The Class 5A Round 1 Christopher Columbus Award goes to.......
In the Northern Bracket, Geneseo gets to pack up the Green Machine and travel 145 miles one-way to Olympia Fields to play Rich Central....wanna bet were talking about 100 plus cars all heading to RC on Saturday night? Just make sure the last one out turns the lights off in Geneseo! The South bracket? More like the Columbus bracket.....but Belleville Althoff heads 176 miles to Metamora on Saturday......ouch!
Star power in Class 5A you ask???? You should pay to see these kids!
QB Kevin Turner North Chicago/RB Gamar Diamond Rich East/QB Steve Mason Hillcrest/QB Dustin Bock Dixon/QB Nick Reineck Rochelle/WR Brian Hare St Viator/FB Brad Benson Sycamore/WR Ryan Seebock Bremen/RB JR Zweirzynski Joliet Catholic/FB Josh Rowold Geneseo/RB Jharred Marshall Rich Central/RB Garrett Wolfe Holy Cross/QB Tim Brasic Riverside-Brookfield/WR Shatone Powers Riverside-Brookfield/RB David Stalter Morton/QB Gavin Sincavage Taylorville/QB James Sepich Washington/WR Matt Brewer Sacred Heart Griffin/RB Travis Navickas Highland/RB Cory Willingham Belleville Althoff/FB Rick Alvis Metamora/QB Matt Shampine Bethalo Civic/QB Tyler Yates Troy Triad/QB Dan Corpus Limestone/S Neil Magruder Bishop McNamara/QB Pat Meyers Peoria ND/RB Eric Strait Morris/LB Josh Tischer Morris
The Top Seeds in Class 5A?
1. Morris and Riverside-Brookfield
2. Rochelle and Metamora
3. Chicago Marshall and Sacred Heart Griffin
4. Joliet Catholic and Troy Triad
So how does Class 5A stack up EDGY?
Lots of BIG powerhouses.....and lots of Barbie Playhouses! The Class 5A bracket was split for geographical purposes....whatever! Both brackets are loaded with powers.....yet Morris looks to have a nice ride here but a potential Round 2 showdown with #8 Bishop Mac could be interersting!
The first Top seed to fall?
#3 seed Chicago Marshall.......now if this was Girls Hoops....a different story. 33 playoff points? Look for the CommmanDOE's to return to the CPL playoffs sooner rather than later!
So can the #1 seeds make it all the way???
Morris has a great chance to make a trip to Champaign, but a possible matchup in the semifinals with either #2 Metamora or #3 Sacred Heart Griffin could be a dandy! RB? Look towards a potential quarterfinal showdown with #6 Joliet Catholic.....the Sabre rattling has already begun "up here"!
But what about The Mad Stork??????
Also important to note is that All State LB Steve Kielp from RB is out for the season after fracturing his right fibula against Kaneland in Week 9.......so how big of a loss is this for the Bulldogs? HUGE! Kielp was playing All State football and was THE difference maker on the Dogs defense.....and can The Zoo make up for a wounded Stork??????
Sleepers.....look out below (#10 seed and below)!!!!!
#10 seed Geneseo-The most asked question all season? "What happened to Geneseo?" Injuries basically.....yet super FB Josh Rowold returned and played in Week 9 against Rochelle.....but do the Leafs have enough? Also not an easy Round 1 draw versus #8 seed Rich Central!
#12 seed St Viator- The Lions might be a #12 seed but whenever you have a QB like senior Kyle Basanez (6'2" 175) and a WR like senior D-1 prospect Brian Hare (6'2" 190) you always have a chance.......
#16 seed Holy Cross- Although his status for Round 1 is in question......never.....ever ever ever doubt the ability to break a game open from D-1 prospect senior Garrett Wolfe (5'9" 165).....Wolfe will need to be accounted for!
#11 seed Morton- always beware of teams that start slow (0-3) then finish strong (5-1 and the only loss was Week 9 to Pontiac 26-6)! The Potters suffered thru various injuries all season but are back to full strength and senior RB David Stalter (5'11" 185) is a good one! Big and physical team here!
Best Class 5A First Round matchup?
#10 Geneseo at #8 Rich Central- You know the Geneseo fans are worried when you start to see "Any info on Olympia Fields Rich Central please" on the Remember Devin Football Board....so what was my first clue? It's just Rich Central "up here" and the Olympians and head coach John McLaughlin will just run it's 1940's version of the Double Wing....and watch out for senior RB Jharred Marshall (6'1" 185) and Dominique Pope (5'10" 180) who are explosive......what will take longer.....the length of this game or the round trip drive for the Grenn Machine fans? Bet on the drive......Geneseo has run the same offense since the 1920's and will control the ball as well......if it's close, Geneseo's senior K Kyle Wickwire (5'8" 140) could be the difference!
EDGY's Feature games in the Class 7A First Round!!
#9 Hillcrest at #7 Dixon- The Dukies have also been sniffing around for info on "Country Club Hills Hillcrest"....and the Hawks have been able to get some of those outstanding Hoop players to play some serious football as well, hence the turnaround for Hillcrest. Senior QB Steve Mason (5'11" 175) is a dual threat and a super player. The backfield features juniors Stephen Cobbin (5'9" 165) and Jermaine Johnson (5'9" 165) along with senior FB Gerren Hinton (5'9" 210) and the Hawks literally can fly out of the Double Wing. Dixon? The Dukes have a solid QB in senior Dustin Bock (6'3" 180) as well as senior RB Jake Anderson (6'0" 200) and will mix things up nicely on offense......this should be a great one!
#11 Morton at #6 Taylorville Again Morton has finished pretty strong after a 0-3 start and the offense has been consistent......Taylorville has also been solid this season and the state will be looking at this game as well as #14 Washington at #3 Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin will determine whcih conference is stronger......the Central State 8 or the Mid-Illini!
#9 Bartonville Limestone at #8 Bishop McNamara- The game that makes you go hmmmmmmmmmmm! Limestone has an explosive offense with senior QB Dan Corpus (6'0" 230) senior WR Ben Curless (6'0" 185) and RB Aaron Holley (5'10" 180).....but Bishop Mac is still Bishop Mac......and the Irish will play typical Catholic league football.....expect a wild one in Kankakee!
EDGY's Winning Picks in Class 5A?
Check out the 2001 Kings Challenge all this week, learn how you can play along....and also see EDGY's picks later this week in Class 8A....from the first round all the way to the state title!