SCOUTING THE OPENING WEEK OF THE PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
With Seeds and Records
Class 6A Upper Bracket
No. 13 Julian (6-3) at No. 3 Crete-Monee (8-1)
When: 7 p.m. today.
Breaking it down: The Warriors have won seven straight and have not lost since Week 2 at Rock Island. They have outscored their opponents 189-12 in the last four weeks and shut out two of them. The only team to score more than 13 points against them was Rock Island (14). On the season, the Warriors have outscored their nine opponents 316-57. This team is not satisfied with just winning the Southland Athletic Conference. A win tonight ties the school's single-season record for victories, which was set in 1959. Defensively, LB Mike Jamison has 50 solo tackles and 22 assists, and LB Greg Barksdale has 65 total tackles, including 47 solos. The latter also has two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, which he returned 33 yards for a TD. DE Eddie Tate is coming off a big game in which he had five sacks. He has 10 on the year. DL Rodney Reed has 42 total tackles and four sacks. Offensively, the Warriors have rushed for 1,634 yards and 25 TDs. RBs Cortez Scott (654 yards, 11 TDs), Julius Spicer (470 yards, four TDs) and Barksdale (245 yards, eight TDs; 16 catches, 304 yards, four TDs) give Crete a very formidable rushing attack. QB Justin Roudez has completed 52 percent of his passes (52-of-99) for 975 yards, 14 TDs and just five interceptions. The Jaguars finished second to Bogan in the Chicago Windy City Conference. They have posted three shutouts, including two in a row as they beat Gage Park 10-0 and Kennedy 50-0. They also have lost to Robeson (40-6) and Deerfield (28-6), both playoff teams. RB Chris Williams rushed for 217 yards against Kennedy. DLs Steven Owiredu and Willie McCray anchor the defense. -- Mike Nieto
Class 7A Upper Bracket
No. 8 Marian Catholic (6-3) vs. No. 1 Bogan (9-0)
Where: Hanson Stadium, Chicago.
When: 7 p.m. today.
Breaking it down: No team is any happier than the Spartans to be starting anew in the so-called "second season," seeing as how their first one ended with a whimper. After piling up six straight wins, Marian Catholic hit a wall and got outscored 102-6 in its last three contests. Marist administered a 49-0 knockout in Week 9 behind 316 passing yards and four TDs from QB Mike Perish, so the Spartans would seem to be limping into the postseason. Still, they didn't capture all those earlier victories merely through a series of flukes, so there's obviously something good with which to work. Although it will have to travel into Chicago tonight, Marian truthfully didn't fare too badly in drawing Bogan in Round 1. While the Bengals were unbeaten during the regular campaign and outscored foes by a whopping 372-57 margin, those statistics must be kept in the proper context: Just one of Bogan's opponents sported a winning record, and a three-victory Tinley Park squad represented its only engagement against a suburban team. The Bengals won that Week 1 contest, but only by single digits, and their 22 points were a season-low effort for a single game. Bogan's top performers include QB Kareem Adewole, RBs Darrell Taylor and Emanuel Bibbs, and defensive players Anthony Pierson, Jeremy Strong, Fred Baker and Ryan England. Adewole had 147 combined passing and receiving yards and Taylor rushed for 119 yards in a late-season win over Kenwood, Bibbs accrued 171 rushing and receiving yards versus Kelly in Week 7, and Baker and England teamed up for 12 total tackles and five sacks in the latter contest. The Spartans' primary offensive weapons are WR Austin Guaccio (31 catches, 430 yards) and RBs Jeruel Taylor (95 carries, 446 yards), Joe Hess (62-368, 5 TDs) and Joey Walker (47-268; 17 receptions, 209 yards). Marian is certainly capable of advancing to the second round of the postseason, but it must do some quick shoring up of the holes that have sprung open on both sides of the ball over the last few weeks. -- Ken Karrson
Class 8A Lower Bracket
No. 10 Mt. Carmel (6-3) vs. No. 7 Simeon (7-2)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Gately Stadium.
Breaking it down: The Caravan beat Simeon in Week 1, 53-27, at Soldier Field as Denzel Thompson scored three touchdowns and Milton Greer had two. Though Mt. Carmel is the visitor, it is playing in its home stadium as it make its 24th straight playoff appearance -- the second-longest ongoing streak in Illinois -- and 26th overall. The Caravan are 88-15 in the postseason and have lost just once in the first round. That was in 2003 to Glenbard South (33-0) in Class 6A. Thompson (578 yards rushing), Greer (795 yards) and QB Chris Sujka (588 yards) have 10 rushing touchdowns each. On the season, the Caravan have outgained their opponents 2,429 to 1,148. Sujka has thrown for 644 yards. WR Mike Banks has caught 16 passes for 306 yards and a TD, WR Landen Scott has 14 catches for 264 yards and a TD, and WR Jack Sherlock has caught six passes, two of them for TDs. LBs Mike Butler (66 tackles, 13 TFL) and Chris Barcelona (63 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 fumble recoveries) lead the defense. DB LaVell Southern has 57 tackles. The defense played well in last week's 17-14 loss to Class 6A No. 1 Providence. Both teams are improved from the first week of the season. Simeon, which is making its 26th playoff appearance overall, won the Illini Red Bird Conference with a 5-0 mark. WRs Demarius Reed and Jasper Golden again pose a threat to the secondary, as does QB Robert Gregory. RB Darius Scott leads a tough running game. Simeon has shut out its last two opponents -- Lane (14-0) and Clark (39-0) -- and won six in a row. -- Mike Nieto
