Coach Sly: Shades of 2006
Three area football powerhouses that have handled their business all season long are now one teeny-weeny win from Champaign.
OK, maybe not so teeny-weeny. Batavia has to beat Prairie Ridge, Kaneland has to beat Montini and Aurora Christian has to get past Tolono Unity, a fellow 3A power, for championship weekend tickets to be punched.
Sly is stoked that the area went 3-for-3 on quarterfinal Saturday. Batavia and Aurora Christian pounded out big wins while Kaneland eked out another tight one. It's a cool thing when the Kaneland defense is the headliner in a big win for the Knights because there are some very good football players on that side of the ball, too, for Kaneland.
Anyone else feel a little deja vu back to 2006, when Batavia and Kaneland were also playing in the semis, along with Geneva that year. That was wild. This year, no Vikings, but the Eagles have joined the party and might be the best bet of all to bring home a state title. What a party it will be, with all three semifinal games at home for the cream of the local grid-iron crop.
Speaking of de ja vu, how about Kaneland and Montini butting helmets for a second straight year? Even though Montini's the team with two losses, Sly's guessing many will consider the Knights an underdog in that one. How about Batavia-Prairie Ridge? Should be an awesome football game.
Sly'd love to hear some thoughts from a lot of very proud pigskin fans around here, whether you want to look back to Saturday's big wins or ahead to the semis.
Who knows, when it's all said and done, maybe 2011 will be looked back at as even more special than that '06 season.
