prep football: August 2008 Archives

In The Locker Room, we're tryin' to figure out who's gonna be 1-0 after Week 1 of the prep football season ... and, conversely, who's gonna be 0-1.

Alas, the all-knowing, all-seeing crystal ball got completely fogged up from all the panting that went on when Aramis Ramirez hit that grand slam home run to beat the Fillies on Thursday night.

As a result, with the crystal ball rendered useless, the following picks to click just might be likewise ... useless.

But in any case, here goes. If we were playing the confidence game, the picks would line up like this:
18) Deerfield over Zion-Benton
17) Waukegan over Romeoville
16) Antioch over Grayslake Central
15) Lake Forest over Palatine
14) Vernon HIlls over Niles West
13) Barrington over Libertyville
12) York over Highland Park
11) Marian Central over North Chicago
10) Buffalo Grove over Mundelein
9) Palatine Fremd over Lake Zurich
8) Westosha Central (Wis.) over Round Lake
7) Johnsburg over Grant
6) Huntley over Wauconda
5) Lakes over Grayslake North
4) Loyola over Stevenson
3) New Trier over Warren
2) Joliet Catholic over Carmel
1) Wayland Baptist over Lake Forest Academy

In the prep football preview magazine that is coming out on Thursday, Round Lake High's new football coach suggests that his team is at a competitive disadvantage because school started in Round Lake before football practice did, meaning no two-a-days, no bonding days of hanging together, and less football classroom work.
In contrast, Lake Forest High will have played TWO football games this season before any of its players ever step into a classroom.
That has to be an advantage for Lake Forest's grid program ... being able to concentrate on football for more than five weeks (practices plus games) before ever attending a class.
That is something the IHSA is going to have to look at in the future.

Prep football practice for all teams starts on Aug. 13. Not one day earlier.
Some schools, like Lake Forest High, don't even start school until after Labor Day. That means the football team can have double-session practices for three weeks before having to go to the one-a-day after school practice.
In contrast, Mundelein, Grayslake North & Grayslake Central will all be in school on Aug. 13, meaning there will be no double-sessions on any weekdays for these teams.
Do the match, between Aug. 13 and opening night (Aug. 29), not counting Sundays, Lake Forest can practice 28 times (14 days x 2 sessions daily). Mundelein, Grayslake North and Grayslake Central can only go twice on Saturdays for a total of 16 practices before opening day.
Twelve less.
Wow.