Hey ICE fans! How do we all see the conference shaking out? I think Wilmington and RC are fighting for the top. The middle tier of teams (tone, CC, Lisle) will be very interesting. I think Lisle and CC are in the worst spot with their OOC schedule. Both will have to grind every week to make the playoffs. One team I think could surprise is Herscher. They did not fair so well last year, but most of their losses were really close. Should be a fun year!
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I don't know about better but they could end up atop the conference. Getting Wilmo at home with the new turf and Jumbotron should motivate them a little more. Might even be their homecoming too if I'm not mistaken.
I think it is Braidwood's year. I think they are the most athletic team in the conference and have enough of their line back to run the ICE table. Wilmo will be a close second. CC, Tone and Lisle are fighting for the third spot. Tone has a nice group back and will compete. Lisle will always be in the mix. Strong O line will help. CC is under sized and will be having a fair share of 1st year starters but they have enough tough nosed kids to be in the mix. Road games at Morris, Braidwood, Peotone, Lisle and Wilmo they definitely have the toughest schedule. Be interested on the improvement of their QB. If he can make the next step they might have enough
For the ICE, 3 to 5 qualifiers with Wilmington and Reed-Custer with shots at a deep playoff run. I like Wilmington's chances of they drop 2A but I think that is unlikely to happen again. Reed-Custer has a shot but with IC, Byron, Princeton, Wilmington, possibly a 5-4 Montini (would not want to see that if my team was 9-0), to get through, that is a tough row to hoe. Lisle, Peotone, and Coal City have shots at home games which could lead to a playoff game or 2.
Battle for 1st:
Wilmington - like the Patriots in the NFL, someone has to beat them to prove they are better than the Wildcats. Last time it was done in conference was pre-pandemic.
Reed-Custer - had a solid year last year and turned quite a few heads, had the state champs on the ropes and they have aspirations of a state championship. They will vie for 1st in the conference.
Playoffs
Lisle - have a D1 linemen, and a few fast backs which creates a great situation for a good season. Have to play Wilmington twice (which should not be happening) but should muster up 5 or 6, and maybe even 7 wins.
Peotone - Peotone will be a tough out for every team in the conference. Weak non-con will give them the 5 wins they need to get in but need to beat Lisle and Coal City to be in a good position in 3A. Don't want to be 5-4 and heading to RC (again), IC, Princeton, Byron, or Wilmington.
Coal City - see Peotone. Have not heard any buzz about an stud RB (which seems they had one since the 80s) and seem to be on a downturn from the previous 3 or 4 years. That being said, they have the ability to knock off any team any Friday.
Non-Qualifiers
Streator - hearing good things about the ability of the skill players in Streator. They have a solid QB and two speedy WRs, but given their in-conference opponents, you need more than speed. But if their line ay improves, they could easily knock off one of the top tier teams.
Herscher - hearing the new coach and increases the numbers, which were very low last year, and the Tigers have an DE that I think committed to ISU. They have been at the bottom of the pack the last few years and it won't change this year. They won't be pushovers by any means, but that lack of depth will hurt.
Manteno - definitely a struggle in Panther country and they will be young. But winnable games week 1 and 2 could turn the tide quickly the young guys could gain
some confidence. The future looks bright but the Panthers are a year away.
Battle for 1st:
Wilmington - like the Patriots in the NFL, someone has to beat them to prove they are better than the Wildcats. Last time it was done in conference was pre-pandemic.
Reed-Custer - had a solid year last year and turned quite a few heads, had the state champs on the ropes and they have aspirations of a state championship. They will vie for 1st in the conference.
Playoffs
Lisle - have a D1 linemen, and a few fast backs which creates a great situation for a good season. Have to play Wilmington twice (which should not be happening) but should muster up 5 or 6, and maybe even 7 wins.
Peotone - Peotone will be a tough out for every team in the conference. Weak non-con will give them the 5 wins they need to get in but need to beat Lisle and Coal City to be in a good position in 3A. Don't want to be 5-4 and heading to RC (again), IC, Princeton, Byron, or Wilmington.
Coal City - see Peotone. Have not heard any buzz about an stud RB (which seems they had one since the 80s) and seem to be on a downturn from the previous 3 or 4 years. That being said, they have the ability to knock off any team any Friday.
Non-Qualifiers
Streator - hearing good things about the ability of the skill players in Streator. They have a solid QB and two speedy WRs, but given their in-conference opponents, you need more than speed. But if their line ay improves, they could easily knock off one of the top tier teams.
Herscher - hearing the new coach and increases the numbers, which were very low last year, and the Tigers have an DE that I think committed to ISU. They have been at the bottom of the pack the last few years and it won't change this year. They won't be pushovers by any means, but that lack of depth will hurt.
Manteno - definitely a struggle in Panther country and they will be young. But winnable games week 1 and 2 could turn the tide quickly the young guys could gain
some confidence. The future looks bright but the Panthers are a year away.
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That middle tier of Tone, Lisle, CC is always so crazy to me. All it takes is one team to be a little down (or up) and stuff gets weird. Lisle with the two Wilmo games is not helping themselves. Tone is set up with an easy non-con slate. CC is the question mark. I just don't see them wining more than 1 between Wilmo, Mac, RC, and Morris. So if Lisle or Peotone are hot that week CC is out of the playoffs IMO.
I think Peotone has the best shot to be 7-2. Coal City is most likely to be 4-5 and any of the three could be 6-3.
I think Peotone has the best shot to be 7-2. Coal City is most likely to be 4-5 and any of the three could be 6-3.
