High school football coaches are never in a good mood in the first few minutes after losing a big game.
Loyola coach John Holecek wasn't smiling or chipper after Mount Carmel handled his team more easily than most observers expected on Friday in Wilmette. But Holecek wasn't fuming or disgusted either. His postgame comments clearly showed he saw the loss as a chance to refocus his team before the playoffs.
"The first loss might sting a little bit," Holecek said. "And it might make us practice harder and take care of the details more. Hopefully they get a bad feeling in their mouth and clean it with hard work and preparation and see what happens."
The Ramblers never got their running game going against Mount Carmel, and the Loyola defense looked overmatched against the Caravan's very talented receivers.
"Mount Carmel is too fast for us to be slow in our reads and our eyes," Holecek said. "We have to be in the right spot defensively. Offensively, we can’t miss a block; we can’t have a mental breakdown or a bad route or motion we didn’t call. All of it is a good lesson. I’m sure it will be tough for those guys, thinking they were that good. But in the end this should be a good thing."
Some early playoff bracket projections had Mount Carmel and Loyola meeting up again rather early in the Class 8A bracket. It didn't work out that way. The teams would not meet up until the state championship game.
Loyola wound up with an easier path to Illinois State than Mount Carmel. The Caravan could face Marist, Sandburg, Lincoln-Way East and Bolingbrook. Loyola's likely route is Evanston, York, Maine South and Huntley or New Trier.
Breaking down the 8A bracket, Huntley's road into the semifinals stands out immediately. The undefeated Red Raiders picked up the No. 2 seed and likely will not face a Super 25-ranked team until New Trier in the quarterfinals.
The 7A bracket is significantly stronger than 8A. Undefeated Normal is the top seed, and undefeated Hersey is the No. 2 seed. But the major contenders for the 7A title are East St. Louis and Brother Rice, and unfortunately, they could meet in the semifinals.
The Second Round features several excellent possible matchups: Hersey vs. Glenbard West, Downers Grove North vs. St. Rita and Brother Rice vs. Batavia.
St. Rita has been in and out of the Super 25 this season, but the Mustangs beat Glenbard West on the road and have the talent, the experience, and a favorable road all the way into the semifinals, where Hersey could be waiting. A 7A title game rematch between Brother Rice and St. Rita is a possibility.
But East St. Louis, which dominated Mount Carmel in the season opener, has to be considered the favorite, with Brother Rice a close second.
