The season Morgan Park was building towards for years ended much sooner than planned.
The Mustangs lost to Morris 21-7 in the Class 5A quarterfinals. There is no shame in losing to one of the state’s best-known football programs. But Morris lost four games this season and was beaten 42-0 by Sycamore in Week 8.
A look at Morgan Park’s schedule this season brings up a major concern. Is the level of play in Public League football too low for a team to achieve playoff success?
“I am worried about that,” Mustangs coach Chris James said. “That’s probably true right now.”
Morgan Park held its own in a loss to Class 8A power Marist in Week 1. The Mustangs beat Oak Park 26-0 in Week 2. The next seven weeks of the regular season were spent blowing out Public League opponents by a combined score of 325-13.
“We get into a real game with a team like Morris and it is the first time we’ve been in that situation in months,” James said. “We fumbled five times in the first quarter and Morris is a great team. But there is no question that our conference didn’t help prepare us for that.”
Morgan Park didn’t even play all the top Public League teams. The Mustangs did not have games against Taft (10-3), Young (10-1) or Amundsen (5-5).
Simeon and Kenwood are on the upswing. Taft, Amundsen and Young have steadily improved over the past several years. But Public League football appears a long way from providing a team with enough quality opposition to build a team into a legitimate state title threat.
“I’m in huge favor of the district format that was proposed,” James said. “Or if someone would let us into another conference, I would go. I love CPS. This is nothing against them. But this has been a thing for a long time. Nazareth won state with four and five losses because they were battle-tested.”
Burgeoning rivalry
Nazareth has lost just two games this season and will host St. Francis in the Class 5A semifinals on Saturday.
The Roadrunners are building a solid rivalry with St. Francis, a fellow west suburban Catholic school. The two-time defending state champions beat St. Francis in the semifinals last season, but St. Francis beat Nazareth 39-36 in Week 9 this season.
Quarterfinal surprises
State playoff football generally goes as expected, with established powers rolling through the bracket. The brackets were a little more unpredictable this season, with a few unexpected teams advancing to the semifinals, including Richards and DePaul Prep.
The Bulldogs (11-1) lost to Libertyville 48-15 in Week 2 and fell off the Super 25 radar. They only faced two opponents that finished over .500 the rest of the regular season. No one saw the quarterfinal win against Kankakee coming. But running back Myles Mitchell, a North Dakota State recruit, helped the Bulldogs pull off the upset with 113 yards and a TD.
The big one
Loyola and Lincoln-Way East were considered No. 1A and 1B in the Super 25 back in August. Things went as expected for the Griffins. Loyola had an up-and-down season but is playing its best football of the season now.
The showdown everyone has waited for will happen on Saturday in Frankfort in the Class 8A semifinals. This is a true rivalry game in so many ways. It’s a private school vs. a public school. The north suburbs vs. the south suburbs. And the teams know each other well. The Ramblers have ended the Griffins’ last three seasons, beating them in the quarterfinals in 2021 and the championship game the last two seasons.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Loyola linebacker Max Mendoza said. “It is always a battle with them and they are really good this year.”