Picking the winners becomes hit-and-miss
If you think this is easy, guess again.
OK, I'll admit the first couple rounds of the high school football playoffs are easy to predict. A child could pick the winner in games involving the haves and have-nots.
Still, a little bit of luck was needed and I received more than my share in going 12-0 through the first two rounds since there are almost always upsets. This year there were none. Sure, Batavia beating St. Viator was a slight upset, considering the Lions were the No. 4 seed and Bulldogs No. 5, but hardly earth-shattering.
Last week was a little different. It was flip-a-coin time in three of the four quarterfinal games involving Beacon News area teams.
Batavia, riding the crest of an emotional high, in my opinion was even money to upend Cary-Grove, even though the undefeated Trojans were favored and both the Geneva-Oswego and Sterling-Kaneland games were in that you-pick-'em category.
Only Plano seemed a safe pick if only because the Reapers weren't very good in beating Westmont the week before and you had to sense that Amboy would pay the price.
The three flip-a-coin games lived up to expectations. Batavia did upset Cary-Grove by the margin of one point (15-14), Geneva made a late touchdown drive to slip past Oswego by three points (17-14) and Kaneland needed two overtimes to outlast Sterling (52-45).
Amboy, of course, did pay the price. The Clippers were steamrolled by Plano, 49-0.
So, I was 3-1 for the quarterfinals and 15-1 for the playoffs for a rather lofty .937 winning percentage. That could change in a hurry Saturday.
Bureau Valley (12-0) at Plano (12-0), 5 p.m. Saturday — This one has been talked about all season. The two have run 1-2 in the Class 3A rankings since the opening week. The Reapers reached the semifinals last year before losing to Tolono Unity and made their goal playing in Champaign the day after Thanksgiving. The real Plano team showed up last week in the destruction of Amboy and won't be easy to stop. Bureau Valley is the defending state champions and enters with a 26-game winning streak for a reason. The Storm has an outstanding senior leader in quarterback Garrett Barnas and a veteran cast of seniors who finished second to Driscoll in the 2004 championship game. The Reapers can't let Barnas dominate the game and he can do exactly that. Kindt's pick — Plano.
Batavia (11-1) at Geneva (11-1), 6 p.m. Saturday — That the two rivals, less than five miles apart, meet in a semifinal game is somehow fitting since both have outstanding players and tremendous coaching staffs. The Bulldogs defeated the Vikings 24-6 in Week 9 to throw the final Western Sun Conference standings into a three-way tie between Batavia, Geneva and Kaneland but that game means nothing now. If anything, it favors the Vikings since defeating a team twice in the same season is extremely difficult. Then again, that might mean nothing too. These two teams are so similar that it's scary. Both run balanced offenses and both play aggressive, hard-hitting defense. If it comes down to the kicking game, give the Vikings and Brian Maurovich the edge. Kindt's pick — Geneva.
Kaneland (11-1) at Marian Central (12-0), 7 p.m. Saturday — Who knows? Both come from strong conferences and both have state championship pedigree. Marian, from the rugged Suburban Catholic Conference, won state titles in 1983, 86, 87 and 89 while Kaneland, from the first-year alignment known as the Western Sun, won back-to-back undefeated titles in 1998 and '99. What that means come kickoff time is anybody's guess. The Hurricanes haven't seen a spread offense like Boone Thorgesen and Kaneland but SCC opponents Driscoll and Montini both throw the football. Kaneland's defense will be against a huge Marian offensive line and a special sophomore quarterback. Marian even lost ace runner Joe Peckenpaugh to injury at mid-season and never skipped a beat. Kindt's pick — Kaneland.
- Last week: 3-1; Year to date: 114-22 (.838).
Bill'sWeekendForecast: Semifinals
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