Big 12 Update: Danville, NCHS Move On

I should have made a prediction for the Bloomington Raiders to advance to the quarter- or semi-finals in the playoffs. Instead, I kept quiet, and they lost by two points last Friday night to Oswego at home, 28-26. Oswego's three second quarter touchdowns all followed Bloomington turnovers. Three fumbles and two interceptions in the second quarter by the Raider offense lost the game. Bloomington played a good first quarter, and they made a nice comeback attempt in the fourth. The mighty Raiders got to within two points early in the fourth quarter, but they failed to convert on their final two possessions of the game. The Raiders's junior class is a strong one, though, that includes this year's starting quarterback. So we are looking forward to see what they can accomplish next year.

In other Big 12 action last weekend, the regular season champion, Danville Vikings, continued to crush their opponents with yet another shutout victory over Oak Lawn Community High School. The Vikings won 50-0. They will face another Oak Lawn team Saturday night on the road. Oak Lawn Richards boasts a 9-1 record, but Danville hopes to keep their record untainted. Their game has a 7:00 starting time. The game has been rumored to be simulcast at Royal Donut.

The Normal Community Ironmen also represented the Big 12 well in the first round of the playoffs on Friday. They defeated Oak Forest 41-24. No wonder two varieties of oak have served as the official Illinois state tree. They must be everywhere for so many towns to be named after them. NCHS is slated to face #3 Crete-Monee at 1:00 on Saturday in Normal. Go Ironmen! The only other team to make the playoffs was Class 5A Decatur MacArthur, and they lost their game 24-7 against Marion.