Personally, I don't care about HS nicknames nor have an real nostalgia about them but pick a fricken name and move on.
Surprising Records or Turnarounds This Season?
- Thread starter hingkenry
- Start date
Ohhh if only it were that easy. Morris moved to transition away from the Redskin name in 2022, Lemont is even longer I believe, and Morris is still trying to determine a new name. Just last week it was yet again tabled at the school board meeting.
I get what your saying, but the exact opposite is true in Morris where there was an emence amount of pride and nostalgia attached to the Redskin name.
Seems to me JCA is at a crossroads. I've noticed they've been running some spread on the lower levels, as they did on varsity this past year. They may be transitioning away from the double-wing. I know they did that on varsity to better utilize the talent available this year, but I'm wondering if it's not an overall trend for the program. In the summer, the junior and soph-to-be QBs transferred out of the program. Are kids no longer willing to come to JCA and play in the double-wing? The question needs to be asked. They need to be a "destination" school, just as all privates are. They don't have a guaranteed flow of talent like a Cary Grove or Prairie Ridge, who can run run-centric offenses and still get talent. Kids need to want to come there to play in whatever offense they chose to run. Is running the double-wing hurting the influx of talent or making it difficult to keep QBs and/or receivers? Recent evidence suggests it is.
As for next year, it's going to be tough. You start with the expectation that they will be starting a soph QB (I don't see a kid transferring in to play QB at JCA) on varsity, who won't necessarily be ready, out of necessity. I'd say it behooves them to lighten up on that non-con schedule. Personally, I have a lot of confidence in Jaws to do what needs to be done to keep the program competitive. We shall see how it plays out in upcoming years.
what would happen if they decide to keep the redskin name? I can't imagine a town such as Morris would be up in arms about it. Perhaps a few loud individuals would be.
That is fine but the decision was made to move away, so pick a name. Sorry, not to sidetrack conversation. We can move on.
This is a great question. They used to have studs walking through the doors every single year. As someone who has coached against Lemont for 7 years in youth football the talent level is way down in their youth program. They are near the bottom of every age group in bgyfl. Only two teams with winning records.
Aging population in Lemont? It is not a cheap place to live.
This has been an issue in Wheaton but I think the junior high(s) have started to increase again from what I have been told.
Geneva and many other west suburban areas feeling this as well. District has small elementary schools and there is discussion of school consolidation/closures. Seeing WWS and Geneva drop to 6A is just a byproduct of those towns having aging populations and the empty nesters not selling their houses or selling them to people without a replacement number of children.
Agree on all points. It's good to be able to hang your hat on smash mouth, especially when you can get some road grading O linemen in who weight over 270 pounds and live in the weight room and a couple of 200 plus pound backs.
2021 was a perfect storm where you had that great line plus backs of 205 and 235 pounds. Plus a QB who could extend plays and throw it downfield in Voss plus a few field stretching WR's. But it's hard to get all those components stacked within 1-2 incoming frosh groups.
The MLB/RB Pomatto who will be a rising senior is a legitimate superstar, but there doesn't seem to be a ton around him in the rising junior and senior groups. So they will have to lean on him on both sides of the ball. I foresee lots of rising sophs contributing. Really hoping for a few light CCL games and they really need to be realistic and schedule two patsies to get two wins in nonconference. I'm talking mid tier CPL type team patsy. Two wins to give the young guys some runway. And then hopefully the 7 conference games offer an opportunity for at least 3 wins.
The goal for 2026 is to develop young guys, get better, and perhaps make the playoffs and have a chance to roll the dice in the postseason. But the realistic expectation is to get the rising sophs ready for their junior season when the program will be back in 4A/5A and hopefully have a smoother path to 5 wins.
The town wants to keep the Redskin name with the exception of a small group, but the IHSA is forcing their hand and threatening to not let them host post season games, such as regionals and sectionals. Not sure if that would include football playoff games as well.
To defend the one team they crushed with tiny enrollment. Washington is a mainstay in the 6a playoffs (18 years in a row). This year with all the Privates being bumped up a class or two it forced their enrollment number to put them in 5a, which they are still alive in the 5A Quarters. Dunlap, one of 6 playoff teams that Washington beat, is still alive in the 6A quarters. Not every school south of Chicagoland is tiny. While I think Washington would more than hold their own against the bottom 1/3 divisions of the CCL, it will be interesting to see how long they can hang with Provi tomorrow.
The one school being referenced was their one conference win. Leo. Its enrollment is tiny.
ND eked out a win by 1 against Washington, so they definitely didn't crush them. Washington has a larger enrollment than just about the entirety of the CCL. In fact, I am pretty sure that only Loyola and Marist would have enrollments bigger than Washington. Benet and Carmel Mundelein may have similar enrollments to Washington and a few of the all boys schools may be close if you doubled their enrollment. But that means Washington would be somewhere between the 3rd and 6th biggest CCL school.
The collective enrollments at private schools is such a shadow of what it formerly was that any 5A and above public school is as big or bigger than just about every private school.
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