Bracketologists in their glory this weekend
It's not March, but it's time to get out those brackets.
Football brackets, that is.
That's what many high school coaches do this time of year.
On Saturday, the IHSA will announces its pairings for the high school football playoffs and, in anticipation, coaches all over the state like to see if they can predict the outcome.
"Two years ago, I had it almost exactly right," Carmel coach Andy Bitto beamed, claiming that he nearly aced the Class 7A bracket. "We like to have fun with it. There's a few other coaches and me and we all like to come up with our brackets and see who's the closest. Our other coaches are like, 'Whatever. Just tell us who we're playing.' "
Bitto, and the rest of Carmel's bracketologists - Ben Berg, Tom Young and Joe May - have already thrown out some possibilities for the 7-1 Corsairs, who would likely get at least a No. 3 seed in Class 7A if they beat Nazareth on Saturday to finish 8-1.
"It's a little easier guessing who the top 32 teams will be in Class 7A," said Bitto, noting that, unlike some of the smaller classes, there are enough 7A teams in the area for geography to dictate matchups. "We figure we could play schools like Libertyville, Rolling Meadows, Glenbrook North or possibly even Rockford Guilford or Steinmetz. But you never know what the IHSA will end up doing."
Find out: To see how the brackets shake out, catch the IHSA Football Pairings Show from 8-10 p.m. Saturday. The broadcast will be carried in this area by Comcast (Channel 103).
No prognosticating, please: The coaches at Libertyville are typically like the coaches at Carmel. They like to play the bracket game.
But the last two years, they've put their crystal balls, their pencils and their empty brackets away. Instead, they've spent the week leading up to the pairings show thinking about one thing and one thing only: their Week 9 opponent.
Libertyville's Week 9 opponent this year is Lake Forest - the same as last year. The reason the coaching staff has had tunnel vision for that game is that without a win in Week 9, the Wildcats wouldn't be playoff eligible anyway.
Last year, Lake Forest upended Libertyville in overtime. The Wildcats closed out the season with a 4-5 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996.
This year, the Wildcats are again 4-4 heading into this week's season finale against Lake Forest and need a victory to qualify for the playoffs with 5 wins and sufficient playoff points.
"We're not even thinking about the bracket," Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski said with a chuckle. "In years past, when we clinched early, we would try to figure out the whole thing and get an idea of who we might play. But this year and last year, we haven't even had the luxury of worrying about the playoffs. We've had to put all of our efforts into winning our last game."
No use: When Brian Glashagel was an assistant coach at Carmel, he was into the bracket game, too.
Now that he's the head coach at Antioch, he's pretty much given up trying to outthink the IHSA.
That's because Antioch is a bubble team. One year, the Sequoits could be a Class 6A team, the next they could be 5A. It all depends on what other schools make the playoff field.
Teams are grouped into classes based on enrollment, so if more big schools make the field, Antioch would be pushed down to Class 5A. More small schools in the field would move the Sequoits into Class 6A.
With so many possible scenarios to prepare for over two separate classes, Glashagel says that it's not worth the time to predict potential opponents.
"When there were only six classes, it was a lot easier. We used to sit around and go over and over that," Glashagel said, reminiscing about his Carmel days. "Now it's so much tougher. Maybe if you know you'll be 7A or 8A, then it's a little easier. But with all the movement in 5A and 6A, it's really tough to predict anything."
Scouting cutbacks: Back in the old days of six-class football, part of the reason coaches liked to fill out their brackets was so that they could narrow the list of potential first-round opponents and then scout them in person before the end of the regular season.
But with 64 more teams in the eight-class field, that makes a scouting short list much longer. And most high school teams don't have the manpower to scout more than a few possible first round opponents.
"We did that in the past, definitely," said Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken, who was formerly an assistant coach at Libertyville. "But there are so many possibilities now. It's almost impossible to figure it out. And even if you think you've got it narrowed down, all it takes is one upset and then all the scouting you did is a waste.
"Now, we pretty much just rely on the (state-mandated) film exchange. That's what most coaches do."
So cerebral: At 7-1, Carmel clearly has some talent on the football field.
But the Corsairs aren't just one-dimensional. They've got some superstars in the classroom, too. Carmel has nine players who scored a 30 or better on the ACT. A score of 36 is perfect.
The cerebral-ties on the team are: Jack Berg, Tom Patek, Ryan Hrabak, Kolin Meehan, Sean Griffin, Matt Michel, Sean Madison, Seamus Mullin and Joe Urbanik.
"We've got a number of guys who are at 28 and 29, too, which is really good," said Carmel coach Andy Bitto. "What I've noticed is that the guys on the team who are really smart like that are also some of our best players. When you're good student, I think you tend to be more dedicated to everything you do, whether it be band or sports or whatever."
Bitto says there's another benefit to having smart players. The playbook gets a cerebral makeover.
"When you have a lot of smart guys, you can do a lot more," Bitto said. "You can put in some sophisticated stuff and you know they can handle it."
Choices, choices: When you're a high school senior, it's nice to have choice. As in college choices.
Count Carmel cornerback Jake Sinkovec among those prospects who will be able to pick and choose come signing day in February.
