WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:04.120 Schweiker, Gannison, Krazek Rundio Proudley sponsors to Friday Night Driver. I'm Mike 2 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:07.240 Krazek. If you've been injured, we are ready to take on the insurance 3 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:10.480 company and get you to the end zone. We've recovered hundreds of millions of 4 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:23.640 dollars for our clients. Visit GA nassi n dot com. What's up everyone, 5 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:27.000 and welcome back to the Friday Night Drive Podcast. I am Kyle Neighbors. 6 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:31.600 Back here with Steve Susy on Monday after week one and SEUs what a 7 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:35.759 weekend it was. You got to see a handful of games, going from 8 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:40.960 up in Chicago down to Illinois State University on Saturday night to see Mount Carmel 9 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:44.719 and East Saint Louis play, and you know, man, it's your favorite 10 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:47.280 time of year. Sounded like you had a good time. Yeah, it 11 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:50.560 was a great day, especially on Saturday. You know, having the opportunity 12 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:53.079 to go and do all that I did, see all the teams that I 13 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:56.119 did, it was. It was really kind of fun to just have that 14 00:00:56.280 --> 00:01:00.799 opportunity at i SU. We usually don't get games like that Saturday night on 15 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:04.519 opening weekend like it was. I hope and I don't know what the future 16 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:10.760 of that particular event might be. I would love to see not only something 17 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:12.920 like that happen again next year, but maybe even expanding it a little bit 18 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:17.280 and turning it into kind of like a Jambo reevent. Yeah, like they 19 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:19.879 do down in st the Saint Louis area. That is it the first or 20 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.079 second weekend? It might be the second. It's the second weekend of the 21 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:26.879 season that they typically have what I don't know exactly what they call it, 22 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:30.519 but but I mean this year is interesting. Saint Louis's playing Saint Francis Academy 23 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:34.840 that in that event. But yeah, but yeah, I think it would 24 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:37.840 be really I think it would be really fun. Yeah, I think it 25 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:40.920 would be really fun if if maybe we had like a two or three game 26 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:44.040 slate. And and I talked about this a little bit before. I mean, 27 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:48.000 I s U is now hosting the state finals. It was my first 28 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:53.040 time in the venue since way back in the day before the renovations. They 29 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:57.000 only had fans sitting on one side of the stadium for whatever reason. But 30 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:00.280 there was a good, strong crowd I thought for that game, and maybe 31 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:06.480 it's kind of a precursor of what the environment could feel like on state championship 32 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:07.759 weekend. And I'll be honest, I thought the energy in the building was 33 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:13.520 really good, but really positive experience all the way around. And those are 34 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:16.599 two teams Mount Carmel and East St. Louis that their fan bases really travel 35 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:21.840 well. I mean we discovered that you and I did four or five years 36 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:24.520 ago now when East Saint Louis played Batavia and they I mean we got there 37 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:30.039 that afternoon and there were a couple our vs. They were cooking out. 38 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:34.240 I mean you're talking about a four and a half five hour drive and there 39 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:38.599 were hundreds of East St. Louis fans. Oh yeah. It was a 40 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:42.560 well attended game in that situation by both sides, you know, kind of 41 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:46.159 cutting the trip trip and half for both of the two schools in that situation. 42 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:49.759 Yea perp kind of made it like I'm meeting the middle type of game, 43 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:54.560 but good representation by both schools. Also a lot of you know a 44 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:59.520 lot of football fans that I knew and recognized. Just having an opportunity to 45 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:02.800 see those your teams play in that that in that situation really kind of made 46 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:06.960 for a neat thing. I hope, I hope It doesn't necessarily have to 47 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.639 be Saint Louis and Mount Carmel playing every year, but I would really really 48 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:15.479 be enthusiastic about maybe having this as an annual event with you know, a 49 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:17.960 couple of kind of key matchups. I think that'd just be great for everybody. 50 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:23.280 I'm completely spitballing here, but like now, you've got the wheels turning, 51 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:27.759 and I want to do so. I'm looking for three games. I'm 52 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:30.080 looking for small school, medium sized school, in large school. So like 53 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:34.199 you have eat Saint Louis, Mount Carmel's your your nightcap, right, give 54 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.879 me some like Lena Winslow, Decatur, Saint Teresa, you know, early 55 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:43.319 in the day, and then I'll about like Joliet Catholic in Rochester, you 56 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:46.280 know. Yeah, yeah, that'd be fun. Yeah, I'm all right, 57 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:50.039 yep, let's let's let's let's let's line it up. Let's let's get 58 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:53.520 a title for it, and let's get that done. Well, while that 59 