Joliet 3, St. Louis 1 -- let's build on that

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The scoreboard stands 3-1 in our favor.

Lincoln-Way East upheld the honor of the Joliet area last week when the Griffins opened the Class 7A state high school football playoffs with a 35-7 win over Belleville West. Joliet Catholic Academy did the same with a 48-7 thumping of Troy Triad in 5A, and Minooka joined in with a 44-25 win over 7A foe Edwardsville.

However, the St. Louis area earned a piece of the bragging rights pie in another 7A game when O'Fallon took the long trip north and blanked Lincoln-Way Central 16-0.

This weekend, three more head-to-head clashes are scheduled between the two powerful football areas -- and in each case, our guys are on the road.

Where the games are played should not make that much difference. What will come into play, though, is that all six teams have something to offer.

Lincoln-Way East, maybe, just maybe, can get past O'Fallon on Friday night with a little extra breathing room. The shutout of Lincoln-Way Central was O'Fallon's first of the year, but the Panthers held six other opponents to one touchdown. So they can play some defense.

However, Lincoln-Way East is among the better offensive teams in the state, and the Griffins also play rock-solid defense.

It is dangerous to compare scores. But I see three results on O'Fallon's record which indicate the Griffins will be OK.

O'Fallon lost to Cahokia 8-3 in the season opener (Cahokia is JCA's opponent in 5A this week), later lost to East St. Louis 44-0 and lost to Belleville West 17-7. The Panthers had some unusual things go their way last week against Lincoln-Way Central, and that type of thing can happen again. But short of that, I see the Griffins rolling.

Next week, East would host Minooka or East St. Louis. If it's Minooka, yes! If it's East St. Louis, now, that will be the ultimate bragging rights game for the two areas.

East St. Louis will entertain Minooka on Saturday afternoon. When the Flyers overcame Bradley-Bourbonnais' upset bid 50-43 last week, that added a degree of hope in and around Minooka.

All-state running back Courtney Moulton, the Flyers' bread and butter, sprained an ankle in the first half and played little. Sophomore Jeremy Nicholson stepped in and rushed for 168 yards. East St. Louis is that deep.

Moulton will play against Minooka. He will run behind an offensive line that has 6-5, 275-pound pieces, and the Flyers' defensive front is similarly huge.

Minooka loves to mix it up in the trenches. The Indians must win that battle to win the war.

Despite the East St. Louis score last week, my contacts in that area tell me there is nothing wrong with the Flyers. Bradley had one of those games, but East St. Louis is still all of that.

So how about JCA traveling to Cahokia on Saturday afternoon?

The Hilltoppers have developed their running game as this season progressed. But even after last week's win over Triad, coach Dan Sharp said the blocking must be more consistent.

This would be a great time for the O-line to deliver. Cahokia has speed on both sides of the ball. In addition to beating O'Fallon 8-3 in the season opener, the Comanches have shut out four opponents. And the 20-6 loss at mighty Sacred Heart-Griffin in Week 9 was more a positive than a negative even though that is the most points the Comanches have allowed in a game.

The Cahokia speed may prevent the long runs JCA has been getting, but that's OK. Just move the chains.

The other side of the coin is, save perhaps for a breeze, the weather is supposed to be very nice Saturday. Cahokia quarterback Patrick Ivy is 6-3, 195 and is being recruited by Purdue, SIU, Mid-American Conference schools, etc. He loves to throw the ball, especially to 6-3, 195 wide receiver Jimmy Hunt, who has committed to Missouri.

There have been times in JCA history when the Hilltoppers have been hurt by the pass. That is not meant to point a finger at the secondary, either.

It comes down to pressure, as Bears fans know all too well. If the front four and the linebackers can make Ivy uncomfortable, it will be advantage Hilltoppers. If not, the advantage in that phase of the game swings to Cahokia.

We lead the scary St. Louis area 3-1 this postseason. Keep your fingers crossed that the tally is 6-1 two days hence.

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heraldnewsonline.com