The Chicago Tribune released their list of the greatest Illinois high school football teams of all time and one area team made the cut. 

The 1974 East E-Rabs were their selection from the stateline. The 4A champions went 13-0 that season beating, Belvidere, Thornton South, Barrington, and Normal on their way to the title.

Why were the E-Rabs so great? Here's what the paper had to say:

The program has qualified for the IHSA playoffs only four times and not since 2001, but this team was one of the best collections of talent the state has seen. Three players — RB Ira Matthews, DE Jerry Holloway and LB Stuart Walker — were selected in the NFL draft, and QB Dean Schlueter, RB Russell Pope and RB Joe Black were stars as well. They capped their undefeated season with a title in the inaugural state playoffs, and they also went undefeated the three seasons before. In the final two of those seasons, East outscored its opponents 526-93.

This team was a little before my time but I had heard stories of how dominant they were. Hopefully, another local team will make the cut in the near future.

Other area teams to get honorable mention were:

  • 1982 Guilford
  • 1993 Belvidere
  • 2010 Boylan
  • 2011 Boylan

Check out their complete list of teams here.

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