I think Marist is okay, but really wasn't that impressed. I think they executed well and played a good game, but there is no x factor. Also the score was closer than the game really ever was. Montini could have put it away but made a terrible call to throw a deep shot on 4th and 1. I still think Marist is an impressive win for Montini, and will give them confidence. It's always a close game when they play
Montini 35- Marist 28, Final?
- Thread starter Louie1999
- Start date
Maybe, Montini is a 4A school that has played up in 8A the last two weeks and end up 1-1. I watched the Sandburg game and they could be 2-0 last two weeks. They’re good.
Exactly. I think Marist beats Sandburg if they play. Montini repeatedly beat themselves in that game and did not make the same mistakes against Marist.
They may be 5A, but probably not. Anyways they will play Rochester if they make it to the final and that seems like a great matchup to me
You were the one who said they could have/would have beat two 8A teams...
They just went toe to toe with two 8A teams and you say "if" they make it to the final in 4A. You guys have an interesting take on things
The MC game next week will gauge where Marist is at. If they can hold MC under 35 and actually score a TD on a regular drive against MC's 1st team D then I'll be impressed. Either they'll finish at 4-5 - should beat Marmion and Laurence or 5-4 if teyy beat Carmel (Carmel beat Laurence tonite but played well against a solid Hersey team in their opener). MC, Rice and Loyola should each beat Marist by 2-3 TDs.
Agreed - run right, left, up middle with the QB and its game over.
I said they they played up the last two weeks. You wished they might not be 4A. Let’s not confuse the issue.
The play almost worked since the receiver got great separation, and you see that kind of call occasionally in college, but these are high school receivers. Would have ended the game 42-21, but in totality might be one of the dumbest play calls i've seen. That's Montini's big problem ... they are in love with the home run play.
Don't get it twister, they play up every week. Name the 4A or below team they play all season outside of the mighty Marmion or De LaSalle.
Which makes their success even more amazing. I don't get the issue. Rochester just beat Batavia badly. Does that mean Rochester should not play in 4a? Oh but I bet you'll try to tell me Montini recruits, but Rochester does not recruit and nobody moves their family to play under Coach Leonard.
Nope, I've always said success factor for all.
This just speaks to the other thread about "best of the best" class or open class or whatever you want to call it. Teams won't ever volunteer up because they like the easy path and have no interest in being challenged.
Also, how the heck is impressive that they compete with 8A teams in the regular season and then drop down to 4A for the playoffs?
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I had Marist at 4-5 before the season, I retract that and will now put them at 5-4.....I thought Laurence would be much better then they are, I have Marist winning that easily now. I thought Montini would beat them by more before the season and when it was 21-0 I thought I was right but Marist fought back. They don't have a secondary that can defend MC, LA or BR. I liked their RB and their QB isn't bad at all. WRs won't blow anyone away. I'd put them on line with Naz and Naz has a lot more D1 players
An open class sounds fun, but I still think enrollment is a great tool for classification. Montini is now probably as good as it ever has been, but still it would only be a quarterfinal team in 8a at most. The gap is significant and I understand why they would not want to compete at that level. In 2015 when they won 6A they maybe could have made a run in 8a but that was a historically great team. The issue is that most years Montini would stuggle because depth matters and so does size. This is Montini with a 5 star quarterback, but once he leaves they are back to being just a good team in 5A.
Only solution is fewer classes. Maybe 4a, 5a, and 6a could be one single class but I'm sure some would say that that would be unfair to other 4a schools.
there was a 7 year stretch where they won 4 straight 5A titles, finished 2nd twice, and won a 6A title, but 3A and 4A is where they belong. And we're supposed to believe teams like this would volunteer for a best of the best class, lol
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So a 3A enrollment team would "only" be an 8A quarterfinal team plays in the 4A playoffs makes sense to you?
But they were only 5A and 6A because of the success factor. When they stopped being successful they went back down. You are advocating for some kind of permanent success factor based on past success, which is interesting but it is difficult to understand how it would work and how it wouldn't just hurt schools that happened to have really great classes for a couple of years.
Yeah, it was more than a great class or two. Even after the years I mentioned they still made three title games in 10 years including back to back titles in two different classes. Montini has had amazing success and I applaud them for it, but they have zero desire to fight for a title, they just take what they are given.
I don't completely disagree with the idea that Montini should try to petition up but there are other considerations. Montini is a small school and it has to recruit all of its students to keep its doors open. If you saw the state of Montini's facilities you would be shocked - tiny weight room and terrible locker room. The fact that they win state titles makes all of the difference in convincing players to come to Montini to play football instead of the many great programs located in the area.
