Maine South’s credentials are impeccable. Dave Inserra’s program played for the Class 8A state title last season and is one of the area’s most consistently excellent teams.

So the Hawks are always an excellent measuring stick, even when playing their backup quarterback, as was the case against visiting Prospect in Week 4.

The game was a thriller and the Knights prevailed thanks to some heroics by junior quarterback Brad Vierneisel in the final minute. The win catapulted the Mid-Suburban League squad into the No. 6 spot in the Super 25, slotting in right behind the area’s established elite teams.

Vierneisel called the game a “defining moment” for his team and running back Gavin Flanagan agreed.

“It means so much to us that we are finally up there and we can compete with the best,” Flanagan said.

Prospect lost Northwestern recruit Frank Covey to an ankle injury after one quarter. Covey didn’t return after a spectacular 83-yard touchdown grab.

The Knights have another test this week against Hersey. The undefeated Huskies have outscored opponents 174-31 and posted two shutouts.

Testing the Mustangs

Morgan Park coach Chris James deserves some credit. Before the season James boldly predicted that this would be “one of the best years CPS has ever had.” James believed that the Public League had four or five teams that could compete in the state playoffs.

I was skeptical. Public League football has been through a rough couple of seasons during COVID and to put it plainly, the Public League powers were too sloppy to compete with good teams. There were too many penalties and too many mistakes.

It’s still early, but James may be correct. Things are trending his way at least. Simeon has been a revelation this season. Dante Culbreath’s team has been rock solid and may be one of the best in the area.

Kenwood (3-1) narrowly lost to Glenbard North and is just outside the Super 25.

James’ Mustangs are 4-0. They’ve defeated Richards, Rich, Phillips and Curie. Now comes the first big test. Kenwood and Morgan Park will face off on Saturday afternoon at Lane.

Can St.Ignatius do it again?

One of last season’s most surprising results was St. Ignatius’ upset of Mount Carmel. The win propelled the Wolfpack into the Super 25 and the squad had enough returning to earn a preseason ranking this year.

But St. Ignatius has slid out of the spotlight since a 19-14 loss to St. Patrick in Week 1. The Wolfpack is 3-0 since that defeat and heads to Mount Carmel on Friday.

The top-ranked Caravan hasn’t shown any weakness this season and has only allowed one touchdown. Revenge is likely on their minds after last season’s defeat. But maybe Iggy’s hard-nosed rushing attack can pull another surprise.

No nickname, no losses

Morris, which has won three state championships, is one of the state’s football hotbeds. The Grundy County city of 14,000 is football-crazed but things have been a bit quiet lately, at least according to Morris standards.

That’s changing. Morris was 10-1 last season and the success is continuing this year. Morris is off to a 4-0 start and is currently the top-ranked team in Class 5A in the Associated Press poll.

The city hasn’t settled on a new nickname for the high school, but that hasn’t slowed down the football team.

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Thursday, September 22

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Sullivan vs. Amundsen at Winnemac, 4:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

UP-Bronzeville vs. King at Eckersall, 4:15

RED WEST

Crane vs. Little Village at Gately, 5

BLUE CENTRAL

Noble Academy vs. Muchin at Lane, 4:15

BLUE NORTH

Marine vs. Roosevelt at Lane, 7:15

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Harlan vs. DuSable at Stagg, 4:15

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Ridgewood at Wheaton Academy, 7:30

Friday, September 23

RED CENTRAL

UIC Prep vs. Pritzker at Lane, 4:15

RED NORTH

Phillips at Taft, 7:30

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Lake View vs. Senn at Winnemac, 4:15

RED SOUTH

Curie at Brooks, 7:30

Hubbard vs. Simeon at Gately, 7:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Chicago Richards at Perspectives, 4:15

RED SOUTHEAST

South Shore vs. Julian at Gately, 4:15

RED WEST

Bulls Prep vs. Lincoln Park at Lane, 7:15

Payton vs. Kennedy at Stagg, 4:15

BLUE NORTH

Prosser at Chicago Academy, 4:15

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Fenger vs. Bowen at Eckersall, 4:15

CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTH

Deerfield at Vernon Hills, 7

Highland Park at Niles North, 7

Maine West at Maine East, 6

CENTRAL SUBURBAN SOUTH

Evanston at New Trier, 7:30

Glenbrook North at Maine South, 7

Glenbrook South at Niles West, 7

DUKANE

Batavia at Glenbard North, 7

St. Charles East at Wheaton-Warrenville South, 7

St. Charles North at Geneva, 7

Wheaton North at Lake Park, 7

DUPAGE VALLEY

DeKalb at Naperville North, 7

Neuqua Valley at Naperville Central, 7

Waubonsie Valley at Metea Valley, 7

FOX VALLEY

Burlington Central at Crystal Lake South, 7

Cary-Grove at Prairie Ridge, 7

Dundee-Crown at Crystal Lake Central, 7

Hampshire at McHenry, 7

Jacobs at Huntley, 7

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Coal City at Lisle, 7

Herscher at Wilmington, 7

Reed-Custer at Peotone, 7

Streator at Manteno, 7

KISHWAUKEE BLUE

Marengo at Harvard, 7

Plano at Richmond-Burton, 7

KISHWAUKEE WHITE

Kaneland at Ottawa, 7

Morris at LaSalle-Peru, 7

Woodstock North at Woodstock, 7

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Bishop McNamara at Elmwood Park, 6

