Sept. 18--Nazareth could fall to 5A
The new IHSA rule known as the Success Factor could have an ironic effect on the Class 5A and 6A playoffs. Because of their consistent success, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, the two-time defending 5A champion, and Montini, which won the previous four 5A titles and has appeared in the past six championship games, will be bumped up to 6A this year. One of the teams that gets pushed down as a result could be defending 6A champion Nazareth. The first projection released by the IHSA lists Nazareth and Marian Central as the third-largest schools in 5A. That changes weekly, and it's not official until the regular season is complete.
Mount Carmel could stay in 7A
It looks like No. 3 Mount Carmel and No. 4 Glenbard West will spend the regular season on the 7A/8A border. Glenbard West, a 7A staple which made the jump to 8A last season, is currently the second-largest 7A team behind 3-0 Schurz. Five other current 7A teams are larger than Mount Carmel, so there's a better chance the Caravan remain in 7A for the third straight year.
Funds for St. Edward field
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help St. Edward recover from the damage caused to its field when weed killer was accidentally used in place of fertilizer. Images of the brown field made news this week, but the mistake actually took place prior to the Sept. 4 home game against Clark. St. Edward has already played one game on the field but announced Thursday that its scheduled home contest against IC Catholic on Friday would be played on the road instead.
Seeing Red in southwest
The Blue Division of the Southwest Suburban Conference gets more attention because of Homewood-Flossmoor, Lincoln-Way East and Bolingbrook, but the smaller Red Division may have more good teams. The Red went 2-1 against the Blue in a small sample of crossover action and has four 3-0 teams -- Lincoln-Way West, Lincoln-Way North, Thornton and Bradley-Bourbonnais. Thornton could be a sleeper. The Wildcats outscored Morgan Park, Brooks and Andrew 99-6 in the first three games of the Dontrell Jackson regime. Jackson, a former Thornton quarterback, succeeded his coach Bill Mosel, who retired after 29 years.
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