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.319 does sound like a black we got plenty of time to plenty of time to 60 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.520 plan that. After the twenty twenty three seasons. We're only one week in 61 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.400 here, and we got a lot to talk about. Thank you everyone who 62 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:08.960 joined us at Friday Night Drive dot Com over the weekend and and also on 63 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.319 Friday night for the live stream. It was a lot of fun. We'll 64 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:15.319 be back with you Jimmy Musual and I on Friday night. But Seuss, 65 00:04:15.160 --> 00:04:18.720 let's start out. Let's work our way back from Saturday evening at that game 66 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:24.920 down at I s U where you saw Mount Carmel beat Saint Louis thirty five 67 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:29.480 thirty one, and something that was really interesting there was the hero really for 68 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.480 Mount Carmel was Jack Elliott, who was making his first start for Blaney Dowling 69 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:36.959 after Dowling graduated one hundred and seventy four oars rushing. But as you put 70 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:41.040 it in your what we learned in Week one, which you can find right 71 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:45.000 now on Friday Night Drive dot com, it just seemed like he found a 72 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:48.600 way or had a hand in every late conversion in that game. Yeah, 73 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:53.959 it was. It was a really really impressive performance for him. I mean 74 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:58.519 when you watched him play, you felt like this was a guy who had 75 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:02.839 twenty twenty varsity varsity games under his belt, and in reality it was really 76 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:10.959 his first notable snaps at the high school football level. It was really incredible, 77 00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:15.800 just showed a savvy and a determination and if you've if you haven't seen 78 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:18.680 e Saint Louis's defense play, one of the things that they really like to 79 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:23.439 do is they like to lower the boom on you if they get the opportunity, 80 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:27.680 and they rang his bell a couple of times, and he just popped 81 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.839 right back up, got ready for the next one. I mean, carried 82 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:35.920 the ball over twenty times, showed a solid enough arm to keep opposing defense 83 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:42.839 is honest obviously probably never going to post the prolific passing numbers that Lanny Dowling 84 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:46.720 did last year, But as Jordan Lynch mentioned after the game, they know 85 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:49.600 that this is a different team that they have last year and a different set 86 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:55.399 of assets that they can exploit. So just kind of used a one two 87 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:00.319 combo of Elliott and Darien Dupree, and Lynch was right, that's a that's 88 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:05.319 a really bad pick your poison type of situation if you're opposing defense can't key 89 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:09.759 on them both, so you gotta pick one or the other. Saint Louis 90 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:13.199 did a pretty good job of limiting dupri He never really got loose for any 91 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:18.240 long runs, but Elliott just churned up the yardage because maybe it was the 92 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.399 St. Louis saying, Okay, you're gonna beat us in other ways than 93 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:29.160 Dary and dupri and they could not reign in Elliott. So that means we 94 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:32.199 will have a new number one this week in the Friday Night Drive Power Ranking. 95 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:38.000 You'll find those live online at Friday Night Drive dot Com Tuesday morning, 96 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:44.040 and you'll also find SEUSS projection after week one, going live on Wednesday morning. 97 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:46.839 You can follow sus on Twitter at the SEUs. You can follow myself 98 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:50.879 on Twitter at Kyle Neighbors, and you can follow Friday Night Drive on Twitter 99 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:57.000 or x whatever you want to call it at at fn Drive. You can 100 00:06:57.079 --> 00:07:00.360 also find Friday Night Drive on Facebook, Instagram, Ram, and TikTok sus. 101 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:05.439 Sticking to the Saturday games, these two teams played a thriller a year 102 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:11.240 ago in the season opener. They played another close one here, not nearly 103 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:14.399 as high scoring, though Glenbard West came away with a seven to six win. 104 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:16.759 That game was tied at half and into the fourth quarter. Michael Dwojak 105 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:20.639 was over there covering that game for US. Marris took the lead midway through 106 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:25.040 the fourth quarter or so on a sixty two yard touchdown run by QBO and 107 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:30.240 Winters, only to have Glenbard West Mason Ellen's returned the ensuing kickoff ninety four 108 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:33.920 yard for a touchdown, Glenbard West able to make that stand up and pick 109 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.160 up a win SEUs. Yeah, just kind of an interesting game on a 110 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:42.040 lot of fronts. I mean, last year it was a wild game where 111 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:45.160 it felt like we were scoring every two minutes, and this time it was 112 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:48.279 just an absolute scuffle that took forever for someone to break through. And I 113 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.399 was talking to Michael a little bit about that game this morning, and and 114 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:56.360 he, you know, he was expressing that he wasn't sure exactly what was 115 00:07:56.439 --> 00:08:00.079 going on there. Was it was it two really tough defenses or what's a 116 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:03.240 the struggles of kind of a young offenses on both sides trying to figure out 117 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:07.720 their way as they went. So I think both teams are probably going to 118 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:13.639 end up being pretty proficient offensively. We just haven't seen it yet, so 119 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:18.800 that that kind of turned into a slugfest. Maris a whisper away from making 120 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:22.800 this different mister field goal at the end of the game that would have won 121 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:26.040 it for him obviously missed the extra point that you know that you know, 122 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.639 caused them to be down in the first place. So a really interesting result. 