IC Catholic at Aurora Central, 7

METRO SUBURBAN RED

Chicago Christian at Aurora Christian, 7

Riverside-Brookfield at St. Edward, 7

MID-SUBURBAN EAST

Buffalo Grove at Elk Grove, 7:30

Hersey at Prospect, 7

Wheeling at Rolling Meadows, 7

MID-SUBURBAN WEST

Conant at Hoffman Estates, 7:30

Fremd at Palatine, 7:30

Schaumburg at Barrington, 7

NORTH SUBURBAN

Lake Zurich at Warren, 7

Stevenson at Mundelein, 7

Waukegan at Libertyville, 7

Zion-Benton at Lake Forest, 7

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Grant at Round Lake, 7

Grayslake North at Antioch, 7

North Chicago at Lakes, 7:15

Wauconda at Grayslake Central, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN BLUE

Bremen at TF North, 7

TF South at Hillcrest, 6

Tinley Park at Lemont, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Argo at Oak Lawn, 7

Richards at Shepard, 7

SOUTHLAND

Bloom at Rich Township, 6

Thornton at Thornridge, 5

Thornwood at Kankakee, 6

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Plainfield Central at Joliet West, 7

Plainfield East at Joliet Central, 6:30

Plainfield South at Romeoville, 7

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE WEST

Oswego at Minooka, 7

Plainfield North at Yorkville, 7

West Aurora at Oswego East, 7

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE

Bolingbrook at Lincoln-Way East, 7

Sandburg at Lockport, 6:30

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN RED

Lincoln-Way Central at Andrew, 7

Lincoln-Way West at Stagg, 6

UPSTATE EIGHT

East Aurora at South Elgin, 7

Elgin at West Chicago, 7

Fenton at Larkin, 7

Glenbard South at Bartlett, 7:30

Streamwood at Glenbard East, 7

VERMILION VALLEY NORTH

Momence at Dwight, 7

Seneca at Iroquois West, 7

Watseka at Clifton Central, 7

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Downers Grove South at Proviso East, 7:30

Hinsdale South at Morton, 7:30

Leyden at Willowbrook, 7:30

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Oak Park-River Forest at Hinsdale Central, 7:30

Proviso West at Downers Grove North, 7:30

NONCONFERENCE

Benet at Marian Catholic, 7:30

Bradley-Bourbonnais at Homewood-Flossmoor, 7

De La Salle at Brother Rice, 7

Eisenhower at Oak Forest, 7

Joliet Catholic at Crete-Monee, 7:30

Kingdom Prep, Wis. at Johnsburg, 7

Marmion at Marist, 6:30

Montini vs. Leo at St. Rita, 7

Nazareth at Carmel, 7:30

Notre Dame vs. St. Viator at Forest View, 7

Ottawa Marquette at Hope Academy, 7

Providence at Marian Central, 7:30

St. Ignatius at Mount Carmel, 7:30

St. Laurence at DePaul Prep, 7:30

St. Rita at St. Patrick, 7:30

Sycamore at Rochelle, 7

Saturday, September 24

RED CENTRAL

Hansberry vs. Rauner at Lane, 10 a.m.

Rowe-Clark vs. Woodlawn at Stagg, 4

Speer vs. Catalyst-Maria at Gately, 1

RED NORTH

Lane vs. Young at Winnemac, 10 a.m.

Westinghouse vs. Clark at Lane, 4

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Mather at Steinmetz, 3

Von Steuben vs. Schurz at Winnemac, 1

RED SOUTH

Morgan Park vs. Kenwood at Lane, 1

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Bogan vs. Dunbar at Gately, 7

Hyde Park vs. Ag. Science at Gately, 4

RED SOUTHEAST

Carver vs. Comer at Eckersall, 4

Corliss at Goode, 2:30

Vocational vs. Dyett at Eckersall, 1

RED WEST

North Lawndale vs. Raby at Lane, 7

BLUE CENTRAL

Butler vs. Noble Street at Winnemac, 4

Johnson vs. Longwood at Gately, 10 a.m.

BLUE NORTH

Clemente vs. Foreman at Orr, 1

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Chicago Military vs. Washington at Eckersall, 10 a.m.

BLUE SOUTHWEST

Back of the Yards vs. Gage Park at Stagg, 10 a.m.

Solorio vs. Lindblom at Stagg, 1

Tilden at Englewood STEM, 11 a.m.

BLUE WEST

Kelly vs. Marshall at Orr, 10 a.m.

Phoenix vs. Collins at Orr, 4

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Evergreen Park at Reavis, 1

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

York at Lyons, 1:30

NONCONFERENCE

Addison Trail at Glenbard West, 1:30

Christ the King at Walther Christian, 1

Fenwick at Loyola, 1:30

St. Francis at Rosholt, Wis., 3

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Nearly a third of the Super 25 lost in Week 4, so I was expecting this week’s ranking task to be complicated. Turns out it wasn’t at all.