When I think about it that way I understand why Montini doesn't volunteer to petition up and why giving itself a chance to win titles every year is important to keep enrollment steady at a time when catholic schools are having a hard time. Same logic applies to IC.
Not the same
Not the same logic when you’re dealing with 45 kids on a roster, ESL petitions up and they have depth but when you get down to the numbers it’s just not feasible, I think that’s part of why Sandburg took them down last week- they have near 150 kids in the program. These small schools are in dire straights if a stud goes down.
This^^ next week will show plenty- I have Naz by at least a score at home which will likely decide that division.
Your program used to play in a 7a/8a conference and played down to win a 6a title. Pathetic that they now play in 4a.
Your program starts a D1 transfer QB.
Petty ridiculous argument aye?
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Not impressive at all.
Sandburg beat them because they have a bunch of kids in the program? I dont think you quite understand. Almost no public school has depth, most those kids you see on the sideline would be in trouble if they had to step on the field against a good opponent. If a stud goes down theyre toast. Did you see what happened when the LWE QB went down last year?
None of these excuses fix the fact that these schools are looking for the easiest championship they can muster. If that means destroying 5 completely outmatched teams every year theyre okay with it. The fact that its not embarrassing enough to make them request up is concerning.
This may sound stupid but I think Montini needs to do a few things yet to reach their ceiling because right now things just look off.
One, the play calling needs to be more conservative. Too much home run ball, even with 4th and 1??
They need to establish a running game with their running backs. They are good, feed them the ball. There are going to be times in the 2nd half where you have to control the clock using a ground game to win the game. You need to establish the run game with your running backs to get this done.
Next, Abrams runs too much. Use the RBs more. You dont want to put the QB at risk. Abrams, dont try to be Caleb, you be you and also use your check downs more.
Last, the defense would be great if I could find all star DE Namari Anderson in the lineup. Did he switch schools? He is all we are missing on D.
One, the play calling needs to be more conservative. Too much home run ball, even with 4th and 1??
They need to establish a running game with their running backs. They are good, feed them the ball. There are going to be times in the 2nd half where you have to control the clock using a ground game to win the game. You need to establish the run game with your running backs to get this done.
Next, Abrams runs too much. Use the RBs more. You dont want to put the QB at risk. Abrams, dont try to be Caleb, you be you and also use your check downs more.
Last, the defense would be great if I could find all star DE Namari Anderson in the lineup. Did he switch schools? He is all we are missing on D.
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It seemed weird a few years ago that Montini could be going through a generationally bad stretch and still be potentially the best team in their (3A) classification. Almost certainly the most individually talented. Montini in 2021-2023 was going through their worst few consecutive seasons in at least 30 years and possibly ever, and in 2023 they were still - just barely - the second best team in 3A. Byron scored late to come from behind and win 26-20. The Byron team they narrowly lost to set state scoring records and is considered one of the best 3A teams of all time. Montini has gotten quite a bit more talented since.
Those schools weren't 7A and 8A back then and we've already had the discussion about football enrollment putting them in 6A.
Morris' has been pretty consistent through the years with between 800-900 kids and the class they end up in has varied and they've been right on the dividing line for several years. Thanks for comparing them to the success Montini has had. That's exactly a 1 for 1 comparison
Also, what D1 offers does Persich have? I haven't seen anything.
They sure were. Plainfield schools were 8a, Oswego was 7a.Those schools weren't 7A and 8A back then and we've already had the discussion about football enrollment putting them in 6A.
Morris' has been pretty consistent through the years with between 800-900 kids and the class they end up in has varied and they've been right on the dividing line for several years. Thanks for comparing them to the success Montini has had. That's exactly a 1 for 1 comparison
Also, what D1 offers does Persich have? I haven't seen anything.
My point is the same argument you just made against Montini, others could make against your own program in their hay day.
Morris was a 5a enrollment program(bumped up to 6a bc of football enrollment) playing in a 7a/8a conference. With your logic, they shoulda played in a higher class for the playoffs.
The size of your regular season opponents should have no bearing on post season classification and rightfully so.
It really is the weakest argument.
Programs should be given a tip of the cap for playing bigger programs throughout the year instead of negativity.
If he doesn't have any yet, he will. Watching him play last year at LP as a Soph, he is one of the best all around athletes I've ever seen on a Football Field.