123 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:35.879 Not exactly what I was expecting from the game, but certainly something to 124 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:39.279 keep an eye on with those two teams. One of the many, many 125 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:43.080 coaching cliches that are out there, and this is one of the very few 126 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:46.440 that doesn't irritate me because it actually makes sense for high school football, is 127 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:52.360 teams make their biggest improvement between week one and week two, right and yeah, 128 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:54.639 yeah, And we were talking about that on the on the live stream 129 00:08:54.679 --> 00:09:00.159 on Friday night when you checked in with us with Jimmy and I about the 130 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.440 sloppiness. We were seeing a lot of penalties, a lot of offenses just 131 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:09.600 seeming to be kind of, you know, slogging around there. But you 132 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:15.519 know, after we let you go, it felt like things really kind of 133 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.039 took off on Friday night, including that year game you were over at Kankakee 134 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:24.200 NAZ and NAZ was down twenty to six at halftime, really was struggling to 135 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:28.879 get much going to get to K's. All of a sudden that game was 136 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:33.519 tied up and came right down the wire. Yeah, it was, it 137 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:35.879 was kind of it was it felt like a very odd game for Nazareth just 138 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:41.200 in a lot of ways. I expected them to be a lot more proficient 139 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:45.360 in the passing game, and while watching that first half, I was like, 140 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:48.440 there's, you know, there was something just off. They weren't clicking 141 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:52.480 very well. But I do have to give a lot of credit to Kankakee 142 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:56.840 Secondary. They did an excellent job a lot of man coverage where they just 143 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:03.200 kept making it extremely difficult and gave very small windows to Logan Malichuk. Finally, 144 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:07.519 it just came down to I think Nazareth recognizing that Kinky Secondary wasn't having 145 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:13.080 it. So a lot of their gains came from Logan Malichuk, who has 146 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:16.639 proven to be a very uh, you know, prolific runner when he decides 147 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:20.279 to do so, ended up just talking it away and taking you know, 148 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:26.080 chunks of yardage, ended up bringing Nazareth back with his feet rather than his 149 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:30.360 arms, so they were able to get it back to Tide. Kanki Kei 150 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.759 made some mistakes and kind of let them, you know, play with some 151 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.799 short fields, let them get back to Tide. But when when push came 152 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:43.120 to shove, Kanki Ki was able to utilize really really fast running back, 153 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:48.039 A talented running back in Tony Phillips. He had a long touchdown run early 154 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.320 in the game, ended up with over two hundred yards in the in the 155 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:56.879 contest. Really kind of Kankakee as a whole. Their speed gave Nazareth a 156 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:01.399 lot of trouble. This is another one of those situations where I think, 157 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:05.240 in the cases of both teams, we didn't see the product that we're going 158 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:09.159 to see five or six weeks down the line. Especially with Nazareth, it 159 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:15.279 just felt like something wasn't quite there for them over the course of this entire 160 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:20.679 game. But I have complete confidence that they'll get those things fixed. I 161 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:22.960 picked naz to win the game. I thought they probably win the game by 162 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.080 ten or fourteen points. I was wrong. And despite the fact that I 163 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.000 thought this Kankae Heat team was in good shape coming into the season, I 164 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:33.840 don't think I had them ranked highly enough in my own book Suis. I 165 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:37.600 think this case team after seeing the way they played in that game, not 166 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:41.200 just the fact that they beat naz but the fact that they that they hadn't 167 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:46.559 lead at halftime, let naz back into the game and didn't no offensive Kankakee, 168 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.000 but I've seen the program enough over the years and even recently. You 169 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.159 go back to the state title game a couple of years ago where they got 170 00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:56.679 behind in it, right, this was a team like they didn't panic, 171 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.120 They found a way to finish off the game. That is a great sign 172 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:05.320 for Miles Ose as he gets it first win there and what this team is 173 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.840 going to be able to accomplish