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It felt like the playoffs.
Maybe that was just the schedule, with games starting early, going later and getting spread out over two days, but it probably was more than that.
There was good high school football, and it spread out over two days.
For me, that meant actually getting the chance to leave the office and watch in person. So I saw McHenry hold off Woodstock and Crystal Lake South beat Crystal Lake Central.
It was a full weekend of high school football. There were frustrations, disappointments, elation, celebration and separation.
And we know a lot more about the area’s football landscape than we did a few days ago.
For one thing, Marian Central is good, really good.
I, for one, didn’t know how good a few days ago.
The weather held up the game, but the Hurricanes kept their heads in it and beat one of the best teams in any class in the state.
For that, they should be applauded, and they were.
With all that’s happened over the past two years at Marian with coaching change and controversy, the team hasn’t let that get in its way.
And they’ve got a lot of support.
While Ed Brucker was coaching Woodstock’s defense Saturday at McHenry, Dirk Stanger was coaching St. Viator’s offense Friday night against Joliet Catholic and Mike Maloney was the one celebrating the win with the Hurricanes, it’s pretty clear they all are hoping for the best for the players.
The same is true for alums like Bryan Bulaga, who reiterated that Saturday on Twitter when the win was brought up. Although he’s been the most public of the alums who disagreed with Marian’s administrative decisions, he also has made it clear he wants the kids and the football team to succeed. That part never has changed.
And it’s important to make a distinction between the two, because they do coexist.
When Bulaga was leading the Hurricanes’ state finalist team in 2006, current Marian quarterback J.R. Budmayr was a ball boy. Now, he’s hoping Budmayr can quarterback the Hurricanes deep into the playoffs like his brothers, Jon and Brody, did during Bulaga’s time at the school.
The Hurricanes’ win also helped out Crystal Lake South (3-1) with a playoff point. The Gators’ close Week 1 loss to Marian is looking better by the day as they look to make their way back into the postseason.
South’s offensive line, especially the left side with senior Kevin Amren and freshman Trevor Keegan, was impressive against Crystal Lake Central (2-2) on Saturday night along with the play of quarterback Luke Nolan and running back Corey Sheehan.
South gets McHenry and Dundee-Crown at home in consecutive weeks, with a shot to get to five wins there, then closes out on the road with the currently undefeated trio of Huntley, Jacobs and Cary-Grove.
Central (2-2) and Iowa commit Romeo McKnight caught a tough break when he tore his ACL in practice and now is out for the year. But the Tigers already have played probably the toughest teams on their schedule in Prairie Ridge and South.
The Tigers want to be able to pound the ball behind an offensive line led by sophomore Wyatt Blake, who moves around the line and looked like he was playing some right guard as well as tackle Saturday.
He got up slowly after a play late in the game, but made sure to stay in and finish it out.
The Tigers have a tough matchup Friday with a Woodstock North team they lost to last season before facing Grayslake North, Champaign Centennial, Hampshire and Grayslake Central to close out the regular season. They can win three or four of those to be playoff eligible.
Prairie Ridge has made it clear it’s the team to beat in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division and has the chance to prove that again Friday night against Grayslake North.
One of the closest games of the weekend, McHenry (1-3) and Woodstock (1-3), didn’t get a lot of people’s attention, but it was clear why Corey Lersch became a Division I recruit and why Gio Purpura’s name keeps showing up among the area’s best players. Both were impressive in the win, which concluded with a defensive stand in the final seconds.
In the Big Northern Conference East Division, Marengo (4-0) made its statement with a 28-14 win over Richmond-Burton. From Week 1, they’ve shown they are one of the area’s best teams this year, and their offense doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
They have a ton of weapons and it’s hard to imagine anyone in the BNC East stopping them. Look for them to get into the playoffs but eventually run into a powerhouse like Phillips or Rockford Lutheran.
In conference play, it’s about avoiding a letdown game now against their biggest rival, Harvard (2-2), as they try to stay on course for what should be a shootout when they host fellow undefeated Johnsburg (4-0) on Oct. 9.
Johnsburg gets its biggest test of the year, so far, against Richmond-Burton on Friday.
Although this football weekend was long, we left with a lot more information on what the rest of the year and postseason could look like.
One thing’s for sure, however. Marian’s a good team we should expect to have a shot at making a playoff run. And when it gets there, it won’t run into Montini, who also is 4-0 right now, this time.
The past six Hurricanes seasons ended at the hands of the Broncos, but they’ve been pushed up to Class 6A this year because of the IHSA Success Factor. Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin will be bumped to 6A, too.
That means the Nazareth (3-1) team they just beat and Joliet Catholic (4-0), who the Hurricanes face Friday, are probably the biggest obstacles in the way of reaching the state final for the first time since Bulaga’s team did it in 2006.
• Northwest Herald sports editor Jon Styf can be reached at jstyf@shawmedia.com or on Twitter @JonStyf.