MIKE NIETO: Crete-Monee and Bloom Twp. go at it again

This will be the second meeting in 15 days -- weather permitting -- tonight.

And Crete-Monee and Bloom Township could play two more times if the two meet in the postseason.

Times No. 2 Crete-Monee vs. No. 1 Bloom Township. This time it will be at Bloom Trail as the game was moved from Bloom High School's M'Cann Gymnasium.

The Blazing Trojans topped the Warriors 52-45 for the McDipper XXXIX championship on Dec. 30 at Rich South.

Eight days after beating Rich South in one semifinal, Bloom Township fell by a point to the Stars.

So what can you expect in this Southland Athletic Conference showdown?

Another great game and a possible conference title on the line. The two will meet again in Crete, but whoever loses this game will have to SAC losses and a blow to their title hopes.

Bloom coach Jasper Williams knows not to rest on the December win over the Warriors.

"They are a good team and we need this one," Williams said. "We have to come out and take care of the ball and play good defense like we have been."

After beating Crete, Bloom Township dropped games to Rich South and Bogan, then beat Joliet Central on Tuesday. Crete had a layoff until it beat Thornwood in triple overtime Tuesday. The rest might have done the Warriors good.

"I think it did," Crete coach Tom Cappel said. "We only practiced four times in that time and we just needed some time away from basketball. Our legs weren't tired on Tuesday, so it helped."

The Warriors did not practice Thursday as all after-school activities were canceled due to the weather. Bloom did practice.

Bloom Township will be fired up to play a game at Bloom Trail. The last boys basketball game was played there in 1995 when Bloom and Bloom Trail were separate sports programs.

"Nine of our 13 players go to Trail," Williams said. "I am pretty excited to play there and I think it will be a nice change for our kids and the fans. I hope we have a good crowd. I know it will be a good game.

"This rivalry is really like a neighborhood rivalry with the two schools being so close."

Bloom assistant coach Pete McGuire was Bloom Trail's head coach in the 1970s and 1980s, and Gary Meyer succeeded him, taking the 1988 team to the Class AA Elite Eight. Moving the game was the brainchild of Bloom Trail principal Joseph Schimmel, with the approval of the school board.

One of the keys for Crete to the game will be if it can stay out of foul trouble early. Michael Orris and LaQuon Treadwell got in foul trouble early in the McDipper and it hurt the Warriors.

"We have to stay out of foul trouble if we are to have a chance," Cappel said. "I think if we can do that, we can be in the game and it should be a good one.

"I love playing against Jasper because he is a great coach and his teams always play hard."

The opinions are the writer's. Reach him at mike.nieto@nwi.com.