come October. Well, I was kind of 174 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:13.960 concerned about Kankakeep coming into the season for multiple reasons. You know, I 175 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:18.240 wasn't sure how much they'd be able to offset the loss of a really talented 176 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:22.240 jayere Hill who's now at Michigan. But one of the things that he did 177 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:26.320 last year that I think might have been to their detriment was they were trying 178 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:31.039 to utilize a whole bunch of people on offense, and sometimes that gets that 179 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:35.279 gets messy, like you start to get guys that are, you know, 180 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:39.559 not happy with their roles or whatever, and it just you don't get into 181 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:43.240 a rhythm because you don't have the same people in the same places. I 182 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:46.200 thought it really benefited them the other night that they just basically said Tony Phillips 183 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:50.279 is our running back and we're going to give him the lion's share of the 184 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:54.399 cares carries. And when that doesn't work, you know, when we decided 185 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:56.399 to run the ball, we'll use our quarterback, Lorenz Walters on a quarterback 186 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:00.480 keeper, something on that nature. He had a long touch on running the 187 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:03.200 game. It was just the I guess almost the simplicity of what they were 188 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:07.440 doing that made it difficult for them to be stocked. I mean, when 189 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:09.720 you have the athletes, and they certainly have the athletes, keep it simple, 190 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:13.519 right, you know, go out there and make plays, don't get 191 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:16.720 crazy with it. It's a good strategy. If that's the way kank Key 192 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:18.840 is going to run their offense, they're gonna be in good shape this year. 193 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.240 Sus all right, So let's hit one more game before we take a 194 00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:24.679 commercial break here. I want to go up into the North Suburbs for a 195 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:30.879 game. Another one where I picked Warren to win. Barrington comes out on 196 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:33.000 top forty to thirty three. But maybe the biggest surprise out of all this 197 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:35.960 suits was the fact that there was seventy three points scored in this game. 198 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:41.840 I just never saw this coming. Well, I mean, I'll give you 199 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:45.240 credit on this one. You you were a little bit more on the Barrington 200 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:50.399 train turnaround that maybe I was at the beginning of the year, and you 201 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.440 know, I thought this was a game that Barrington would be good to be 202 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:56.320 competitive, and I certainly didn't think that they would win the game. And 203 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:00.240 like you said, the points scored in this game another layer of surprise eyes 204 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:05.399 to this. You know, Warren pro prototypically doesn't give up hardly anything on 205 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:09.559 the defensive side of the ball, So it's it's definitely a game that kind 206 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.399 of was a little eye popping for me when I saw the result on Friday 207 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:18.200 night. Yeah, it was a back and forth fourth affair and that one 208 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:22.639 Matt quarterback, Matt Marusitch, I'm sorry if I'm butcher in that name here, 209 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.120 I was able to hit Nick Piper for a twenty one yard touchdown along 210 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:28.559 the sideline. Suits. I don't know if you saw the replay of that 211 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:33.480 anywhere, but what happened was Piper caught the ball along the sideline, was 212 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:39.440 able to absorb a hit turn up field without stepping out a bound and break 213 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:41.039 it, break it off and get into the end zone late in that game. 214 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:46.000 Was a hell of a play. Good win for the Broncos. Yeah, 215 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:48.679 I mean I did see a clip of that, and it was it 216 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.279 was a heck of a play. And I mean in the grand scheme of 217 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:54.360 things, I mean, obviously this is a huge win. But you know, 218 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:58.519 with Barrington, this was one of those teams that I started noted well, 219 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:03.240 I was keeping an eye on right from the get go because their schedule 220 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.679 is so difficult. So I mean, you don't want to start counting wins 221 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:09.799 now, but that could turn out to be a critical win for Barrington in 222 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.759 the grand scheme of things, looking ahead to everything that it was, you 223 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:20.440 know, taken into account. There So just a game that has evolved into 224 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:26.519 a rivalry over the last decade or so that that Warren frankly has dominated que 225 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:30.759 quite a bit in recent years. But just a really nice bounce back for 226 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:33.840 Barrington. It certainly puts them on the radar as being, you know, 227 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:37.720 a top contender to make noise in their conference and maybe make noise statewide. 