Sinkovec has already had offers come in from Navy and Air Force and he learned this week that Akron threw its hat into the ring. Carmel coach Andy Bitto says that Miami of Ohio could be next.
"He's 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, he can run a 4.5 40 and he got a 28 on his ACT," Bitto said. "A lot of (college coaches) see all that and like it."
Bitto just likes the way Sinkovec plays. He says Sinkovec can contribute from multiple positions - even punter.
"He can do a lot of different things on the field," Bitto said. "He's just very athletic. One of things that impresses me the most is how he's just a great closer. He can make tackles from a long way away."
So does Bitto have a feel for which way Sinkovec may be leaning in the recruiting race?
"I think he's still overwhelmed at this point that so many people are after him like this," Bitto said. "I'm not surprised though. He's a real solid player."
Record ride: By the end of the season, the Antioch record books will probably look a lot different from they did at the start of this season.
The Sequoits are on the verge of setting all kinds of new records.
If they defeat Lakes on Friday to go 9-0, they'll be the first team to do so since the 1983 team went undefeated through the regular season.
The Sequoits have scored 319 total points this season, which is already 14 more than the old record set by the 1983 team.
Individually, running back Cameron White is close to taking over a couple of records. He has 22 touchdowns on the season and needs just two more to pass former Antioch star Nick Nathan for most touchdowns in a season.
Nathan rang up 23 touchdowns in 2004.
White could also top Nathan for most career rushing yards. White currently has 2,416 yards - 374 yards shy of Nathan's 2,790. And fullback Steve Lorenzini will likely move into the No. 3 spot for all-time rushing yards. He needs just 130 yards to do so.
"There's a lot of history attached to our game against Lakes on Friday," Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. "It's our rivalry game and we've got all these school records in play. Plus, we're going for a high seed in the playoffs and that perfect 9-0 record.
"I don't think you could write a better ending to the regular season for us. If we could beat Lakes with all that history - and a perfect season on the line, that would be pretty special."
Unsung hero: Lost in the hype of Antioch's high-scoring offense, which is averaging nearly 40 points per game, is the play of its defense, specifically middle linebacker Tom Gerstner.
"You talk about an MVP of this team and everyone will say (running back) Cameron White, but Tom has got to be right up there," said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel. "He's going to have over 100 tackles again this year, just like had last year as a junior. He's made big plays all season long for us."
Give him a hand: The status of Grant quarterback Justin Cokefair is questionable for Friday's game against Vernon Hills.
He missed last week's game against Lake Zurich with a broken hand, which he suffered in practice.
"Justin fell down and one of our guys stepped on his hand," Grant coach Kurt Rous said. "We thought his hand might be broken, but it turned out not to be. It's just badly bruised and we didn't want to risk anything last week so he didn't play.
"This week, he's been practicing but he hasn't been 100 percent. We'll know more (on Friday)."
Cokefair's injured hand is his left, non-throwing hand. But Rous said that he was still concerned with Cokefair's ability to take snaps and make handoffs, which is part of the reason he sat last week.
Into the fire: Talk about jumping in headfirst.
Grant sophomore Leo Minne got the nod to start at quarterback last week against Lake Zurich without much warning. He filled in for Justin Cokefair, who went down in practice with a hand injury.
Of course, Cokefair originally stepped in for senior Izzy Rodriguez early in the season when Rodriguez went out with an injury. That makes Minne the third Grant quarterback to start a game this season.
"We had hoped Leo could just manage the game and he did," Grant coach Kurt Rous said. "Under those circumstances, he did a pretty good job. He was pretty cool, calm and collected under a lot of pressure."
Cougars coming back: Against Antioch two weeks ago, Vernon Hills wasn't just bitten by the injury bug, it was devoured.
Two of the Cougars' best players went down within minutes of each other. DaVaris Daniels and Ernie Choi both left the game with ankle injuries and were on the sideline on crutches.
While it was a disturbing sight, it was only temporary.
Choi made his way back into the lineup last week, although he played sparingly. Now, however, he is close to being 100 percent.
And while Daniels sat out last week, he is well on his way to returning to the lineup as well. Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken listed Daniels' status for Friday's game against Grant as a game-time decision but said he is optimistic that he'll be able to contribute.
"DaVaris is just a sophomore and right now our biggest concern is for him (in the long term)," Monken said. "We don't want to take any chances, but he is doing very well."
Where'd he go? One of Warren's most effective plays this season is the quick handoff up the middle to fullback Tom Lindal.
When run correctly, Lindal is 10 yards downfield before anyone in the bleachers, and perhaps the opposing defense, even realizes he has the ball.
Naturally, that puts some pressure on the interior offensive lineman, but Blue Devils senior center Erik Church wouldn't want it any other way.
"It's a lot of fun and it just kind of gets your blood pumping," he said. "Me at center and our guards, we just love to bust that. It's exhilarating. We're short, we're stocky, but we're fast."
Playing on either side of Church are guards Jason Freeck and Jose Guevara, both juniors. The tackles are seniors Kyle Chellstorp and James Poliquin.
Quote of the week: "Warren has the best offensive line at the high school level that I've seen in the last five or six years. They're physical, they execute and they're tough. I think they could help Warren really do some damage in the playoffs." _ Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski on his pick to click (besides his own team) in the playoffs.
• Mike McGraw contributed to this report.