solid defense is good for at least one more win. Oswego 27-18.
No. 7 Barrington vs. No. 26 Plainfield South: I like this quadrant that begins with Huntley-Minooka and ends with Notre Dame-Marist. The state champion is unlikely to emerge from here, but five of the eight teams look like legitimate quarterfinalists. For Barrington and highly productive, somewhat unheralded QB Johnny Davidson, getting to the quarterfinals has been manageable, but that's where the Broncos' train stopped the last two years and six times in 10 playoff trips under head coach Joe Sanchez. With no obvious power in its way this time, is this the year Barrington gets over that quarterfinal hump? Barrington 34-20.
No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 23 Marist: The unfortunate draws handed to Glenbard North, Mount Carmel, Glenbard West and Loyola have received more attention, but Notre Dame got a pretty raw deal too. There's no more dangerous 5-4 team in the state than Marist -- sorry, Bolingbrook -- something Notre Dame knows all too well. The 8-1 Dons' only loss? Yup, Marist. Marist 45-41.
No. 3 Edwardsville vs. No. 30 Waubonsie Valley: Waubonsie Valley played a bunch of sophomores and still qualified for the playoffs with a DuPage Valley Conference schedule. The Warriors will be a team to watch in 2016 and 2017, but this is 2015 and I don't think they're done. Seeds, schmeeds, there aren't 29 better 8A teams. Edwardsville is about to find that out. Waubonsie Valley 21-19.
No. 14 Hinsdale Central vs. No. 19 Neuqua Valley: What the heck happened to Hinsdale Central? The Red Devils were 5-0 and handling Glenbard West in Week 6 before a vintage Glenbard West comeback knocked them down a peg. But they recovered to win their next two, though they gave up 38 points to Hinsdale South then were uncompetitive the following week against Oak Park. The sometimes-weekly picks blog does not like that which it does not understand. Neuqua Valley 34-24.
No. 6 Naperville Central vs. No. 27 Bolingbrook: If I were a team with designs on making a deep playoff run, I'd be really upset about having to play Naperville Central early on. The Redhawks have made a habit of improving over the course of a season, and they're at it again. QB Conor Joyce is a different player than he was last season and even early this season. With all the attention on Loyola and H-F, the Redhawks can play the nobody-believes-in-us card as we get deeper into November. The picks blog does. Believe in them, that is. Naperville Central 33-14.
No. 11 Curie vs. No. 22 Warren: If we used subjective measures to seed, we wonder where these teams would fall. Curie is 8-1 but doesn't play much of a schedule, though the Condors did acquit themselves nicely in their loss to Simeon. Warren is 5-4 but plays in a really good conference and faced six playoff teams plus Lake Zurich. So is this an upset pick? Curie 27-26.