228 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:41.039 All right, we're going to take a quick commercial break stick with us here 229 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:45.159 at the Friday Night Drive podcast. We're gonna come back and finish breaking down 230 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:50.720 Week one with you Schweiker, Gannison, Krazak, Rundio proudly sponsors the Friday 231 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.720 Night Driver. I'm Mike Krazak. If you've been injured, we are ready 232 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:56.720 to take on the insurance company and get you to the end zone. We've 233 00:15:56.759 --> 00:16:00.399 recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients visited g A N A SSI 234 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:07.480 N dot com. Welcome back now to the Friday Night Drive Podcast. I 235 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:11.759 am Kyle Nighbors here with Steve Susy and thank you once again to our sponsor 236 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:17.559 of the Friday Night Drive podcast. Sgk are also the title sponsor of the 237 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:21.120 Friday Live with Friday Night Drive. We thank s g k are for being 238 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:25.039 aboard with us again this year. Sue, So I want to stick up 239 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.679 in the North Suburbs. And another game that came down in the wild the 240 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:34.759 wire with Saint Charles North winning thirty seven thirty four Ethan Plum that Keaton Ryan 241 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:38.559 Key with just over two minutes left there to give Palatine. I'm sorry, 242 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:42.919 give Saint Charles North that thirty seven thirty four win. Plum with three hundred 243 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:47.639 and thirty two yards passing in three touchdowns in this game. Another really good 244 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:52.159 game on Friday Night. Yeah, this was a game that when I looked 245 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.440 at it on paper heading into Week one, I was like, boy, 246 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:59.039 that's that's probably gonna be a doozy, just because I thought both teams had 247 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:03.440 the potential to be really strong programs this year. That's the kind of game 248 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:04.519 that I know, it's a non conference game, and it has to be 249 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:07.920 played early in the year. That's a game that I would have if given 250 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.359 my druthers, I'd push it back on that schedule. So both teams had 251 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:15.559 a chance to kind of get their bearings and get going before uh, you 252 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:18.000 know, busting out of the gate here in Week one with this one. 253 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:22.200 But turned out to be a pretty dynamic game to begin with. And you 254 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:29.359 know, Palatine running back Dominic Balls a real talent for them yea and forty 255 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:32.640 yards and a couple of touchdowns in the first half of this one. And 256 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:36.599 this is a senior dominated team. So kind of felt like heading into this 257 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:40.559 one that this was a game that Palatine, uh maybe would be your favorite 258 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:45.039 in. But Saint Charles North has had a knack for kind of pulling some 259 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:48.000 of these games out of the fire in recent years. Definitely a great effort 260 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:52.880 from Ethan Plumber you listed off as statistics there. Guy made big plays all 261 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:56.200 the way through the back end of that game. It just seemed like following 262 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.240 along with that on Friday Night, you know, as a back and fourth 263 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:03.039 type of contests and played at a pretty high level for a week one game. 264 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:07.799 Absolutely do want to point out if you go to Friday Night Drive dot 265 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:11.000 com, now we have a new feature on the site this year. If 266 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.519 you go to a team page. Let's say you are a fan of Saint 267 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:18.039 Charles North. You go to the upper left menu there and you hit the 268 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:22.160 drop down menu for the individual team pages. Let's say you're on Saint Charles 269 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:26.599 North. You'll now find their upcoming schedule and results all season long, right 270 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:30.200 there, A nice little feature we've added this year through a score stream. 271 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:34.079 Now, Sue's I want to head over to Brother Rice and Main South. 272 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:38.640 Brother Rice was able to grind out a ten seven win in this game. 273 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:44.160 It was a low scoring game throughout, not much offense. Honestly, it 274 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:48.920 was kind of how I expected this one to play out. Yeah, Brother 275 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:52.720 Rice, to be honest with you, heading into the season was kind of 276 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.480 a complete mystery to be I mean, I know they have they had some 277 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:00.480 things back, some very notable things, particularly Christian Pearson the defensive side of 278 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:07.079 the ball, but overall a lot of questions. Didn't really know like what 279 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:08.559 was gonna you know, how they were going to do a lot of things 280 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:12.079 that they were going to do, just a lot of new names kind of 281 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:15.599 slotting in there. But you know, I was really reluctant to say, 282 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:19.119 well, even though there's a bunch of change there, you know, you 283 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:23.240 still got to respect them, their Brother Ice, And it looks like they 284 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:27.599 just figured out a way to you know, grind one out here, and 285 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:32.319 that might be a situation that Brother Rice has to employ in many of their 286 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:34.640 games this year. Obviously one of the team teams in the state that has 287 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:38.920 one of the more notable schedules that they have to get through just in their 288 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:42.480 conference alone, in the in the in the Blue. So uh, just 289 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:48.519 a really gritty effort from Brother Ice, but also puts puts it on alert. 