Illinois High School Football Thread

[greg775]

On 8/14/2024 at 10:38 PM, WhiteSox2023 said:

Sure, I’ll probably be at almost every game.  Funny you mentioned the baseball field.  It is under renovation right now.  Here’s what it is going to look like when it is finished.  They changed the direction of the diamond.  As you remember, home plate used to be in the left corner, near the side street and entrance to the parking lot.  They had to shrink down the main parking lot a bit but there is always still a lot of parking at Mother McAuley, as you can see beyond what is now right field.

I think the football team is going to be really good and better than the Varsity teams of the last two years.  This will be the first Varsity team that Coach Q recruited as incoming Freshmen from when he was first hired.  They are young (many Junior starters on Varsity) but I think the players are more talented than last year’s team.

CJ Gray was a run-first QB but has worked hard on developing his passing game the last couple years.  They have some really good offensive players in WR Darrion Clinton, along with the Green brothers, RB Jaylin and WR Jovan Green.  They added a big WR in 6’4” Jimmie Maxson.  Also, some beasts in King Liggins and Christian Pierce on defense, and added a Sophomore in big boy DT Brayden Parks to Varsity.

Coach Q went to Temple and coached at a couple high schools in Texas and California.  He is a tough coach and busts all of their asses but the players like and respect him.

Thanks for the in depth update and the look at baseball field. I always wondered how many balls hit those houses and also cars in the parking lot and on the side street. ... Interesting about coach Q. Sounds like the AD knows what he's doing grabbing a tough minded coach from outside Illinois to coach in the tough Catholic League. It's funny how you said it's the first class coach Q recruited. We all know Rice doesn't recruit

Let us know when the rankings come out and where Rice, Marist, Loyola and Mt. Carmel are ranked. I can't believe I considered going to St. Laurence, choosing BR over Laurence in the final analysis. Glad I did. Peace out.

[WhiteSox2023]

On 8/18/2024 at 2:27 AM, greg775 said:

Thanks for the in depth update and the look at baseball field. I always wondered how many balls hit those houses and also cars in the parking lot and on the side street. ... Interesting about coach Q. Sounds like the AD knows what he's doing grabbing a tough minded coach from outside Illinois to coach in the tough Catholic League. It's funny how you said it's the first class coach Q recruited. We all know Rice doesn't recruit

Let us know when the rankings come out and where Rice, Marist, Loyola and Mt. Carmel are ranked. I can't believe I considered going to St. Laurence, choosing BR over Laurence in the final analysis. Glad I did. Peace out.

Yep, just like how they aren’t supposed to practice all summer either.  It’s completely optional.  🤣

Edited August 21 by WhiteSox2023

[Buehrle>Wood]

On 8/14/2024 at 11:38 PM, WhiteSox2023 said:

Sure, I’ll probably be at almost every game.  Funny you mentioned the baseball field.  It is under renovation right now.  Here’s what it is going to look like when it is finished.  They changed the direction of the diamond.  As you remember, home plate used to be in the left corner, near the side street and entrance to the parking lot.  They had to shrink down the main parking lot a bit but there is always still a lot of parking at Mother McAuley, as you can see beyond what is now right field.

I think the football team is going to be really good and better than the Varsity teams of the last two years.  This will be the first Varsity team that Coach Q recruited as incoming Freshmen from when he was first hired.  They are young (many Junior starters on Varsity) but I think the players are more talented than last year’s team.

CJ Gray was a run-first QB but has worked hard on developing his passing game the last couple years.  They have some really good offensive players in WR Darrion Clinton, along with the Green brothers, RB Jaylin and WR Jovan Green.  They added a big WR in 6’4” Jimmie Maxson.  Also, some beasts in King Liggins and Christian Pierce on defense, and added a Sophomore in big boy DT Brayden Parks to Varsity.

Coach Q went to Temple and coached at a couple high schools in Texas and California.  He is a tough coach and busts all of their asses but the players like and respect him.

Damn as if the lot could get any smaller. Well i guess with enrollment down not the biggest concern

[WhiteSox2023]

10 hours ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

Damn as if the lot could get any smaller. Well i guess with enrollment down not the biggest concern

I doubt that will ever be a problem.  BR has a very loyal alumni and the football team raises a ridiculous amount of donation money each year.  Last year, they doubled the donation expectation just for the football team alone.

In other news, my younger son made the “A” team for the freshmen/sophomore Downers Grove South Mustangs.  He’ll be starting on the OL as a freshman.  I’ll post some pics of him once I get some good ones.

