Spreading the word: ICCP's Rowell can play football
After spending Saturday afternoon mesmerized by Glenbard West's 7-0 win over Mt. Carmel, I'm not sure I'm ready for another round of playoff football.
But ready or not, here we are. Eyes on Five leaps ahead in the brackets to look at the quarterfinals.
1. Rolling with Rowell:
Selfishly, I'm hoping IC Catholic Prep (10-1) finds a way to beat Princeton (11-0) on Saturday and eventually advances into the Class 3A title game in DeKalb.
The reason? I want a statewide television audience to get a look at Knights running back Jordan Rowell.
The Knights - freed from a regular season facing bigger schools - are rolling through the Class 3A bracket with two victories by a combined 93-14 margin. A major reason is Rowell's explosive play.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior has rushed for 1,333 yards and 21 touchdowns, including three games of better than 200 yards. That's on top of the 1,522 yards and 9 touchdowns he piled up as a sophomore.
Iowa has taken notice by offering Rowell, and others are sure to follow. Beyond the glaring football skill, it's tough to ignore the speed that's already made him the most decorated boys track athlete in school history.
I often feel this way about area athletes - Glenbard North running back Justin Jackson (now at Northwestern) and Neuqua Valley receiver Mike Dudek (Illinois) immediately come to mind - and I feel that way again about Rowell. The whole state deserves to watch these guys play.
It's a treat watching Rowell play football. Hopefully, we get more chances this season.
2. Irie Ihry!:
Along the same lines as Rowell, I encourage you not to miss the chance to see Waubonsie Valley's Max Ihry.
As the Warriors overcame their 30th seed to win two games and reach the Class 8A quarterfinals, their senior running back-linebacker has been at the center of everything. On Saturday Waubonsie Valley (7-4) faces No. 6 Naperville Central (10-1) with hopes of beating the Redhawks for the second time this season and advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 1992.
Why see Ihry? Because you don't see players like him very often ... especially not in Class 8A.
Two-way play is commonplace with the smaller schools, but not so much in 8A. And when you do see it, it's often a wide receiver-defensive back combination where the contact isn't continuous.
With Ihry, he's in on virtually every offensive and defensive play. In last week's comeback win over Neuqua Valley, Ihry carried the ball 36 times for 190 yards to push him over the 1,200-yard mark on the season.
He's also averaging about a dozen tackles a game in the heart of the Warriors' defense.
After the Neuqua Valley win Ihry tweeted "Love this team. Love this school!"
I guarantee the feeling is mutual.
3. Road trip:
It'll be a busy weekend for Glenbard West fans.
The unbeaten football team travels 160 miles round trip to Rockford for Saturday's Class 7A quarterfinal game at Auburn. The girls volleyball team, meanwhile, makes the 250-mile round-trip journey to Normal for Friday's Class 4A semifinal match against Normal Community and either a third-place or championship match Saturday.
For friends and family members of Sam and Hannah Brodner - siblings and respective key players for the football and volleyball teams - it'll be a crazy couple of days. Theoretically, though, it's possible to watch them both play.
Start with the Glen Ellyn-to-Normal round trip for the Friday evening volleyball match, then wake up Saturday for the Glen Ellyn-to-Rockford trip and a 1 p.m. kickoff for the football game. Cap it Saturday afternoon with a straight-shot 130-mile trip down Interstate-39 back to Normal for another evening volleyball match.
Piece of cake, right?
4. Looking ahead:
For those looking ahead, here's a peek at who'd play where for next week's semifinals.
Class 8A: Naperville Central would be at home against both Oswego and Marist. Waubonsie Valley would be at home against Oswego but travel to Marist.
Class 7A: Glenbard West would be at home against both Batavia and Cary-Grove.
Class 6A: Montini would be at home against both Prairie Ridge and Riverside-Brookfield. Hinsdale South would be at home against both Sacred Heart-Griffin and Crete-Monee.
Class 3A: IC Catholic Prep would be at home against McNamara but travel to Byron.
5. Stat time:
When it comes to deep playoff runs in DuPage County, no one's better at it than Glenbard West and Montini.
With wins on Saturday, the Hilltoppers would reach the state semifinals for the sixth time in eight years while Montini would reach the semis for the seventh straight year.
Don't buy your semifinal tickets yet but, you know...
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