The hunters won out in Week 4.

The week started with 108 teams still without a loss through three weeks, but thanks to a number of “upsets by record” nearly half of the teams that entered the week undefeated left with a loss.

Even more telling is the lack of schools undefeated in larger classifications. There are only 29 schools still left with enrollments of larger than 1,000 (Expected classifications of 5A-8A) and just six of that group don’t have to face one (or in some cases multiple) members of that group of 29 teams the rest of the way.

That ultimately means that the playoff brackets, especially in the higher classifications, might be extremely devoid of undefeated teams come late October.

Other telling signs after a crazy Week 4, is that we’ve got a much larger group of teams with just one loss on the ledger. That list is 126 schools deep. It also does not include Loyola, because even if they run the table they can’t get to eight wins because they aren’t playing nine games.

So right now 195 teams are at least two games above the .500 mark. A whopping 308 of them are at least .500.

So what’s going to ultimately happen here? Like always, we’re likely to meet somewhere in the middle. But where that middle line breaks seems to be with a lot more teams with a few more losses than usual and a lot fewer teams with a clean sheet.

Fantastic finishes

There were a number of games around the state that included some fantastic finishes, several of which all seemed to be ending around the same time in the CCL/ESCC:

• In a showdown of undefeated teams Montini collected a narrow win against Fenwick after the Friars scored a touchdown with no time on the clock but were denied on a two-point try that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime.

• In a back-and-forth game between IC Catholic and Nazareth, the Roadrunners were able to seize final control with just seven seconds remaining when Billy Harding drilled a career-long 39-yard field goal to give Nazareth a 24-21 win.

• In a battle of two teams desperately trying to get their first win of the season, a broken play on a game-winning field goal allowed Joliet Catholic to do just that in defeating Marist. Tied at 17, the Hilltoppers set up for a potential game-winning field goal. The snap went awry, but JCA’s holder is the right man for that job the regular starting quarterback Lucas Simulick as he threw a touchdown pass to Declan Wagner to secure the 23-17 win.

In all there were 38 games statewide that were decided by a touchdown or less in Week 4, including some that will likely have a significant effect on how playoff fields are stacked down the line.

• Glenwoood’s 43-42 overtime victory over Rochester could impact several things in both the Class 4A and Class 5A or Class 6A draws depending on which draw fence riding Glenwood lands in.
• Metamora’s 43-40 win over Morton is another example of what looks like is going to be an absolute dogfight in the Mid-Illini conference.

Busy scoreboard operators

There were a whopping 135 games this weekend where the victor scored at least 35 points in the win.

Things got even crazier on the top end of that list with five teams reaching or eclipsing 70 points with Peoria leading the way with 76 points in its win over Peoria Manual.

10 more teams reached the 60-point club and another 34 scored at least 50.

Five teams managed to score 40 and lose and in the case of Aurora Christian, it wasn’t nearly enough in a 61-44 loss to Hope Academy.

Conference clusters

The CCL/ESCC is widely considered to be the strongest overall conference in the state.

But sometimes its overall strength tends to wilt some of the teams over the course of the year.

Just three teams (Mount Carmel, Brother Rice and Montini) have survived the first three weeks of the season without a loss.

Several more are 3-1, including the three other members (St. Laurence, Fenwick and Carmel) of the White Division who are one step behind Montini.

But the surprising thing is that of the 24-team grouping just two of them (Leo and Niles Notre Dame) have .500 records, the rest of the group and its a large one with heavy hitters like Joliet Catholic, St. Rita and Marist and last year’s 4A state champions from DePaul Prep have all started the season at either 1-3 and 0-4 and face huge uphill climbs if they want to make the postseason fracas.

Another interesting conference to watch play out is the Southwest Prairie West. It is the only conference in the state that has three undefeated teams through the first four weeks in Oswego, Oswego East and Yorkville. Some of that logjam will get cleared this week as Yorkville travels to Oswego.