Amazing how having kids starting in HS football leaves you almost giving two sh1ts about the Bears, but that’s how it is.  You will always enjoy watching your kids and family play the sport more than the beloved Bears.  Sacrilege, I know…

Even better if these rugrats of mine get a scholarship to college, so I don’t have to pay.  🤣

Edited August 24 by WhiteSox2023

[Harry Chappas]

On 8/23/2024 at 4:55 PM, Buehrle>Wood said:

Damn as if the lot could get any smaller. Well i guess with enrollment down not the biggest concern

Funny you should say that.  The parking lot is only decreased during construction.  Now let's talk about the visiting bleachers.  As a BR person once told me, there is a lot of work to be done and accommodating the visitors for 3 to 6 football games a year is not one of them.

[greg775]

On 8/23/2024 at 4:55 PM, Buehrle>Wood said:

Damn as if the lot could get any smaller. Well i guess with enrollment down not the biggest concern

If you go to a football game do you park at McAuley and walk over? Do you ever have to go all the way to the St. Xavier parking lot across the street from Q of M?

[greg775]

On 8/26/2024 at 1:25 PM, Harry Chappas said:

Funny you should say that.  The parking lot is only decreased during construction.  Now let's talk about the visiting bleachers.  As a BR person once told me, there is a lot of work to be done and accommodating the visitors for 3 to 6 football games a year is not one of them.

To my fellow Rice guys on here: I have a few questions. 1. Is that linebacker Pierce the real deal? Does he have good players around him on defense? 2. What's with the schedule? First of all Phillips went 6-6 last year. Are they any good? If we lose to them we could easily be 0-4 with Marist, Rita and Loyola to follow. Then we beat St. Pats, lose to Mt Carmel and are 1-5. Then we win out over Niles, St. Laurence and Ignatius to go 4-5 and miss playoffs. If we beat Phillips we go 5-4 again. What's with the tough schedule? 3. Who's the QB this year? What year is he and does he have receivers? Any playmakers on offense? 4. What's up with coach Q? Is he beloved? Has he become a Rice institution or is he considered just OK? 5. Has Rice 'recruited' anybody that's highly regarded in ftball or bball for this season? Thank u. 

p.s. I was assuming the loss to Marist cause isn't their enrollment way higher than Rice?

Edited August 28 by greg775

[Harry Chappas]

For their game v MC, Mother McAuley has their big volleyball national tournament so parking will be crazy.

I don't know the specifics of BR but they should beat Phillips.

They should compete with Marist and Rita.  BR has close to or more boys then Marist so enrollment doesn't matter. 

MC and Loyola are on another plane.

BR can go anywhere from 8-1 to 5-4

[WhiteSox2023]

9 hours ago, greg775 said:

If you go to a football game do you park at McAuley and walk over? Do you ever have to go all the way to the St. Xavier parking lot across the street from Q of M?

I did this all the time last year.  I never had to park at St. Xavier.

Edited August 28 by WhiteSox2023

[WhiteSox2023]

Here’s some BR hype for Greg…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_MclubMlZJ/?igsh=MThxdHByd2M2NTBqbg==

Edited August 28 by WhiteSox2023

[Y2Jimmy0]

I coach at Lockport. Looking forward to getting going. 

[greg775]

7 hours ago, Harry Chappas said:

For their game v MC, Mother McAuley has their big volleyball national tournament so parking will be crazy.

I don't know the specifics of BR but they should beat Phillips.

They should compete with Marist and Rita.  BR has close to or more boys then Marist so enrollment doesn't matter. 

MC and Loyola are on another plane.

BR can go anywhere from 8-1 to 5-4

Has there ever been talk of a.) merging Rice and McAuley to have a large school with plenty of campus space? Or b.) merging Rice and McAuley with Marist which is right down the block and use the Rice/McAuley large campus and sell Marist to a company that builds condos?

[greg775]

5 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I coach at Lockport. Looking forward to getting going. 

Why are Carmel and Loyola great every year? Seriously? What's their secret? Do they 'recruit' linemen and bus them into school? Or what's alleged as the reason? It can't be just that star kids live in their district can it? I know talent wins. Lawrence High in Kansas about 20 years ago used to win state every year or close to it. When the schools split to two high schools ... they haven't even reached the state finals and usually get knocked out early. It's simple. The talent is split between two schools and the powerhouse is gone. So we have to assume Carmel and Loyola have incredible talent. Where's it coming from?

