Giving up cupcakes

It isn't Lent season, but our area football teams are giving up cupcakes this Friday anyway.

Geneva at Glenbard South. North vs. Waubonsie. East at 3-0 South Elgin. Kaneland at 3-0 Sycamore. Batavia at Rochelle.

Every opponent for these teams has a winning record.

These are crucial games, people, the kind of games that will reveal which of our squads are contenders and which are going to have to fight, scratch and claw for every last playoff point.

This isn't the kinda thing Coach Sly says lightly, but I think Geneva might finally taste a regular season defeat. Glenbard South didn't play its best ball against Batavia and will raise its game on Friday. The Vikings are definitely the deeper team and should be ready for a bounce-back performance themselves, but Geneva better play with some emotion and look a lot more like it did in Week 2 than Weeks 1 and 3 if they're going to win on the road Friday ... especially without the big fella.

Coach Sly thinks St. Charles North will take care of Waubonsie and make a statement that they mean business about winning the UEC. These guys haven't been tested yet but it's Sly's belief that North will rise to the challenge when that moment comes, and it could come this week.

Kaneland-Sycamore is another biggie. Sly considers Kaneland the best bet to sneak into the title race among the WSC teams but Sycamore could be dangerous. Those guys have built up a head of steam beating up on some tomato cans, and they have some playmakers to work with.

Forget about Week 9 against Geneva, this is Batavia's biggest game of the season. Lose at Rochelle on Friday and you can probably kiss that playoff streak byebye. It's a winnable game for the Dogs but their style of play probably will lend itself to a lot of tense fourth quarters. On the road with a young offense, stuff can go wrong.

Sly's upset special this week is East over South Elgin. Mostly just a hunch, but Coach Sly thinks East will be ready to force some turnovers against the Storm and will cash in just enough to hand S. Elgin loss numero uno. At 1-2, East needs to pull an upset or two to make a go at the postseason.

Dangerous week, but there's nothing like the satisfaction that comes with beating a good team. Coach Sly hopes all of our teams find that out for themselves this weekend.