There’s always a fair amount of guesswork with the football rankings, but a four-game resume is a solid amount of data and that made things easier than expected.

Lockport (lost to Homewood-Flossmoor) and Palatine (lost to Glenbrook South) both drop out. Neuqua Valley returns to the rankings after beating Naperville North and H-F makes its season debut.

Week 5 should be very helpful for sorting things out. There are a few ranked teams that haven’t quite proved it yet and they have good tests this weekend.

Joliet Catholic is a team that keeps rising that I’m not quite sure about. The Hilltoppers barely survived against Providence on Friday and it’s always a danger to give a team too much credit based on what it did last year. Up next for Joliet Catholic is a trip to take on Crete-Monee and Josh Franklin.

If things had worked out differently Glenbrook South and Geneva would have cracked the Super 25 this week. Both teams are 4-0 and have nice wins. They are waiting in the wings.

Week 5’s Super 26With record and last week’s ranking

1. Mount Carmel (4-0) 1Friday vs. St. Ignatius

2. Loyola (4-0) 2Saturday vs. Fenwick

3. Lincoln-Way East (4-0) 3Friday vs. No. 11 Bolingbrook

4. Warren (4-0) 4Friday vs. Lake Zurich

5. Glenbard West (4-0) 5Saturday vs. Addison Trail

6. Prospect (4-0) 12Friday vs. No. 23 Hersey

7. Simeon (4-0) 7Friday vs. Hubbard at Gately

8. Jacobs (4-0) 17Friday at Huntley

9. Joliet Catholic (4-0) 15Friday at Crete-Monee

10. Maine South (2-2) 8Friday vs. Glenbrook North

11. Bolingbrook (3-1) 16Friday at No. 1 Lincoln-Way East

12. Marist (2-2) 9Friday vs. Marmion

13. Lemont (4-0) 14Friday vs. Tinley Park

14. Lyons (4-0) 19Saturday vs. No. 24 York

15. Neuqua Valley (3-1) NRFriday at Naperville Central

16. Naperville North (3-1) 6Friday vs. DeKalb

17. Prairie Ridge (3-1) 10Friday vs. Cary-Grove

18. Homewood-Flossmoor (3-1) NRFriday vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais

19. St. Rita (2-2) 20Friday at St. Patrick

20. Wheaton North (3-1) 11Friday at Lake Park

21. Batavia (2-2) 21Friday at Glenbard North

22. Kankakee (3-1) 22Friday vs. Thornwood

23. Hersey (4-0) 23Friday at No. 6 Prospect

24. York (4-0) 24Saturday at No. 14 Lyons

25. Notre Dame (3-1) 25Friday at St. Viator

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The Chicago Bears take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 as we have our keys to victory

The Chicago Bears will meet with the Green Bay packers for the 205th time this Sunday night under the lights at Lambeau Field. The Bears have dropped six straight to their division rival and are looking to start the 2022 season 2-0.

In order for this to happen the Bears have to do three things.

1. Win the running game

Last week against the 49ers the bears were out-rushed by 77 yards and rushed for 99 yards on 37 attempts. This is usually not a formula for success, however the Bears were able to take advantage of the 9ers mistakes and still come-out on top. Winning the running game against the Packers will prove very fruitful to Chicago. It will 1.keep Rodgers off the field, 2.control the clock edge, and 3. put pressure on Green Bay’s offense to make something happen. The Packers have two very talented backs in A.J Dillion and Aaron Jones so allowing 176 yards on the ground Chicago did last week will make it very hard to win.

2. Take advantage of the Weakened Packers

It’s no secret after the Packers performance last week vs the Vikings that they are severely banged up on the O-line. Aaron Rodgers was sacked four times and did not reach 200 passing yards, he was practically running for his life the whole game. The injury report is not that much better for Green Bay this week with their matchup vs Chicago looming.

Starting tackle David Bakhtiari and pro bowl tackle Elgton Jenkins are both listed as questionable in the last packers injury report. Chicago’s D-line must take advantage of the Packers O-line being banged up.

Last week Chicago’s interior Lineman did not receive a PFF grade higher than 60.3. The lowest belonging to Angelo Blackson at 30.1. Even if the Bears D-line doesn’t improve much from last week, any improvement will surely be noticeable after a horrid showing vs the 49ers.

The Bears must put the pressure on Rodgers in order to be victorious. Look for Bears rookie Dominique Robinson to add to 1.5 sack total in week 2.

3. Set the tone early

Fans can remember recent games against the Packers in which the Bears found themselves out of the game come halftime. If the defense can force another early turnover like they did last week against the 49ers and capitalize on penalties, the Bears can maybe turn the tables on the Pack and put them in a hole and make them play catch-up for once.

This game is an opportunity for the Chicago Bears to show the rest of the NFL that they are for real this year. Going into Lambeau and coming out victorious with a young QB against Aaron Rodgers would be a huge confidence booster for the squad. If Chicago hones in on these three keys, they should find themselves atop the North come Monday.

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