290 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:52.880 If you were thinking maybe Brother Ice might take a step back this year, 291 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.599 not so fast. I mean, this is a quality win for them. 292 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:00.960 They went heavy on the running game, particularly in the second half. 293 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:04.279 Dick Quagliano was over there coming of the game for The Daily Herald. Our 294 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:10.039 partner here at Friday Night Drive. And you know one thing that did definitely 295 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:15.720 impact this game was main South Loloucester starting quarterback Jack d Philippis in the first 296 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:21.519 quarter there he did not return, so you know that that had an impact 297 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:23.839 on that game. But still brother Rice rallying in that and finding a way 298 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:26.480 to grind out, grind that out in the second half. Now, I 299 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:30.559 want to go to one of the most surprising results of the week, Sus. 300 00:20:32.839 --> 00:20:34.880 If you were watching Live on the Friday Night Drive or Live with Friday 301 00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:38.480 Night Drive on Friday night, you probably were able to understand that I was 302 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:42.400 a bit shocked, and I still am. Several days later, Rochester the 303 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:48.319 forty fourteen win over Peoria, and even then it wasn't that close. It 304 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:51.880 was a running clock with Rockchester scoring the first forty points in that game. 305 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:53.519 And I want to believe it was early in the second half that they got 306 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:57.119 the running clock. Sus. Yeah, I didn't see this coming. I 307 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:03.480 kind of expected Rochester to win this game, but I certainly expected to be 308 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:07.920 a lot closer than it than it turned out to be. Peoria, obviously 309 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.440 a five A state finalists last year, did lose some big pieces, but 310 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:17.279 one of the things that Peoria never seems to lose is an ability to put 311 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:19.880 up some points against almost anybody. I mean, they scored seven hundred points 312 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:23.839 last year. Uh in the in the regular season. I mean it's it's 313 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.279 the season, including the playoffs. Obviously, a program that knows how to 314 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:33.240 scored. So the fact that Rochester was just able to completely bottle them up 315 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:38.240 is a good sign for the Rockets moving forward. But also, uh, 316 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:41.200 you know, after maybe taking a little bit of a step back from the 317 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:45.359 level that rock that we had come to expect from Rochester, maybe puts us 318 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:49.279 back in the mix of thinking about you know, maybe they're back at the 319 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:53.400 higher level than that we're accustomed to see from this program. I'm yeah, 320 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:57.519 I'm very very interested to look back on this game about a month from now, 321 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:02.759 because right now I'm going, well, is the Rochester defense this good 322 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:07.079 or has the por E offense fallen off this much? And I don't think 323 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:10.319 we can answer that right now. We'll know a lot more, as I 324 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:14.599 said it, in a bottom month. Yeah, it's definitely kind of telling 325 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:18.680 it. It was. It was kind of a confusing weekend in the Central 326 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:22.160 State eight, with Rochester winning in the fashion that they did. I mean, 327 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:27.720 and then Sacred Heart Griffin got beat up pretty badly by Normal Community and 328 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:30.839 one of those crossover games are the Big Twelve. So yeah, that's you 329 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:36.599 know, you know, I expected there to be a fall off with Sacred 330 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:38.720 Heart Griffin. They I know, they lost a decent amount obviously, you 331 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:42.559 know, coaching change with Ken Leonard retiring the big difference. But yeah, 332 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:45.599 that was that was another result that I was I was looking at kind of 333 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:49.119 sideways. Yeah, so, I mean, it was just it was kind 334 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:55.519 of a layered, weird weekend and central you know, Central Illinois type conferences, 335 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:59.319 the larger schools. I mean, glen Wood, another team that usually 336 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:02.759 does well in the Central State, really scuffled to get past Danville, a 337 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:04.440 team that, you know, it's usually around a five hundred club, but 338 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:07.359 not the kind of team that I would think Glenwood would struggle with. So 339 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:12.559 already, that little Big twelve Central State Aid arrangement that we talked about a 340 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:17.599 little bit earlier in this preseason is is netting some interesting games and some interesting 341 00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:22.160 results. Thinking of kind of the middle part of this state. So if 342 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:26.079 teams didn't move their games off from Friday night and here's something I was dealing 343 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:30.039 with. Being live on air kind of made it a little more difficult for 344 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:33.440 me to follow things from other you know, like if it wasn't a game 345 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:36.759 that I was trying to really focus on, to give updates on all of 346 00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:41.200 a sudden on the periphery kind of my thought process, I noticed like games 347 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.599 weren't moving along, and it took me a while. Did you like how 348 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:48.519 many how white spread? Was the weather issue on Friday night? Down there? 