Fourth and 32

Well, here they are. The sweet 16 to make it to next weekend in Champaign for the state football championship games. For teams such as Maine South it was an expected destination since this time last year. For others such as Immaculate Conception, it wouldn't have seemed to be a realistic trip about a month ago.
The semifinal games often have the most pressure to them because it's that final step to achieve that dream of playing at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. Falling that step short can be one of the toughest disappointments to take.
But teams such as Crystal Lake South and Richmond-Burton have nothing to be ashamed of. CL South not only wasn't expected to beat Cary-Grove in the quarters, it gave unbeaten Geneva and stud RB Michael Ratay all it could handle Friday night. At 1-4, how many people would have given Richmond-Burton a shot at making the playoffs, much less leading unbeaten Aurora Christian and standout QB Jordan Roberts in the third quarter of the semifinals. A pretty good run.
Immaculate Conception is definitely the big surprise - not only because the Knights got in at 5-4 but the way they have dismantled, disassembled and destroyed their opponents on the way to Champaign in Class 2A. None of their games have been close as they rolled up 40-plus points in their first 3 games and 52 in Saturday's semifinal romp.
Maine South is absolutely no surprise with QB Charlie Goro and crew. What may surprise some is what the Hawks' defense has done in shutting out Barrington and nearly blanking Bartlett. It'll be a tough task for Hinsdale Central and Mike DiMatteo, who is doing what he did in getting Lake Zurich to the 7A semis in 2002.
A lot of people may have forgotten about how powerful East St. Louis was under Bob Shannon in the 1980s and early '90s. A team expected to be downstate almost ever year. The mystique has been missing in recent years, but ESL is back downstate in what will be an intriguing test with Ratay and Co.
Speaking of turnarounds, how about the job Greg Purnell has done to get St. Francis to the 5A title game. Who would have figured St. Francis and IC carrying the torch for the Suburban Catholic instead of Montini and Driscoll?
And even though Antioch and Glenbard West fell short of getting to Champaign, they also pulled off dramatic turnarounds. Antioch was 0-9 just two years ago but went 12-1 under second-year coach Brian Glashagel and Glenbard West and Chad Hetlet were unbeaten until running into East St. Louis.
It will also be fun to see a lot of the state's premier players and names in Champaign - guys like Goro, Roberts, East St. Louis' talented crew led by Terry Hawthorne, Ratay, Mark Kachmer of St. Francis and so many others.
Tough to believe it's finally here. Seems like it was just yesterday it was mid-August and everyone was dreaming of playing this weekend.