Can Lake County go 8-0 in football playoffs?
Would I be surprised if all eight of Lake County's playoff football teams advanced to round two after wins this weekend?
Not totally. But really, six of eight teams moving forward is more realistic.
The opening-round games became very welcoming to Lake County teams when pairings were announced last weekend and five of our eight qualifiers drew Chicago schools. Four of those Chi-town teams are from the Chicago Public League which, in most cases, is like getting a first-round bye.
So with that in mind, Vernon Hills, Highland Park, Warren and Lakes will, almost without doubt, advance to Round 2. That leaves four, shall we say, intriguing games, and I'm guessing Lake County teams will win at least two of those.
The matchups in these games are: Prospect (7-2) at Carmel (7-2); Lake Zurich (6-3) at Rolling Meadows (7-2); New Trier (5-4) at Stevenson (9-0); Deerfield (6-3) at DeLaSalle (7-2).
Of those games, I'd say Stevenson winning at home is the closest thing to a lock.
The next-best bet for a win would be either Carmel or Lake Zurich. Prospect has an excellent football history but Carmel at home gets the nod in a close one.
And Lake Zurich ... How do you pick against Lake Zurich? The Bears have been superb in the last four weeks, winning decisively against Warren, Mundelein, Lake Forest and Vernon Hills, scoring 42 points in each of the last two games and shutting out Vernon Hills.
Bryan Stortz, with one state title and a second-place finish in four years, knows how to press the accelerator at playoff time. So, I have to give them a close win here, even on the road.
"What?" you say. "That's seven wins from the county when you said six at the beginning of this piece."
OK, OK. I change it to seven.
But a prediction of Deerfield beating DeLaSalle would really make me a major-league homer, so I'll grudgingly give them my only local loss.
Prove me wrong, Warriors.
Time for those balls to start bouncing
It's almost time, people.
About a week from now, the best prep sports season gets under way.
High-school basketball teams, coaches in tow and clipboards in hand, can officially take to the courts to begin practice for the 2009-2010 season.
Time to remove those "open gym" signs and get down to serious work.
This is going to be another exciting hoops campaign, with the Waukegan Bulldogs looking to return to the state-championship game and win it this time around.
But even though the Dogs return five of their six top players, it is going to be difficult to catch last year's lightning in this year's bottle. Waukegan will be without Colin Nickerson, a steadying, clutch force last year. It will therefore be up to the other five returnees and a newcomer or two to pick up the slack.
Mundelein, Zion-Benton, North Chicago and possibly Vernon Hills should be above average locally, and there's always a surprise team that emerges.
Don't buckle your seat belts just yet. But it's at least time to make sure they're in working order.
Bulldog extend fun season
With a record jut a big over .500, there are many who would consider this Waukegan High girls volleyball season a bit of a disappointment. The club boasts four really good players: Victoria Drasler, Sarah and Amy Angelos, and my personal favorite, Katie O'Conner. But the big season didn't happen.
Still, win or lose, this team has always been great fun to watch, always on the attack and going for the kill.
That entertaining style continued Thursday night at home when the No. 10 seeded-Dogs took apart a higher seed in a Class 4A regional semifinal, destroying No. 8 Prospect 25-10, 25-18.
O'Conner led the way with 8 kills and 5 aces; Drasler had 12 assists and four aces; Amy Angelos 5 aces; and Sarah Angelos added 3 blocks.
The team plays for its first regional championship since 1991 at the Dog Pound at 2 p.m. on Saturday. What a treat it would be to see the Bulldogs pull an upset trick on the No. 1 seeded Hersey Huskies on Halloween.
