Four Downs: Morgan Park falls short, surprise teams in semifinals, Loyola vs. Lincoln Way East is next

The season that Morgan Park had been building towards for years ended much earlier than planned.

The Mustangs lost 21-7 to Morris in the Class 5A quarterfinals. There’s no shame in losing to one of the state’s best-known football programs. But Morris has lost four games this season and was defeated 42-0 by Sycamore in Week 8.

A look at Morgan Park’s schedule this season highlights a major concern. Is the level of play in Public League football too low for a team to achieve playoff success?

“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Mustangs coach Chris James said. “That’s probably true at this point.”

Morgan Park held on in a loss to Class 8A power Marist in Week 1. The Mustangs defeated Oak Park 26-0 in Week 2. The next seven weeks of the regular season were spent blowing out Public League opponents with a combined score of 325. -13.

“We’re getting into a real game with a team like Morris and it’s the first time we’ve been in a situation like that in months,” James said. “We fumbled five times in the first quarter and Morris is a great team. But there is no doubt that our conference did not prepare us for that.”

Morgan Park didn’t even play all the top Public League teams. The Mustangs did not play games against Taft (10-3), Young (10-1) or Amundsen (5-5).

Simeon and Kenwood are on the rise. Taft, Amundsen and Young have steadily improved in recent years. But Public League football appears to be a long way from providing a team with enough quality opposition to build a team into a legitimate threat for the state title.

“I strongly support the proposed districting,” James said. “Or if someone would admit us to another conference, I would go. I love CPS. This is nothing against them. But this has been a thing for a long time. Nazareth won state by four and lost five because they were tested.”

Budding rivalry

Nazareth has lost just two games this season and will host St. Francis in the Class 5A semifinals on Saturday.

The Roadrunners build a fierce rivalry with St. Francis, a Catholic school in the western suburbs. The two-time defending champions defeated St. Francis in the semifinals last season, but St. Francis defeated Nazareth 39-36 in Week 9 this season.

Surprises in the quarterfinals

State playoff football is generally going as expected, with the powers that be winning. The games were a little more unpredictable this season, with a few unexpected teams advancing to the semifinals, including Richards and DePaul Prep.

The Bulldogs (11-1) lost to Libertyville 48-15 in Week 2 and fell off the Super 25 radar. They only faced two opponents who finished above .500 the rest of the regular season. No one saw the quarterfinal win against Kankakee coming. But running back Myles Mitchell, a recruit from North Dakota State, helped the Bulldogs pull off the upset with 113 yards and a touchdown.

The big one

Loyola and Lincoln-Way East were considered Nos. 1A and 1B in the Super 25 in August. Things went as expected for the Griffins. Loyola had an up and down season, but is now playing its best football of the season.

The showdown everyone has been waiting for will take place Saturday in Frankfort in the Class 8A semifinals. This is a true rivalry game in many ways. It’s a private school versus a public school. The Northern Suburbs vs. the Southern Suburbs. And the teams know each other well. The Ramblers have ended the Griffins’ last three seasons by beating them in the 2021 quarterfinals and the championship game the past two seasons.

“It’s going to be great,” Loyola linebacker Max Mendoza said. “It’s always a battle with them and they’re really good this year.”