Talking with ‘Edgy’: Hersey silences doubters, Prospect’s chances against East St. Louis and more

Like all of us, Rivals prep football expert “Edgy” Tim O’Halloran is focused on the state quarterfinals.

In this edition of Talking with “Edgy,” the guru sits down again with Daily Herald columnist Kevin Schmit to discuss the latest in area playoff football news.

Kevin Schmit: Did Hersey silence any doubters out there with its Class 7A second-round win over Glenbard West?

“Edgy” Tim: Yeah they silenced the doubters. My guess is Hersey gets to the state title game and then they’ll run into either East St. Louis or Brother Rice. Those are two very good teams and very good defenses, so they’ll have to prove it all over again.

But I just think that was a real important matchup. Defensively they did enough to slow down a very good Glenbard West offense. Offensively, the line play is always something you worry about but they held up well again. Glenbard West is a big, strong, fast defense, and Hersey handled it as well as I saw anyone do it in the West Suburban Silver.

I’ll be honest with you, I think this was a tougher matchup than what they’re looking at in the next two. I’m familiar with Lincoln-Way West, and I’m guessing it would be Downers Grove North in the semifinals. Those are winnable games.

And they get to avoid East St. Louis and Brother Rice until the title game, and that helps. This was a good time for them to get a test like Glenbard West. It’s a confidence-builder for sure.

KS: What can Prospect do to hang with East St. Louis in Class 7A given the Flyers’ status as a national powerhouse?

ET: It’s a really good question because East St. Louis is so tough at home especially. They just want to shock and awe. They want to intimidate you from the first snap. They’re big, they’re physical, they’re fast. Athletically, this will be the best team Prospect will face all season.

Prospect’s offense is very good, and it’s balanced. You’ve got to mix things up and show them some different things. You’ve got to make that aggressiveness work against them, work on your hard counts, change your cadences. Mix in run and pass. Try to get them as off-balance as possible. They have to hold on to the football and win time of possession. East St. Louis is capable of breaking off big plays in a heartbeat. You’ve got to try and keep the ball away from them.

Very much easier said than done. It’s just something you’ve got to take series by series. It’s a big task, there’s no question. But it can be done.

KS: How surprised are you that Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South are the last two DuKane teams standing from the power conference?

ET: If I wasn’t surprised, I would’ve had them ranked higher than they were. Am I surprised two DuKane teams are still playing? No. Am I surprised it’s these two teams? Yes.

I still like the paths. I definitely think Wheaton South can keep going. And with Wheaton North, I was very surprised they beat Geneva just based on how good Geneva has been all year. Good for Wheaton North, they got them. I’m a big believer in it’s very difficult to beat a team twice in a season. No one knows you better than the team you’re playing a second time, and the teams that lose are much more inclined to make adjustments.

KS: What are your thoughts on Antioch’s heartbreaking loss after its successful Hail Mary pass to beat Sycamore was disallowed by an inadvertent whistle by an official?

ET: It’s football. It’s terrible, and you hate to see a team’s season end that way. But it’s football. How can you solve that? I don’t know. You could have five different refs on that play seeing it five different ways.

All I know is I saw the video and you can hear the whistle plain as day. It’s awful for Antioch, especially because they haven’t had a ton of postseason success over the years. For whatever reason they haven’t made it that deep in the playoffs and this looked like a really good team. You see Wauconda advance and you think maybe this is a good year for the Northern Lake County Conference.

You’re excited to see what they can do, and it’s bad to just see it end this way. And replay? We’re a long way from that. It’s just not realistic.

KS: Where are you headed this weekend?

ET: I was thinking about seeing Huntley against New Trier on Friday, but I think I’ll just watch that online.

On Saturday, for some reason I’m very intrigued to see Quincy at Nazareth. The last time I saw Quincy was against St. Rita a couple years back, and St. Rita got physical with them and just beat them up. I’m interested to see if Nazareth can do the same thing. But you’ve got a Quincy team that’s basically basketball on grass, so I’m intrigued by it.

And then I might catch a Saturday night game between Wilmington and Peotone because it’s close to home.