349 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:52.319 It was pretty bad. I mean there were, Yeah, there were 350 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:57.480 at least twenty games that were suspended from Friday night and finished on Saturday, 351 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:04.359 and another probably fifteen to twenty that had long delays before getting finished. There 352 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:10.599 was one downstate that actually didn't even kick off until nine thirty. And then 353 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:15.039 I saw that I saw that finishing it. Yeah, yeah, you know, 354 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:18.759 I'm up here in mckenry County. I'm although almost up in Wisconsin. 355 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:22.519 It was actually a gorgeous night up here when I got into the building to 356 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:25.200 start prepping for the show and got some dinner right before, and it was 357 00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:29.400 gorgeous. Then. Yeah, didn't not realize that was coming for the central 358 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:32.440 part of this state. But anyway, we got two more games that hit 359 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:34.400 on suits. Before we wrap up this edition of the Friday Night Drive podcast, 360 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:38.279 let's go over to Seneca Wilmington. This was a rivalry game that had 361 00:24:38.359 --> 00:24:44.440 not been played in a while with the Interstate the former Interstate eight Conference have 362 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:48.920 been being reconstructed over the last several years, but Seneca and Wilmington got together 363 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.119 here in Week one, Seneca pulling off a twenty seven twenty one win. 364 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:57.200 These are programs that had both a lot coming back. Wilmington was young last 365 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:00.119 year, still put together a Wilmington types even got bound from the playoffs, 366 00:25:00.119 --> 00:25:03.640 maybe a little earlier than usually because they were young. Seneca obviously a great 367 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:07.599 year, a lot coming back, but still, I mean, it's just 368 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.799 it's just as you and I we've been around this area long enough, it's 369 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:15.480 just weird to see as Seneca win over Wilmington's even knowing that they're both very 370 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:18.279 good programs. They might not lose again for the rest of the regular season. 371 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:23.160 Yeah, it Wilmington in a Week one for you know, forever, 372 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:26.319 seems like they win every year. Yeah, I say, when was the 373 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:29.599 last time Wilmington had a start at oh and one? Well, it was 374 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:32.799 all in one. It goes back not quite that far. I believe it's 375 00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:36.359 twenty twelve because they did lose one game early in the season. The one 376 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.519 that got me was I went and looked to see if they happen to lose 377 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:42.279 this week, and they're playing an interesting Aurora Christian team in Week two who 378 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:48.680 they happen to lose this destroy Ottawa Mark Hut. Wilmington is would be oh 379 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:51.640 and two if they lost that game for the first time since two thousand and 380 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:56.240 one, so that that doesn't happen very often. No, I mean week 381 00:25:56.319 --> 00:26:02.480 one losses are rare. A slow start for Wilmington as almost non existent. 382 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:07.720 But let's give Seneca a lot of credit here that this is a really good 383 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:11.519 football team. They took a big step last year. They have almost everyone 384 00:26:11.640 --> 00:26:15.000 back from that team. There was a reason why this game got scheduled. 385 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:18.279 Seneca felt like they had a good chance to beat Wilmington in this game. 386 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:22.440 Certainly didn't take it for granted, but they wanted They wanted to schedule up 387 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:26.680 in the non conference to prep themselves for what they think could be a pretty 388 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:30.119 productive run should they slide into the two A field. They were a three 389 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:33.279 A playoff team last year. Looks like they're going to be on the two 390 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:38.799 A three A bubble again, but strangely enough, so is Wilmington, so 391 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.640 they're also on that two A three A bubble. If let's just say, 392 00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:47.559 if they both ended up in the same classification, whatever, I don't think 393 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:49.359 it would be the last time that these two teams are going to meet this 394 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:52.160 year. If they both end up in the same class I could easily see 395 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:57.400 this being a potential semi final game in the North bracket. Two games I 396 00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:00.599 want to quickly get too out in western part of the state and don't want 397 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:03.640 to spend a lot of time on them because if you're listening, if you're 398 00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:07.599 a regular listener to the Friday Night Drive podcast, we got something new for 399 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:11.079 you this week and throughout the regular season. Eddie Cariffio and JT. Penalty 400 00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:15.759 are coming along this week. That podcast will drop on Tuesday. It's called 401 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:18.720 the Illinois Valley edition of the Friday Night Drive Podcasts. They're going to cover 402 