Few people can truly understand how hard it is to predict high school football games when you haven’t even seen the team yet. I mean, who really would have picked Bunker Hill to beat state-ranked Brown County back in Week 1?

So now that everyone has had the chance to watch a few games and look at a few box scores, I think it’s time to do a little re-evaluating. Here’s what I think of our local teams just before the halfway mark in the season.

Best teams — Routt/Triopia-Meredosia

We’ll really know who the best team is after these two teams play Friday night, but until then it’s a toss up. Triopia has the better rushing attack, but Routt throws the ball a little better. The defenses are about even.

This Friday’s game will probably be the biggest small-school game of the year in this area. Get there early!

Biggest surprise — Bunker Hill/Pleasant Hill

After four games, who would have thought Bunker Hill and Pleasant Hill would both be 3-1? Bunker Hill hadn’t won a game in three years, and Pleasant Hill hasn’t won more than three since 1998. I’m looking forward to their Week 7 showdown in Bunker Hill.

Biggest disappointment — Calhoun

I don’t know who could have predicted that Calhoun would be 0-4. The Warriors have scored only six points this season, and their streak of 17 straight playoff appearances appears to be over.

Best player — Taylor Joehl (Triopia-Meredosia)

It’s hard for a Triopia running back to stand out simply because the team uses so many, but Joehl has been impressive this season. He already has 605 rushing yards, which is almost 200 more than next person in line. He has an area-high nine TDs.

Best coach — Dan Bowman (Greenfield-Northwestern)

This one is tough considering the excellent jobs being done by Rich Thompson (at Triopia) and Barry Creviston (at Routt), but nobody does it quite like the legendary Bowman. He earned his 250th career win earlier this season, and got his 200th at Greenfield Friday night.

Predicted playoff teams — Routt (9-0), Greenfield-Northwestern (9-0), Triopia-Meredosia (8-1), Rushville-Industry (6-3), Pittsfield/Griggsville-Perry (6-3), Carrollton (5-4), New Berlin-Franklin-Waverly (5-4), Virginia/A-C Central (5-4), Pleasant Hill/Barry-West Pike (5-4)

Predicted non-playoff teams — Brown County (4-5), Beardstown (2-7), West Central (2-7), North Greene (1-8), ISD (0-9), Calhoun (0-9)

I’ve never written a blog. Before this summer, I’d never read one, either.

But now I have to start writing them. And to spare you from a long, introductory blog, I’ll actually give you my honest opinion about a local sporting event: the West-Central Illinois All-Star Football Game held at Carlinville High School.

Now I know this game was held three weeks ago, and it’s old news by now, but man, was it awful. The field needed to be mowed, the press box was too small, and the P.A. system was far too loud — when it worked. The names and numbers in the program were wrong, and on top of that, none of our local players got to play all that much. Carrollton quarterback Jordan Brannan was relegated to defense for most of the game, and never took a snap. I’d tell you who played quarterback for Brannan’s team, but I honestly don’t know. That player wasn’t listed in the program.

To make things worse, the organizers were silly enough to place all the players from the big Springfield schools on the same team. Real fair, right? The North, led by its stable of Class AA talent, pounded the South, 45-12. Parents in the stands complained loudly that their kids weren’t getting to play. Others shouted to put the starters back in.

Now I know not everybody can walk away happy from an all-star game, but as an unbiased fan — I hope I fall under that category — I don’t think anybody left this game feeling all too cheery. It was a thousand degrees out and the game stunk in every way possible.

If I’m off-base here, let me know. You should be able to comment on the bottom of this blog, or you can e-mail me. If no one can change my mind about this game, we won’t cover it next year. If they can, maybe we will.