Just did my Playoff Bracket Challenge brackets and hoping to be the first ever 2X Playoff Bracket Champion this year. I see there are a lot of conference specific threads devoted to Round 1, but none devoted to the Round 1 bracket as a whole so I figured I'd create one starting with 8A and see how this goes. Feel free to comment and share your opinions. Congratulations to all of the teams that have qualified for the playoffs and even if it is a #1 vs. #32 pairing, it is one and done season so as long as there is time on the clock, every team has a chance. Good luck everyone over the next 5 weeks!
Now here are my thoughts on each game in the 8A bracket:
#1 Brother Rice vs.
#32 Zion-Benton
-Brother Rice comes in with what I believe is the first 9-0 regular season in team history which is an amazing accomplishment coming out of the CCL Blue. Meanwhile, Zion-Benton qualifies at 5-4 with all of their losses against playoff qualifiers and a nice win against Lake Forest. This is a great story with the Zee-Bees getting in to the playoffs at 5-4. Brother Rice though is loaded this year and while I know that Zion-Benton will play hard to the final whistle, the Brother Rice Crusaders I feel will prevail in this one and move on to Round 2 somewhat easily.
#16 OPRF vs.
#17 New Trier
-Two solid 8A perennial qualifiers take each other on in this Round 1 game. New Trier comes in with losses against 2 tough teams in Loyola and Maine South. OPRF comes in with losses against 2 tough teams in Waubonsie Valley and Hinsdale Central. Using the common games score against York which favors OPRF as well as their huge win against Glenbard West makes me take the OPRF Huskies in this matchup which looks like it is going to be a great game.
#8 Warren vs.
#25 Neuqua Valley
-Warren plays in arguably one of the Top 5 conferences in Illinois. They have not allowed more than 10 points since Week 1. They are one of the top defenses in Illinois. Neuqua Valley played in that 5 team scheduling nightmare of a conference...the DVC...thankfully they go to 6 teams next year. 3 losses by 8 points or less shows that they can compete with anyone in the state. In the end...Warren beat Stevenson by 3 scores and Neuqua lost to them by 8. I feel this is anyone's game but Warren is at home, they have the common game advantage and their defense is solid. The Warren Blue Devils get the victory I feel in this one.
#9 Hinsdale Central vs.
#24 Conant
-Two coaches that have had incredible success at other programs prior to getting to their current schools. I have so much respect for coaches that can mold not just one but two or more teams into quality programs. That's what we have here with Dan Hartman at Hinsdale Central and Bryan Stortz at Conant. Just look at their past success at Evergreen Park and Lake Zurich to see how good these guys are at program building. I'm a little higher on the West Suburban Silver Conference as compared to the Mid-Suburban West in this one, so I'm going with the Hinsdale Central Red Devils in what should set up a fascinating Blue Devil vs. Red Devil matchup in Round 2.
#4 H-F vs.
#29 Fremd
-To start with I know the Vikings are going to win this one. OK, so that was low hanging fruit. Fremd has done something very rare in qualifying for the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Keeping players bought in and able to pull off 5 of 6 victories (and almost 6 in a row) is something to be commended. Meanwhile H-F comes in at 8-1 with their loss against Lincoln-Way East. While it was a big loss, the utter dominance of Lincoln-Way East these first 9 weeks makes it very hard to judge that game. Craig Buzea can call games with the best of them and the H-F defense is very, very good. At the end of the day I feel the H-F Vikings have more talent across the board and will win this one by at least a couple of scores.
#13 Oswego East vs.
#20 Barrington
-It is very hard to judge closed conference schedules. I'm not a fan and it will probably show in my predictions throughout these 8A predictions. However Oswego East has one really tough team and can definitely bring it in 8A. Barrington's results this year somewhat baffle me because they won 3, lost 3, and then won 3. Some of their losses don't look that great and yet they beat Warren and Maine South. For that reason I think the Barrington Broncos advance to Round 2.
#5 Marist vs.
#28 Stevenson
-This is a game that shows just how deep the 8A playoff field gets. Stevenson has two 3 point losses and an outstanding performance in a shutout by the Warren D on the resume. Plus they play in a top-notch conference. Marist not only plays in a top-notch conference, but they easily handled everyone once ESCC play rolled around. Marist is a solid and well-coached team that has been deep in the 8A playoffs before. Despite the close loss to Brother Rice, this just feels like a team that is firing on all cylinders heading into the playoffs. However, this is not a Round 1 playoff opponent a #5 seed wants to see in 8A, yet I think the Marist Redhawks get the job done.
#12 Plainfield South vs.
#21 Naperville Central
-This game will show us just how good the Southwest Prairie Conference is since again we have a closed conference schedule team in Plainfield South. This is one of Plainfield South's best teams in recent memory and playing Oswego to 7 points in Week 9 definitely makes one take notice. Naperville Central played an incredibly hard schedule and the 55 points allowed last week to Cary-Grove create cause for concern. However, my bias against closed conference schedules leads me to believe that Naperville Central just has a little more here and I'm taking the Naperville Redhawks to win this game which means that in the top half of the 8A bracket I am predicting Blue Devils vs. Red Devils and Redhawks vs. Redhawks in Round 2. And this is why football playoff season is awesome.
