Great crowds bringing atmosphere back to local football games

Good morning,

Back in August I was a little worried about crowds coming back to high school sports.

Looking around at Lockport on Friday night I remembered that worry and felt silly. There have been great crowds everywhere I have traveled this season, from Cary to Flossmoor to Naperville. 

Lately I’ve been thinking about how special the state championship games are going to feel. It’s been so long. This will truly be a unique year to win a title. The football playoff pairings will be released on Saturday night. 

As football starts to wind down, basketball begins to ramp up. The basketball Twitter previews got going last week. Coaches and ADs, please email your team info to mobrien@suntimes.com. Every team that sends info will get a tweet. Thanks. 

Another calm week in the Super 25. Hersey, which had been ranked since the preseason, falls out after losing to Prospect.

The Knights take Hersey’s place. It’s difficult to figure out what exactly to do with the Mid-Suburban League this season. Several traditional top programs are having rough years. We will find out soon enough though, the playoff field is released in just a few days.

There are a number of major Catholic League matchups Friday, including No. 1 Loyola at No. 11 Mount Carmel, No. 4 Brother Rice at No. 12 Marist and No. 23 Fenwick at No. 10 St. Ignatius.

I’m leaning towards attending the Fenwick-Iggy game. I haven’t seen either team yet and Fenwick has some talented players that will be contenders for the All-Area Team.

There aren’t any Public League games listed on this week’s schedule yet. We are waiting to receive the playoff pairings. Games will start on Thursday.

Brooks won the Big Shoulders conference this weekend with a massive 50-0 win against Hyde Park. The Eagles are undefeated in the Public League this season. They’ve ripped off six consecutive wins after losing to Eisenhower and St. Laurence to open the season. 

Brooks will face Young in the first round of the Public League playoffs on Friday. 

Want your school featured in Team of the Week? Send us an update on your team’s season, your name and hometown, and (if possible) a photo to newsletters@suntimes.com. Some answers may be lightly edited for clarity.