[greg775]

5 hours ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Here’s some BR hype for Greg…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_MclubMlZJ/?igsh=MThxdHByd2M2NTBqbg==

Best luck to your son. Does he like Rice and coach Q? Is he a freshman? A starter you said?

[Y2Jimmy0]

34 minutes ago, greg775 said:

Why are Carmel and Loyola great every year? Seriously? What's their secret? Do they 'recruit' linemen and bus them into school? Or what's alleged as the reason? It can't be just that star kids live in their district can it? I know talent wins. Lawrence High in Kansas about 20 years ago used to win state every year or close to it. When the schools split to two high schools ... they haven't even reached the state finals and usually get knocked out early. It's simple. The talent is split between two schools and the powerhouse is gone. So we have to assume Carmel and Loyola have incredible talent. Where's it coming from?

Mt. Carmel recruits all over the Chicagoland area from the south burbs and the city itself. Loyola gets every catholic school on the north shore. They're both powerhouses but they should be because they recruit from all over. It's why it was extra sweet when we beat Loyola at Loyola in 2021 in the semis on our way to a state title.  

[greg775]

15 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Mt. Carmel recruits all over the Chicagoland area from the south burbs and the city itself. Loyola gets every catholic school on the north shore. They're both powerhouses but they should be because they recruit from all over. It's why it was extra sweet when we beat Loyola at Loyola in 2021 in the semis on our way to a state title.  

I wonder how the kids get to and from school. I can see a kid wanting to play on a sure fire state champ team and getting scouted every week but I'd also hate having to get up at 4 a.m. to get to school on time.

[WhiteSox2023]

2 hours ago, greg775 said:

Best luck to your son. Does he like Rice and coach Q? Is he a freshman? A starter you said?

He’s a junior and starting right guard on the varsity team.  He likes Q.

[WhiteSox2023]

1 hour ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Mt. Carmel recruits all over the Chicagoland area from the south burbs and the city itself. Loyola gets every catholic school on the north shore. They're both powerhouses but they should be because they recruit from all over. It's why it was extra sweet when we beat Loyola at Loyola in 2021 in the semis on our way to a state title.  

This is true for BR, at least from my experience with Coach Q right after he was hired.  He was dragging around his two young children to organized football leagues in the area.  He was attending my son’s BGYFL Downers Grove Panthers games on a weekly basis mainly to recruit QB Owen Lansu among others, and that’s when he first talked to my son about BR.  Many of the other kids on my son’s DG Panthers team ended up going to Downers Grove North HS, including Lansu.  Q lives in Hinsdale so it was a nice and close recruiting effort for him, but I know from other parents that he was making the rounds throughout Chicagoland to recruit his first freshmen team, which are now juniors comprising most of the Varsity team.

Edited August 28 by WhiteSox2023

[WhiteSox2023]

Some more hype pictures for the Brother Rice offensive line led by my son, captain of the OL.

Edited August 30 by WhiteSox2023

[WhiteSox2023]

One more…  🤣

[greg775]

3 hours ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

One more…  🤣

Big, tough kids I bet. Hopefully Rice will set the tone with a nice win over Phillips.

[WhiteSox2023]

 

[WhiteSox2023]

Brother Rice up 43-0 at halftime.  This is a rout.

[WhiteSox2023]

@greg775 is happy…

[greg775]

1 hour ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

@greg775 is happy…

Thank u. I actually watched the first 2 1/2 quarters on BR TV. My comments: Wow. I did not know we got two transfers in the running back from Marian Catholic (sorry I don't know names don't mean to offend) and the tall receiver I think they said was from St. Rita or somewhere. Or maybe another RB was from Rita. My observations: Can't tell much cause poor Phillips had nothing BUT Rice looked bigger than past years to me which is a good sign and also the QB (is he only a junior?) played a much better game than anybody I've seen at Rice in a long time. The early play where he rolled out and found the tall receiver for a score (called back for penalty) was pretty special. No. 9 on defense resembles some of the stud defenders Rice seems to have every year. That kid took the ball from the Phillips QB and scored I think. Hearing that we got all these transfers makes me feel good that we might be able to play with the big boys.

I have to reserve all judgments because of the competition, but I thought the boys played great albeit against a miserable team. The offensive line seemed good to me and the defense was outstanding all around.

What did u think of the game 2023? Is that Marian Catholic RB the real deal or not? Seemed like the QB has good vision and has a lot of tools for a h.s. QB. Congrats to Q and the players. Running clock in second half musta got u out of stadium earlier than normal.

Edited August 31 by greg775