Both 8A matchups intrigue me and I think can go either way. Obviously Loyola is favored over Lockport but does Lockport have the dogs to win this one? MS Marist also should be tight. Whose favored in this one? Marist at home maybe? RedHawks offense looked unstoppable vs GBS and Maine South offense didn’t put up many points at Valley but I feel like MS is the superior of the 2. Thoughts?
8A Interesting Semis
- Thread starter Southland Fan 2016
- Start date
I haven’t followed Hollywood much this year and know very little about Lockport. So I have zero for that one.
As far as Swagger and Marist go, hard to say. This is one of the grittiest, toughest MS teams I’ve seen in a while. Not the best by any means, but damn sure willing to get dirty and get after it. This group has something to prove and they play with that thing you can’t coach. They had a 2 qtr let down against PN, which was unlike anything we had seen all year. That has worried me, however NV worried me too.
All of that said, MS WILL SHOW UP!
may the best TEAM WIN.
As far as Swagger and Marist go, hard to say. This is one of the grittiest, toughest MS teams I’ve seen in a while. Not the best by any means, but damn sure willing to get dirty and get after it. This group has something to prove and they play with that thing you can’t coach. They had a 2 qtr let down against PN, which was unlike anything we had seen all year. That has worried me, however NV worried me too.
All of that said, MS WILL SHOW UP!
may the best TEAM WIN.
I would not say LA is obviously the favorite…..
I know very little about football but I’m looking forward to this game.
It generally seems to me, from year to year, that 8A is more compressed competitively than the other classes from the quarterfinals on in. In other words, the difference between the best team in 8A and the eighth best team in 8A is usually less than the differences in the other classes. Consequently, 8A upsets normally don't surprise me too much and Lockport beating Loyola wouldn't surprise me too much. With that being said, the unbeaten outright champion of the toughest conference in the state is "obviously" the favorite, especially when playing at home.
I agree with your post. LA is s the favorite, I might have gotten worked up by “obvious favorites.” Should be a good one.
LA will have it's hands full this weekend. Lockport is big and fast on both sides of the ball and gave LWE all it could handle in their 12-10 loss. You can watch the replay at the CN100 site. Need the defense to play as well as it did if not better than the LWE game . Tough to repeat that performance against the Porter's huge offensive line and the LA offense needs to step it up. I am sure the Ramblers are under no impression they are the favorites here and they are in for a difficult game given how good Lockport is.
LA will prevail. Marist has been playing well - but MS will be its biggest challenge since getting manhandled by Rice at home. So far Marist has beaten teams they should have beat - can they beat one this year they're the underdog in and get back to the big dance to break the Marv Levy curse?
LA with LWE and Porters going through a tough road to DeKalb after a equally tough schedule in the CCL Blue. The usual 8A suspects all there - LA, Main South and LWE (up to last Saturday) Nice to see the Porters in the mix and a new team in there challenging the "usual" teams. Main South has battled very hard the last couple of weeks to keep it going and you have to admire that. Marist will have a tough game at home. Marist not a stranger in the last several years to the later rounds of the playoffs and needs a signature win to cement that program as being up there with the top four or five programs. Main South will provide that opportunity. The LA / Porter game is a toss up to me and I give Main South the edge in the battle of the "REDHAWKS". Main south -7.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that I don't think the LA/Lockport game is going to be as close as many posts in this thread are proposing. I think much of that close game mindset is because of the close game between LA and LWE this past Saturday and because LWE and Lockport played a close game back in week 8. Honestly, I believe that LA/LWE game is an anomaly for LA.
Prior to that game last weekend, LA was scoring an average of 38 points per game (averaging 40 in the first two rounds of the playoffs). And the Ramblers have done that playing against arguably the toughest schedule of any team in the state and, no, I'm not forgetting about ESL. LA is undefeated after having played TEN playoff qualifiers so far this season, four of whom will be playing in the semis next weekend. No slam on Lockport or its opponents, but the Porters are simply nowhere near as battle tested as LA.
Why was the 3-0 win over LWE an anomaly? Rob Zvonar. He had his young team ready to play, as he always does. Having faced LA twice in the playoffs in recent years before last weekend, he has studied more film of a John Holecek coached-Loyola than any other coach in the state outside of the CCL Blue with the exception of Dave Inserra.
I'm not saying that Loyola is going to beat Lockport by more than three scores...but it wouldn't surprise me if it happened.
Prior to that game last weekend, LA was scoring an average of 38 points per game (averaging 40 in the first two rounds of the playoffs). And the Ramblers have done that playing against arguably the toughest schedule of any team in the state and, no, I'm not forgetting about ESL. LA is undefeated after having played TEN playoff qualifiers so far this season, four of whom will be playing in the semis next weekend. No slam on Lockport or its opponents, but the Porters are simply nowhere near as battle tested as LA.
Why was the 3-0 win over LWE an anomaly? Rob Zvonar. He had his young team ready to play, as he always does. Having faced LA twice in the playoffs in recent years before last weekend, he has studied more film of a John Holecek coached-Loyola than any other coach in the state outside of the CCL Blue with the exception of Dave Inserra.
I'm not saying that Loyola is going to beat Lockport by more than three scores...but it wouldn't surprise me if it happened.