#2 Lincoln-Way East vs.
#31 St. Charles East
-How ironic is it that the closest game in Lincoln-Way East's two year dominant run through 8A repeats itself in Round 1 of this year's playoffs? Can St. Charles East shock the world and show why they are Lincoln-Way East's kryptonite and advance to Round 2? I just don't see it happening. Not a lot of rain in the forecast this time around. My kids will one day go to Lincoln-Way East. I know the community. I can tell you that what is happening here in Frankfort is special. I'm not going to jump into that thread on the Top 5 teams in Illinois history, but I will tell you this. Lincoln-Way East is the most dominant team I have ever seen entering an 8 class playoff field. But anything can happen so that's what makes the playoffs a joy to watch. I have the Lincoln-Way East Griffins winning and I think it will eventually get to a running clock. And that is meant to be no disrespect to St. Charles East...Lincoln-Way East is that good. I imagine Coach Zvonar can't like reading this, but that's what happens when you do everything right from Day 1 when it comes to building a program.
#15 Bartlett vs.
#18 Glenbard West
-Bartlett is in the new look Upstate Eight and it makes it tough to gauge how good they really are. They beat everyone they should beat, but losses to Glenbard East and West Aurora makes it tough to see how they get by Glenbard West. Would anyone ever take Glenbard East over Glenbard West...even this year? Having said that I don't know if there is a single person that will be rooting against Glenbard East at any point during this playoff run. What a job by John Walters and this in my opinion is one of the best, if not the best stories in high school football in Illinois this year. However this game is about Barlett against Glenbard West. Glenbard West has two quality losses against Maine South and OPRF. I think the Glenbard West Hilltoppers advance to once again set up Lincoln-Way East for a trap game on a grass field on the road in Round 2. Predict the heavy rainstorm now.
#7 West Aurora vs.
#26 South Elgin
-An Upstate Eight rematch. They played last week at West Aurora and South Elgin lost by 38. One would have to think that gap narrows the 2nd time around, but I'm not going to make this one overly complicated. The West Aurora Blackhawks advance with at least a 3 score victory and we have Blue Devils, Red Devils, Redhawks x2, Blackhawks heading into Round 2.
#10 Evanston vs.
#23 Edwardsville
-The classic 8A (sometimes 7A) question...what to do with Edwardsville? You know they're talented. You know when they get a home game in the playoffs it is a bad thing for a team from the Chicago area since they always find a way to win. Does Edwardsville have the team this year to come up to the north suburbs and beat Evanston? This is truly one of the hardest games to call in the 8A Round 1 bracket, but I'm saying no. This game could honestly go either way but with how close Evanston played Maine South and New Trier, I'm taking the Evanston Wildkits to win this game in a close one.
Now here are my thoughts on each game in the 8A bracket:
#1 Brother Rice vs.
#32 Zion-Benton
-Brother Rice comes in with what I believe is the first 9-0 regular season in team history which is an amazing accomplishment coming out of the CCL Blue. Meanwhile, Zion-Benton qualifies at 5-4 with all of their losses against playoff qualifiers and a nice win against Lake Forest. This is a great story with the Zee-Bees getting in to the playoffs at 5-4. Brother Rice though is loaded this year and while I know that Zion-Benton will play hard to the final whistle, the Brother Rice Crusaders I feel will prevail in this one and move on to Round 2 somewhat easily.
#16 OPRF vs.
#17 New Trier
-Two solid 8A perennial qualifiers take each other on in this Round 1 game. New Trier comes in with losses against 2 tough teams in Loyola and Maine South. OPRF comes in with losses against 2 tough teams in Waubonsie Valley and Hinsdale Central. Using the common games score against York which favors OPRF as well as their huge win against Glenbard West makes me take the OPRF Huskies in this matchup which looks like it is going to be a great game.
#8 Warren vs.
#25 Neuqua Valley
-Warren plays in arguably one of the Top 5 conferences in Illinois. They have not allowed more than 10 points since Week 1. They are one of the top defenses in Illinois. Neuqua Valley played in that 5 team scheduling nightmare of a conference...the DVC...thankfully they go to 6 teams next year. 3 losses by 8 points or less shows that they can compete with anyone in the state. In the end...Warren beat Stevenson by 3 scores and Neuqua lost to them by 8. I feel this is anyone's game but Warren is at home, they have the common game advantage and their defense is solid. The Warren Blue Devils get the victory I feel in this one.
#9 Hinsdale Central vs.
#24 Conant
-Two coaches that have had incredible success at other programs prior to getting to their current schools. I have so much respect for coaches that can mold not just one but two or more teams into quality programs. That's what we have here with Dan Hartman at Hinsdale Central and Bryan Stortz at Conant. Just look at their past success at Evergreen Park and Lake Zurich to see how good these guys are at program building. I'm a little higher on the West Suburban Silver Conference as compared to the Mid-Suburban West in this one, so I'm going with the Hinsdale Central Red Devils in what should set up a fascinating Blue Devil vs. Red Devil matchup in Round 2.
