Marmion enters postseason as an underdog

Updated: October 25, 2011 7:30PM

At the start of this season, the Marmion Academy football team was ready for an encore in the Class 6A state finals. Nine weeks later, the Cadets still want to get back to the title game.

This time, however, they will have to do it as underdogs.

Marmion, a No. 15 seed in Class 6A, makes its third consecutive playoff appearance with its 5-4 record and will face No. 2 Prairie Ridge in Crystal Lake Saturday at 1 p.m.

Whether their record is 5-4 or 9-0, Cadets coach Dan Thorpe considers his team undefeated — even though he thought their regular season record was going to be better.

“We got into the dance,” Thorpe said of the playoffs. “Now we have to play hard. Everybody’s good. We’re excited ... realistically, though, I was confident we could go 8-1, not knowing where that loss would be. Even 7-2 if we slipped up. I didn’t imagine 5-4.”

“We all know it’s one-and-done,” senior Tyler Boyd added. “We have a new opportunity to show everyone who we are. We are better than what our record says. It doesn’t show how good we are.”

In fact, Thorpe is sure Marmion’s best football is yet to come.

“Our best game last year was against Lemont (a 31-20 win in the quarterfinals),” Thorpe said. “That’s what’s exciting, using that experience and knowing we can get better. This team can get doubly better because we haven’t played to our potential yet.”

“We are that close to clicking on all cylinders,” senior Garret Becker said. “We haven’t been executing like we’re capable of. Once we execute, we are going to be dangerous.”

Injuries have been the No. 1 problem for the Cadets this year. Ryan Glasgow is likely out for the rest of the season (torn ligament in his shoulder), and Matt Lally and Mike Mueller are done for the year. Becker has dealt with injuries as well, but he will be good to go Saturday.

“I think (my teammates) have done a good job stepping up in positions needed,” Becker said. “They do everything (the coaches) ask them to do. It’s been tough dealing with injuries.”

If injuries have been the top problem, getting all the newer players adjusted to starting is next. Several key starters from the Cadets’ team that fell to Rockford Boylan in the 6A title game last year graduated, including all-stater T.J. Lally.

It’s Week 10 now, and all of that doesn’t matter. It’s a new season with new life against Prairie Ridge, a team that is 8-1 overall. The Wolves won their first eight before falling to Cary-Grove 22-21 in overtime in the last game of the regular season. Their defense has not allowed more than 20 points in any of their eight wins.

This will be the third time in five years the Cadets and Wolves will be playing in the playoffs. In 2007, Prairie-Ridge won 41-16 in the first round. In 2009, Prairie Ridge won 31-7 in the second round.

“Prairie Ridge is a tremendous team, and I have tremendous respect for them,” Thorpe said. “The beauty is we know what they do offensively and defensively since we’ve played them so many times. But we don’t get caught up in all that. In the playoffs, it’s not about what they do, it’s about what you do.”

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