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January 12, 2024

Features, Sports • January 12, 2024

Coaches chime in on NFL playoffs

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HUNTLEY — A total 14 teams, not including the Bears (a 7-10 finish), will be seeking the title of Super Bowl LVIII Champion come Feb. 11. The fun starts with the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend Jan. 13-15.

Some local football experts may scramble for teams, other surveyed prior to the playoffs already had rooting interests lined up. Top teams from the AFC and NFC are the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, who have the Wildcard Weekend off. In the AFC, also in the playoffs teams are the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills. In the NFC,it is the Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys.

Huntley head football coach Mike Naymola, a Bears fan, picks the Baltimore Ravens.

“The Ravens seem to be the team right now,” Naymola said. “Quarterback Lamar Jackson is running their offense at a high level and their defense may be the best in the NFL. They are my pick moving forward. I would love to see the Lions win a playoff game too. If the Bears figure it out, it’s nice to see another team that has been bad for a long time finally find some success like the Lions.”

He added, “I chose Cleveland and Miami in Saturday games and Buffalo, Dallas, and the Rams on Sunday and Tampa Bay for the upset on Monday. Philadelphia has been awful the last month.”

The Red Raiders’ offensive coordinator, Mike Slattery, is a long-time Green Bay Packers rooter. “I have always been a Packers fan – since birth. So hopefully I will be rooting for them for a few more weeks.”

HHS Director of Football Operations Chris Maxedon, meanwhile, will be rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win a fifth Super Bowl.

“I did not have any family members that were Steelers fans – they are all Bears fans,” Maxedon commented. “I grew up four hours south of here – halfway between St. Louis and Indianapolis. This was when the Cardinals (now Arizona) were still in St. Louis and before the Colts moved to Indy. I had an interest in the Steelers starting in 1974. I was a huge Franco Harris fan. He is the guy that got me started in my Steelers’ fandom.”

HHS Athletic Director Glen Wilson, a Bears fan, is backing Miami due to admiring Dolphins great QB Dan Marino.

“Now that the Bears are out, I’m cheering for Houston,” girls wrestling coach Gannon Kosowski said. “I think the 49ers probably have the best shot at winning.”

It’s been a memorable close to the football season for the area. Cary-Grove won the Class 6A IHSA State Championship, while College of Dupage, with HHS alumnus punter Mason Wojtas, won the junior college title. And on Monday, Crystal Lake South alum Trevor Keegan became a National Champion with Michigan’s 34-13 win over Washington.