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Watch the Porter/ LWE game on CN100 and see if you feel the same way. If you do then you do ! It is on CN100. PS - Rob Zvonar must have missed Holecek's 2 point conversion call against Stevenson is 2013 to win that game . Which would explain the ridiculous 4th and 4 fake punt call he made to close out the game this weekend that caught LWE off guard.
You might think it was ridiculous, but that call was very true to form for John Holecek. He loves to roll the dice when you least expect it. Over the years, those types of calls have worked for him more often than not.
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The Lockport LWE game that was on CN100 is not the best representation of the Porters play since they were missing their starting QB in that game. I believe LA having more experience playing in games of this caliber is an advantage but see this game as toss up that could go either way.
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Did not know that - is he back now? Hopefully not hurt seriously! Always heartbreaking when these guys get hurt given how much work they put in and the time this sport requires now from these kids at the High School level !
Yes, he is back. I believe that may have been the only game he was out.
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And Coach Z will be sharing all his information with Lockport, you can bet on it that he wants Lockport to win this game. I think Lockport will win.
Seeing how LA has beaten LWE in two of the last three games they have played, I hope he does share his info with Lockport.
Lockport @ Loyola. No disrespect to LWE, but the LA offense appeared flat to me on Saturday. Let me be the first to say, that probably had a lot to do with Coach Z and his defensive game plan. LA actually played a game this year and did not score a touchdown. Pretty impressive stuff. That being said, LA goes back to putting up big numbers on Saturday and they are going to need them. Lockport has a very, very good football team. Size and speed on both sides of the ball and fast, hard nosed kids on specials. They are going to give the Ramblers everything they can handle, but I'm picking LA to advance. Much tougher schedule and playing in Wilmette with a trip to Dekalb on the line!
Maine South @ Marist. This game intrigues me. I saw Marist once early in the season but have not seen Maine South. Everything I've read on this board says not the greatest MS team ever, but one of the scrappiest. I like scrappy and I'm going with the boys from Park Ridge. It just seems like Maine South and Loyola are destined to meet..... YET AGAIN.
Maine South @ Marist. This game intrigues me. I saw Marist once early in the season but have not seen Maine South. Everything I've read on this board says not the greatest MS team ever, but one of the scrappiest. I like scrappy and I'm going with the boys from Park Ridge. It just seems like Maine South and Loyola are destined to meet..... YET AGAIN.
He has been out for 8 weeks with a broken collar bone.
Unless we are talking about a compound fracture or some other kind of fracture in a tricky place or that requires surgery to repair, a simple fracture should take 4-6 weeks to heal in a young person. I have no idea about the severity of his particular injury.
I will be cheering for a Lockport victory on Saturday.
With that said, Loyola has to be the favorite with their recent history and being at home until proven otherwise.
With that said, Loyola has to be the favorite with their recent history and being at home until proven otherwise.
I too will be cheering for Lockport but I agree that Loyola is a slight favorite. As an old Illini 8 conference brother, JCHS, it’s great to see the Porters back where they belong. I hope they are back to stay!!
Ramblinman
A lot of truth in this post. This will be Lockports biggest challenge since the East game. The problem I am having with Lockport is they were beat by East at home and East was very young this season. LA is going to be a tough out and I don’t know if LP is ready for what’s coming. I think Ramblers win by 14 points.
I have had the pleasure of seeing three of the four teams in person for the past several years. Maine South being the exception. Loyola will win hands down. Tight first half but talent will take over. HUGE season for Lockport and great to have them back in the fold. Just wish it was a couple of years ago for my kin. On to Marist v Maine South. Maine South is a program. They will be prepared and the coaches know how to win. This year, Marist is sort of two teams. One team that plays very well from time to time against the ESCC/CCL. Another team that simply steamrolls teams not named MC, Loyola and Brother Rice. I would spin this game this way. Maine South will travel to a hostile environment and face size and speed at the next level. This game comes down field position, turnovers, and coaching adjustments. My opening line Marist -4.
If you’re intimating that Maine South is likely to crack because the home field advantage at Marist is so significant I would call your attention to the road wins they have pulled in this year at Warren and Neuqua Valley.
Lockport has had a nice season. I don't think they've played anyone close to LA in terms of competition. LA wins by 2 tds.
I've seen both Marist and MS play. MS is a nice team. I've seen others describe them as scrappy. That fits. Marist by the eye test before a game you think, "who is going to slow that huge line down.". But by their results in big games it hasn't translated. I think Marist puts it together and the big boys up front beat scrappy in a close one, TD or less.
I've seen both Marist and MS play. MS is a nice team. I've seen others describe them as scrappy. That fits. Marist by the eye test before a game you think, "who is going to slow that huge line down.". But by their results in big games it hasn't translated. I think Marist puts it together and the big boys up front beat scrappy in a close one, TD or less.
I lived in Park Ridge for 18 years and had many MS football players for neighbors. Those kids are bred to play in hostile situations. While my heart is with Marist, my wallet is with Maine South
When Loyola faked that field goal inside the 10 in the closing minutes vs. Marist wasn’t it a 5 point game if I remember correctly? I remember being shocked he rolled the dice at that point in the game.