advertisement

Getting excited for Semifinal Saturday

There's something special about the semifinals.

Any playoff football win is big, but it's different at this point. Teams are so close, yet so far from the title game.

This week's Eyes on Five column looks at what should be a Saturday to remember in DuPage County.

1. Decades in the making:

If there's anyone who knows how special it'd be for Benet to advance to the Class 7A title game, it's coach Pat New.

New was a sophomore at Benet in 1984 when the Redwings made their only championship appearance. Promoted to varsity for the playoffs, New was on the sideline at Illinois State University when Benet fell 31-14 to Morris in the Class 4A final.

In Saturday's Class 7A semifinals, for the first time since 2012 Benet has a chance to make its second title game appearance. It'll take an elite effort for the No. 12 Redwings (10-2) to top No. 2 East St. Louis (12-0) at Benedictine University, but battle-tested Benet won't be intimidated by the seven-time state champions.

Benet never made four straight playoff appearances until last season, and this year the Redwings extended that streak to five straight. They survived the brutal competition in the East Suburban Catholic Conference and road wins the last two weeks against higher-seeded Normal Community and previously unbeaten Rolling Meadows.

It's another level of competition with East St. Louis, but the Redwings will be ready. Thirty-two years after their last title game appearance, they'll definitely be ready.

2. Home sweet home:

The biggest key in Benet's game against East St. Louis? It might be home-field advantage in Lisle.

Of the four rounds leading up to the championship game, there are two games you want at home more than the others - the opening round and the semifinals. You want the first-round game at home because it helps settle the nerves and keeps your feet on the ground.

Survive and advance takes hold in the second round and the quarterfinals when all that matters is matchups, injuries and who's got the most momentum from the weeks leading up. Being home or away doesn't seem to matter as much in the middle rounds.

That urge to be at home returns for the semifinals.

You think Benet wants to drive five hours to East St. Louis? Much better to have the Flyers drive up here for a second straight week.

And no matter the week or the situation, there's no place Glenbard West would rather be than Duchon Field in Glen Ellyn. The Hilltoppers (10-2), seeded 20th in Class 8A, play host to top-seeded Loyola (12-0) in a showdown between last season's 7A and 8A champions.

For Benet and Glenbard West, it's the perfect time to be at home.

For IC Catholic Prep, however, it's time to pack up the bus for the first time this postseason. The Knights (12-0) will make the two-hour trek south to play Monticello (12-0), but it'll take a lot more than traffic to slow them down.

3. Ah, memories:

When I looked at Saturday's weather forecast and saw plummeting temperatures with possible snow flurries, you can imagine the flashbacks that flooded my mind.

If you attended a semifinal game last season like I did, chances are you'll never forget it.

More than half a foot of snow fell in the area Nov. 20-21 - the official Chicago amount at O'Hare Airport was 11.2 inches - but the Saturday games played on. I happened to be at Glenbard West's game against Cary-Grove, an afternoon matchup moved to Glenbard South because of its artificial turf.

Not that you could see the turf. It was a stunning sight watching the snow pound the field to the point where workers constantly had to shovel the sidelines. It was the only way to barely recognize the boundaries.

Luckily for all of us, we won't have anything close to that kind of weather this Saturday. Sounds like it'll be cold but no blizzard.

See, I told you semifinal Saturday is special!

4. Combo:

Class 7A became known as the state's power class the last handful of years, but that changed this season when Glenbard West, Lincoln-Way East and Maine South all bumped up to Class 8A. The Hilltoppers and Maine South - the two smallest 8A schools - remain alive in opposite sides of the bracket.

Many fans are critical of the eight-class system, saying it's too many and thins out the competition. It takes a postseason like this to really buy into that argument.

Between Glenbard West and Maine South in 8A, and East St. Louis as the smallest 7A school, it makes you wonder how the competition would be if the number of classes was trimmed and the qualifiers combined.

In fact, look at any of the classes and see if they couldn't be combined with a class above or below. No doubt 3A favorite IC Catholic Prep could compete in 4A, for example.

The powers that be never would accept a reduced number of classes, but it's interesting to think about.

5. Stat time:

By scoring 48 points in last week's blowout victory over Wilmington, IC Catholic Prep actually saw a drop in its season scoring average. It was the Knights' third-lowest scoring output in 12 games.

IC Catholic Prep scored at least 50 points six times, at least 60 points three times and even scored 72 points once this season.

With a Saturday victory at Monticello, the Knights will advance to the title game for the first time since 2008 in search of their third championship.

Follow Kevin on Twitter

@kevin_schmit

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.