April 18, 2024
Shaw Local
Illinois High School Football NewsPhoto GalleriesSubscribeAnalysisFeaturesPodcastPhoto Store

Soucie’s Week 3 games to watch: Showdown games dot the calendar

By Steve Soucie
Prairie Ridge's Noah Solis takes the ball over a pile of teammates and McHenry Warriors during their season opening football game at Huntley High School on Friday, March 19, 2021 in Huntley.

Prairie Ridge's Noah Solis takes the ball over a pile of teammates during Week 1 against McHenry. Prairie Ridge (2-0) takes on Crystal Lake Central (2-0) on Thursday.

There have already been a number of unique things about the spring football season. Week 3 provides another opportunity for something that likely hasn’t happened in a normal fall season.

Primarily because of Good Friday, there are more regular-season games being played on days other than Friday this week than games that will be contested under the typical Friday night lights.

The Chicago Public League typically plays games on Thursdays during the regular season and occasionally is joined by a few other schools.

But this year’s Week 3 provides nearly 70 games scheduled for Thursday and another 60-plus games marked for Saturday.

There’s a lot of really good football spread across three days this weekend.

Let’s take a look at a few of those matchups:

Marist (2-0) at Chicago Mount Carmel (1-1), 4 p.m. Saturday: It’s hard to imagine a more daunting start to the season than the one Mount Carmel’s schedule has provided thus far. This will mark the third straight ranked opponent to start the season for the Caravan. The one they are prepared to lock horns with here might actually be the best of the bunch. Marist has impressed to open the season and made a statement in winning the Pulaski Road Super Bowl (vs. Brother Rice) in Week 2.

Loyola (2-0) at Brother Rice (1-1), 4 p.m. Thursday: Like the previous two teams listed, the hits just keep coming for CCL/ESCC teams. Loyola made a big statement by besting Mount Carmel in Week 2, but the Ramblers can’t rest on their laurels for long. Although Brother Rice does have a loss, it very well might provide a jolt to the Crusaders and inspire them to give Loyola a real run for it.

Wheaton North (2-0) at Wheaton Warrenville South (2-0), 1 p.m. Saturday: It’s been a banner year so far for teams in Wheaton with all three teams within the city limits (Wheaton St. Francis is the third) breaking out to 2-0 starts this season. It’s a pivotal battle this time around, as the winner will be positioned quite nicely in the second segment of the DuKane Conference schedule.

Prairie Ridge (2-0) at Crystal Lake Central (2-0), 7 p.m. Thursday: Is Crystal Lake Central ready to enter the inner circle of the Fox Valley? There’s no better way to find out exactly how one measures up than to lock horns with Prairie Ridge.

Chatham Glenwood (2-0) at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (2-0), noon Saturday: For years, the battle raged on with Sacred Heart-Griffin and Rochester vying for Central State Eight supremacy. But over recent seasons, Glenwood has elbowed its way into the conversation and emerged with the crown on a few of those occasions. This begins a difficult back-to-back slate for Sacred Heart-Griffin, as Rochester comes calling next week.

Other games to watch: Libertyville at Lake Forest; Hersey at Prospect; East St. Louis at Edwardsville; Hononegah at Boylan; Grayslake North at Antioch; Williamsville at North Mac; Richmond-Burton at Woodstock; Nashville at Breese Mater Dei; Fieldcrest at Eureka; Mascoutah at Triad.