2021 ICE Conference Preview

All week 1 and week 2 games are meaningless when it comes to conference play.  Some teams may start conference 0-2 and still compete for top of the conference.

Coal City - have had quite a run the past few seasons and were solid at all positions.  They lose a key skill position from last spring but have one of the conference bests RB/LBs.   Should be a solid team but opening with Morris Bishop Mac, and Wilmington is a tough 3 game slate.  

Herscher - very low numbers (I'm hearing 16 varsity) but do have some solid athletes in this group. A few big and skilled linemen and a few quick athletes along with a solid QB, if they can keep games close they may surprise some people.  

Lisle - always a wildcard on this conference.  Always seem to get a few transfers or have a stud soph you have to deal with for 3 years.  Have a junior OL who has been starting since is Frosh year, and a few quick scat backs.  Parpet always has these guys ready to play and they will win a game or two they aren't supposed to and lose one they aren't supposed to.

Manteno - started off slow last season and lost their 3 year starting QB along with some other play makers.  The level of talent Manteno has had in the past just isn't there right now.  They will likely be more competitive towards the end of the season and have a few winnable games early on.  

Peotone - the Blue Devils have been building for this season for a few years. A senior class with several 3 year starters and a very favorable first 3 games (Manuel, Some Indiana School, Manteno) so the playoffs are a definite possibility. Finishing at the top of the conference is also not out of the realm of possibilities.

Reed-Custer - lots of hype about the Comets become of their very athletic junior class which went undefeated as Frosh but 1-4 last season.  They definitely have the talent to compete with Wilmo, Coal City, Peotone for the top tier of the conference but many don't believe it until they see it. An interesting matchup with Arcola on week 1 or 2 may show how good this team really is.

Streator - new coach (Tutt from MF) should pump some new enthusiasm into to program but hearing numbers are still an issue. Were not very competitive on the Spring season and I don't see much changing.  Always have a few great athletes but they are a few years away from being competitive.  

Wilmington - a pretty young team after graduating a very good Senior class.  A few returning starters from the Spring season but have several new players. Open with Marengo and Johnsburg then Coal City and Peotone so we will see very early how good the Cats will be.  

Playoff Hopefuls:
Coal City 4A
Lisle 3A
Peotone 3A
Reed-Custer 3A
Wilmington 2A/3A

streator just can't seem to get any traction no matter what conference they are in.

ging wrote:streator just can't seem to get any traction no matter what conference they are in.

I've coached against them since they became members of the old I8.  I always seem to give them more credit than they deserve because I know they have the athletes.  Just look at their basketball teams.  I also coach basketball and I have only beat them on very few occasions.

They also tend to lose kids later in the season. We played them in a tough game a few years ago and by the end of the season they were a shell of what they were when we played them week 3.

No idea whats going on in Herscher, for some reason just no interest in football even right now.. even the youth level is bad, went from having two programs with 20-25 kids at each level to one program with 15-20 at each level.. after some success, kind of a head scratcher..

HHSTigerFan2 wrote:No idea whats going on in Herscher, for some reason just no interest in football even right now.. even the youth level is bad, went from having two programs with 20-25 kids at each level to one program with 15-20 at each level.. after some success, kind of a head scratcher..

Success can only do so much for getting kids to play. Yeah having a winning program helps but it is also the culture that you create around the program. Maybe that culture just isn't there right now. Kids have so many options available for things to do outside of school and you have to find a way for the kids to decide that their sacrifice during the week is worth it for Friday. Also, I would look at the kids who are involved in the program. Why can't they get their friends or classmates to play? I have seen and been in situations where kids do not have a problem with the coaches but rather a problem with the attitudes of the players in the program.

Herscher has had a lot of success in recent years and in the past. They have always had a lot of support from the community and field a competitive team. I am sure there are multiple layers to the numbers issue with Herscher and hopefully they can get through these few years but I hear that 8-Man is a potential solution which would really hurt all of the other teams in the ICE by forcing them to find a non-con game in the middle of the season.

I'm thinking that 8 man has an enrollment cap at 300 kids or something like that.. just insane that a program thats fresh off 3 quarterfinals even mentioning the thought of 8 man football..one of the things I see different now now is that the Limestone area dads are different than they were 10 years ago, hard to explain but just are.. I umpired some baseball games at Herscher and Limestone this summer,and the Limestone feel was just different, so much less intense..