I think CC can beat Mac. I don't see them beating Morris unless a miracle happens. Morris averages 275 on the front line this year. Wilmo will be a tough game. CC needs to catch a few breaks when we never catch breaks over there. So I think Morris is the only game out of the first three that is completely stacked against them. If they beat Mac and lose a close one to Wilmo I will feel good, if the beat both Mac and WIlmo I will be ecstatic. If they lose all three I will probably log off of here for the season LOL
Maybe I can’t read, but I didn’t see Reed-Custer mentioned anywhere in Soucie’s preseason playoff projections.
I do not think these are based on his predictions but rather on historical performance the past few seasons. Given Reed-Custer historical performance, they would not be in the bracket. I believe he has them going 8-1. If things go well they will be better than that and have a shot at a deep run in the playoffs.
It's always fun at the start of the season with all the conference breakdowns and predictions. The only thing that comes to my mind every year ...... the road to the conference championship goes thru Wilmington. They don't rebuild, they reload and Reents will have his kids ready to play!
Wilmington is the class of the conference. Always will be. Next should be RC if they can replace the RB and kids they lost up front. I got Peotone in that third spot. They return enough from a playoff team to get the job done. Next is a fight between the Coalers and Lions but I give the edge to the Coalers. Rumor has it the Lions might have lost a pretty big piece to the offense to a transfer. I got Manteno, Herscher, and Streator all fighting it out to stay out of the bottom of the conference.
I only have 3 teams making the playoffs this year. I know that sounds crazy but I don’t like Lisle and Coal City’s non-conference games. Wilmington, RC, and Peotone. CC and Lisle will be right there but they need to pick up a non-con win to get there.
Should be a good season with Wilmington and RC with a chance to make runs similar to last season in the playoffs. Good luck to all the ICE teams this year.
I only have 3 teams making the playoffs this year. I know that sounds crazy but I don’t like Lisle and Coal City’s non-conference games. Wilmington, RC, and Peotone. CC and Lisle will be right there but they need to pick up a non-con win to get there.
Should be a good season with Wilmington and RC with a chance to make runs similar to last season in the playoffs. Good luck to all the ICE teams this year.
Lisle should be able to beat Harvard. At least historically speaking. I have no idea if Harvard is good this year. However, Lisle would have to beat CC or Peotone to get to 5. I think CC has a very tough road. They will need to beat one of their Non-cons and Lisle or Peotone. Or they can beat Lisle and Peotone and lose both Non-con.
That middle ground is always such a slugfest. I remember when Manteno was up a few years back they were always right there in the mix. Heck, so was Herscher a few times.
I know it's the system we are in and it will not change anytime soon, but I very much preffered when it was 6-3 was the bottom of the barrel to get into the playoffs. I'm not being a get off my lawn type of guy, but 5-4 is almost always a first round loss guarantee and I do not like 5-5 being a playoff qualifier. Just my thoughts, I know others disagree. With as many teams as there are cancelling their seasons will this be the year that several 4-5 teams get in? I know it was close last year.
I agree most 5-4 get waxed round one, but look at a team like Marist this year. If they can go 5-4 with this schedule, they not only deserve to get in, but they will definetly do some damage and possibly win State.
| Score | Opp. Score | OT | H/A | Opponent | Opp. Record | Opp. Enroll. | Other Site/Game Info | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27 | 1:00 | H | Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West) | 0-0 | 2352.00 | |||||
| Sep 2 | 6:30 | A | Oak Lawn (Richards) | 0-0 | 1626.00 | |||||
| Sep 9 | 7:30 | A | LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy) | 0-0 | 1244.93 | |||||
| Sep 16 | 7:30 | A | Chicago (Mt. Carmel) | 0-0 | 1940.40 | |||||
| Sep 23 | 6:30 | H | Aurora (Marmion Academy) | 0-0 | 1084.00 | |||||
| Sep 30 | 7:30 | H | Wilmette (Loyola Academy) | 0-0 | 1985.00 | |||||
| Oct 7 | 7:30 | A | Lombard (Montini) | 0-0 | 526.00 | |||||
| Oct 14 | 7:30 | H | Mundelein (Carmel) | 0-0 | 1128.00 | |||||
| Oct 21 | 7:00 | A | Chicago (Brother Rice) | 0-0 | 2207.70 | |
I'm thinking more small public schools. Usually the tougher 5-4 teams are those in a Catholic League with a loaded schedule.
I agree sometimes we have some tough 5-4 teams squeak through, but I'm just not a fan of it. I know some are. What works for some does not work for all. I'm also not a fan of 6-6 being bowl eligible for FBS.
Also, The small public schools are the ones that I was thinking about in my post. I know there have been several larger private schools that went 5-4 and faired rather well.
Herscher made the 3A semis a couple of years ago as a 5-4 team
Yes they played a CPS school in the first round. Like I said crazy stuff happens on occasion but what works for some does not work for everyone. Just my preference.
Lots of buzz going around Streator. I guess they got a transfer from Ottawa. Can they possibly move up to the mid-tier of the conference?
People also seem to be pretty high on Peotone as well. Can they hang with Reed-Custer and Wilmington?
People also seem to be pretty high on Peotone as well. Can they hang with Reed-Custer and Wilmington?
But were still one of the best 5-6 teams in 3A that year, had some injuries midseason and rebounded well by week 8-9
I'm just saying that statistically it doesn't work out for the 5-4 and it's an on field product that I do not want to watch. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The Tone will be difficult to beat this year. I think Braidwood is 1 and Wilmo, Tone and CC battle it out for 3rd. CC does have their work cut out for them. If they can stay healthy they have a chance, if not then its going to be tough sledding.
Every year i want to think Streator will compete and every year its the opposite