#4 H-F vs.
#29 Fremd
-To start with I know the Vikings are going to win this one. OK, so that was low hanging fruit. Fremd has done something very rare in qualifying for the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Keeping players bought in and able to pull off 5 of 6 victories (and almost 6 in a row) is something to be commended. Meanwhile H-F comes in at 8-1 with their loss against Lincoln-Way East. While it was a big loss, the utter dominance of Lincoln-Way East these first 9 weeks makes it very hard to judge that game. Craig Buzea can call games with the best of them and the H-F defense is very, very good. At the end of the day I feel the H-F Vikings have more talent across the board and will win this one by at least a couple of scores.
#13 Oswego East vs.
#20 Barrington
-It is very hard to judge closed conference schedules. I'm not a fan and it will probably show in my predictions throughout these 8A predictions. However Oswego East has one really tough team and can definitely bring it in 8A. Barrington's results this year somewhat baffle me because they won 3, lost 3, and then won 3. Some of their losses don't look that great and yet they beat Warren and Maine South. For that reason I think the Barrington Broncos advance to Round 2.
#5 Marist vs.
#28 Stevenson
-This is a game that shows just how deep the 8A playoff field gets. Stevenson has two 3 point losses and an outstanding performance in a shutout by the Warren D on the resume. Plus they play in a top-notch conference. Marist not only plays in a top-notch conference, but they easily handled everyone once ESCC play rolled around. Marist is a solid and well-coached team that has been deep in the 8A playoffs before. Despite the close loss to Brother Rice, this just feels like a team that is firing on all cylinders heading into the playoffs. However, this is not a Round 1 playoff opponent a #5 seed wants to see in 8A, yet I think the Marist Redhawks get the job done.
#12 Plainfield South vs.
#21 Naperville Central
-This game will show us just how good the Southwest Prairie Conference is since again we have a closed conference schedule team in Plainfield South. This is one of Plainfield South's best teams in recent memory and playing Oswego to 7 points in Week 9 definitely makes one take notice. Naperville Central played an incredibly hard schedule and the 55 points allowed last week to Cary-Grove create cause for concern. However, my bias against closed conference schedules leads me to believe that Naperville Central just has a little more here and I'm taking the Naperville Redhawks to win this game which means that in the top half of the 8A bracket I am predicting Blue Devils vs. Red Devils and Redhawks vs. Redhawks in Round 2. And this is why football playoff season is awesome.
#2 Lincoln-Way East vs.
#31 St. Charles East
-How ironic is it that the closest game in Lincoln-Way East's two year dominant run through 8A repeats itself in Round 1 of this year's playoffs? Can St. Charles East shock the world and show why they are Lincoln-Way East's kryptonite and advance to Round 2? I just don't see it happening. Not a lot of rain in the forecast this time around. My kids will one day go to Lincoln-Way East. I know the community. I can tell you that what is happening here in Frankfort is special. I'm not going to jump into that thread on the Top 5 teams in Illinois history, but I will tell you this. Lincoln-Way East is the most dominant team I have ever seen entering an 8 class playoff field. But anything can happen so that's what makes the playoffs a joy to watch. I have the Lincoln-Way East Griffins winning and I think it will eventually get to a running clock. And that is meant to be no disrespect to St. Charles East...Lincoln-Way East is that good. I imagine Coach Zvonar can't like reading this, but that's what happens when you do everything right from Day 1 when it comes to building a program.
#15 Bartlett vs.
#18 Glenbard West
-Bartlett is in the new look Upstate Eight and it makes it tough to gauge how good they really are. They beat everyone they should beat, but losses to Glenbard East and West Aurora makes it tough to see how they get by Glenbard West. Would anyone ever take Glenbard East over Glenbard West...even this year? Having said that I don't know if there is a single person that will be rooting against Glenbard East at any point during this playoff run. What a job by John Walters and this in my opinion is one of the best, if not the best stories in high school football in Illinois this year. However this game is about Barlett against Glenbard West. Glenbard West has two quality losses against Maine South and OPRF. I think the Glenbard West Hilltoppers advance to once again set up Lincoln-Way East for a trap game on a grass field on the road in Round 2. Predict the heavy rainstorm now.
#7 West Aurora vs.
#26 South Elgin
-An Upstate Eight rematch. They played last week at West Aurora and South Elgin lost by 38. One would have to think that gap narrows the 2nd time around, but I'm not going to make this one overly complicated. The West Aurora Blackhawks advance with at least a 3 score victory and we have Blue Devils, Red Devils, Redhawks x2, Blackhawks heading into Round 2.
#10 Evanston vs.
#23 Edwardsville
-The classic 8A (sometimes 7A) question...what to do with Edwardsville? You know they're talented. You know when they get a home game in the playoffs it is a bad thing for a team from the Chicago area since they always find a way to win. Does Edwardsville have the team this year to come up to the north suburbs and beat Evanston? This is truly one of the hardest games to call in the 8A Round 1 bracket, but I'm saying no. This game could honestly go either way but with how close Evanston played Maine South and New Trier, I'm taking the Evanston Wildkits to win this game in a close one.
