If you want pressure, there is nothing quite like a semifinal setting.
The conference championship games in the NFL, the conference finals in the NBA and NHL, the league championship series in baseball, those are the arenas where pressure is at a peak.
The scenario is similar with the high school football playoffs. Once you qualify for state championship game in Champaign, you can relax a bit and enjoy the moment. Sure, you desperately want to win it all. But once you know you will be there, playing on the big stage, you have passed the major test.
This weekend, the Joliet area has two tradition-rich teams involved in semifinal games. Joliet Catholic Academy (10-2) will travel to Peoria Richwoods (11-1) at 1 p.m. in Class 5A, while Providence Catholic (11-1) also hits the road, visiting Danville (12-0) at 3 p.m. in 6A.
Both local schools, which have combined for 22 state championships, feature solid, veteran defenses and offensive lines that have made strides as the season has progressed.
The trenches -- that's always a good place to start if you want to win a football game. It's also a great place to turn if you need to relieve some of that semifinal tension. Let the big boys slug it out and decide who is tougher.
When you consider the diverse offenses JCA has faced in the East Suburban Catholic Conference, and when you consider the powerful programs Providence has matchup up against all season inside and outside the Chicago Catholic Blue, you have to believe the Hilltoppers and Celtics will be ready for anything Richwoods and Danville throw their way.
The idea will be to do what you do best but execute on both sides of the ball, and on special teams, then take your chances.
Dan Sharp has won six state titles during his tenure as the coach at JCA. As his own offensive coordinator, he knows a little something about the importance of execution. Mark Coglianese is pursuing his first state championship as the head coach at Providence, but he was a defensive guru for some of the championships Matt Senffner accumulated, and he still helps run the Celtics' defense.
Both of our coaches -- and their staffs -- know what it takes to win at this level. They have prepared their teams as well as possible.
Now, the kids must go out and get the job done.
If these two games are to be determined in the trenches, my feeling is our teams will be in good shape. If the outcomes of either or both games are determined at the skill positions, it still comes down to execution.
That's the word John McKay made famous when he coached the original Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost week after week. He was asked after a game about his team's execution, and he said, "I'm all for it."
There's the flip side -- when you do not execute, watch out. Our teams hopefully will not have to worry about that.
Providence has started junior quarterback Joe Houlihan virtually all season, and he has put up impressive numbers, especially considering the competition the Celtics have faced and the injuries they have endured in the receiving corps.
Houlihan has completed 92-of-160 passes, 57.5 percent, for 1,408 yards and 9 touchdowns. He also has been intercepted 8 times.
As with almost any quarterback, his production is better when he gets protection. So it will be incumbent on the Providence offensive line to keep Danville's active defense off the quarterback.
Tailback Tim Hanrahan usually winds up with a healthy rushing total, but the Celtics will need to mix in the pass successfully if they plan to play in Champaign.
JCA, as has been well documented, is young in the skill positions. Sophomore quarterback Anthony Maddie leads a unit that includes junior wingback Josh Ferguson, sophomore wingback Malin Jones and junior receivers Andrew Elliott and Alex Kolodziej. In addition, freshman wingback Ty Isaac has seen significant playing time.
That's a fair amount of youth to be involved in a semifinal situation. On the other hand, Sharp made the commitment to youth -- and the talent that goes along with this group -- from the beginning. Whatever rough patches there were along the way because of that youth seem to have passed.
JCA has been running the ball so well the second half of the season that the passing game has not been needed much. Maddie's numbers are not what you would term outstanding, but he has the ability. As with Houlihan, he is better if he receives adequate time.
Twenty-two years ago, in the 5A title game of 1987, senior running back Tyrone Isaac caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Voss on a fourth-and-10 play with just over 2 minutes left, and with Kelvin Greenwood's conversion kick, the Hilltoppers pulled out a 14-13 victory over Richwoods.
Now, Isaac's son Ty is hoping to play a role in a semifinal victory over Richwoods. Wouldn't it be something if he caught a meaningful pass from Maddie?
If the young guys execute, you never know, it could happen.
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