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:22.000 the western part of the state, whether that's Eddie's based out in Decalb, 403 00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:26.680 JT's out in Ottawa. Dan Russo will be joining them out from the Sauk 404 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:30.079 Valley area. They would have a lot coming for you guys out in the 405 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:33.880 western part of the state. But two scores I do want to mention from 406 00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:37.640 out there that I found interest in sus interesting sues Forrest in Fulton and uyc 407 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:41.079 battle came down to the wire twenty two eighteen Forest and win. And then 408 00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:47.839 Dixon won against Stillman Valley on the road. The Duke's quality program. But 409 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:51.400 you kind of look down at the breakdown of the Big Northern I had Byron 410 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:53.440 at the top. I saw it still or thought Stillman Valley was right there. 411 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:57.960 Honestly, I thought the Dukes were probably a rung below those two teams. 412 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:03.359 A hell of a win for Dixon in my book, Well, you 413 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:07.480 know, when you look at that game in particular, like you you kind 414 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:11.240 of get used to, like the stacking of the Big Northern Conference kind of 415 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:15.880 remaining consistent Dixon has has been, you know, towards the upper half for 416 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:19.480 the last couple of years. Isn't totally out of the blue that they won 417 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:23.720 this football game, but it definitely raised my eyebrow a little bit. And 418 00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:26.759 you know, sometimes when I see a score that maybe looks a little bit 419 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:30.519 off, I go confirm it in a second place, just to make sure 420 00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:34.400 that the score didn't get reversed or whatever. But a good solid win for 421 00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:41.079 Dixon here sets them up well in a big Northern conference that obviously has Byron 422 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:45.759 at the top, but it looks like it's open season for who stacks up 423 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:49.640 directly behind them so far in the early going. How about that forced in 424 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:53.440 Fulton game. Anything out of that or out of the n U s in 425 00:28:53.559 --> 00:29:00.839 general. You know that conference also has kind of a pecking or distributed to 426 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:03.799 it. And I was really interested in this game because I kind of feel 427 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:10.640 like these are the two teams that slot in right behind Lena Winslow. So 428 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:14.720 uh, you know, in ferreting out who who won that game, that 429 00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:18.559 game played out exactly how I thought it would play out, really close, 430 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:22.559 kind of down to the wire, two fairly evenly matched teams. And it's 431 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:26.559 another one of those situations like we were mentioned with Seneca and Wilmington. It 432 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:32.119 would be very easy to see a scenario where this isn't the last time that 433 00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:37.279 these two meet. It's always tricky to kind of figure out how north you 434 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:38.880 know, northwest up state of Line I teams are going to factor into the 435 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:44.799 playoffs because they play so many good games during the year that one or two 436 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:47.559 of them are going to be a really good football team with two or three 437 00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:49.880 losses on the ledger. That's just the way that has to work. So 438 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:55.279 they're going to be an underseat. So predicting those teams into the semi finals 439 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:59.119 in a North South bracket becomes very, very difficult because they can't all make 440 00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:03.279 it and they all tend to run into each other pretty early in the brackets. 441 00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:07.519 So but that's that remains the premier one eight conference in the state, 442 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:11.400 and I don't think second place is close. All right, Well, we're 443 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.200 gonna go ahead and close the books on week one. Stick at Friday Night 444 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:18.400 Drive dot Com all week we have more podcasts coming for your way. Of 445 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:22.240 course, as I said, Eddie and JT will have the debut episode of 446 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:25.680 the Illinois Valley Podcast Joshwaukee. Jake Barlston will be along to talk about the 447 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:29.319 western suburbs, and then join us on Friday night as we have Live with 448 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:33.079 Friday Night Drive from eight to eleven PM. Jimmy Musual and I will be 449 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:36.640 your host, and of course Friday Night Drive dot Com all week long, 450 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:40.319 we'll have everything that you normally would get from us there, power ranking, 451 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:44.920 playoff projections, Week two game previews. It's gonna be a good week. 452 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:48.799 We'll be back with you on Thursday to talk the week Week two preview. 453 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:51.480 For now, though, we're signing off for Steve Susy. I am Kyle 454 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:55.960 Nabors. Thank you for listening. Talk to you guys later. Schweiker, 455 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:59.599 Gannison, Krizek, Rundio, Pradley sponsors to Friday Night Drive. I'm Mike 456 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:02.759 Chris. If you've been injured, we are ready to take on the insurance 457 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:06.039 company and get you to the end zone. We've recovered hundreds of millions of 458 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:10.359 dollars for our clients. Visit Gnassian dot com.