High school Fall sports playoff competition annually generates added community and fan interest. It is true this Fall in spite of coronavirus concerns the last 18 months, and in some cases because the COVID-19 pandemic caused cancellations.
There were no high school football playoffs last year, and the six-game maximum no-playoff Spring games this year were inadequate.
Round two playoff football games in Illinois will be held Friday and Saturday in eight classes, largest 8A to smallest 1A. This year State championships will be determined the weekend following Thanksgiving Day.
This year all three Naperville schools qualified for the first round last weekend, all four Glenbard schools, East, West, North, South were in the first round, and Batavia High School was the top-seeded team in the 32-team Class 7A. Undefeated Batavia, 10-0, will play in the second round at 7 p.m. Friday at traditional power Mt. Carmel on the South Side of Chicago, a test for both team and the fan base. The victor will advance to the quarterfinal round. Batavia won the first round game at home, 37-0, against Lake Zurich of the North Suburban Conference.
The only Aurora school remaining in the playoffs is Marmion Academy, which has succeeded with hefty line play and fewer mistakes than opponents. Marmion, 7-3, will play at home at 1 p.m. Saturday against another traditional power, Nazareth Academy, 6-4. (See the first round results and second round pairings at thevoice.us/high-school-football-playoff-schedule-nov-5-6-playoff-results-oct-29-30) The only other Aurora team in the playoffs this season, Aurora Christian, fell at Lena-Winslow, 54-7, in the first round in northwest part of the State.
Naperville Central defeated host and rival, Naperville North, in the first round, 28-16, Friday in Class 8A. Central will play host to Loyola Academy at 1 p.m. Saturday. Loyola is 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in the Chicago area. Naperville Central improved to 7-3. Neuqua Valley, a District 204 school in Naperville, defeated visiting Bartlett of the Upstate Eight Conference, 60-7. Neuqua Valley will play at Palatine at 6 p.m.. Saturday.
Of the four Glenbard schools, only Glenbard East dropped out following its 42-0 defeat at the hands of Marist in Class 7A. South defeated Chicago Noble/Bulls, 41-14, and will play at Sycamore at 2 p.m. Saturday. Glenbard North, 7-3. slipped past Bolingbrook, 34-30, in 8A and will play host to well-regarded Warren, 9-1, at 6 p.m. Saturday. Glenbard West, 8-2, defeated visiting Oswego, 38-10, in 8A and will play at Lockport, 9-1, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Oswego finished with a 6-4 record.
“We took advantage of two deep kick returns and turnovers in the second half (against Oswego) Glenbard West head coach Chad Hetlet said. “We were able to wear them down. (Lockport) is very good defensively, well coached, huge up front, and they run the ball well.”
Four of the five DuKane Conference teams advanced, Batavia, Wheaton North, Glenbard North, and Geneva. Only Wheaton Warrenville South was defeated, 27-26, by host Brother Rice. Yorkville, a 26-22 victor over higher-rated and host Plainfield Central, will play host to well–regarded Brother Rice, 8-2, at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“Brother Rice is a very good team,” Yorkville head coach Dan McGuire said. “They have a quarterback that can do it all, a runningback who is physical, and a very good offensive line. Defensively they are versatile and can give a variety of looks. They made the plays they had to against Wheaton Warrenville South.
“Playing (at) Plainfield Central was a good measuring stick for our for our team. I think (Plainfield Central) had gotten better and we have been able to identify things we do well and build on them. Our kids deserve a lot of credit for sticking through tough times and improving.
“Hunter Janescko has been an unsung player for us. He has been leading us in tackles in several games and played well for us against Plainfield Central.” Central defeated Yorkville in the second game of the season, 28-13. Yorkville Friday scored on a 10-play, 63-yard, drive with 2:15 remaining in regulation to defeat Plainfield Central this time.
Marmion has depended on its offensive line to lead the ground game (see Bobby Narang’s article thevoice.us/glenbard-south-high-school-offensive-line-clears-playoff-path).
“(Nazareth) is smaller in the line than Marmion,” Marmion head coach Dan Thorpe said, “but fast at the skill positions. As always, turnovers and field position will determine the outcome of the game. The (Marmion) offensive line had some nice holes and the defense created five turnovers (against first-round opponent and host Noble/Comer at Gately Stadium in Chicago).” Marmion won, 53-8.
Geneva of the DuKane Conference took the long trip to Collinsville just east of St. Louis, and won, 28-21, in a 6A game. Geneva will play host to St. Rita, 8-2, at 7 p.m. Friday.
Batavia will play at Mt. Carmel Friday “Mt. Carmel is a well-establish, historic program,” Batavia head coach Dennis Piron said. “That is why you go there. They have good schemes, great talent, and play at a championship level all the time. We believe we do as well.”
Plano led most of its game against host Kewanee in 4A and fell, 17-14, in Class 4A. “When we did not capitalize on the takeaways our defense produced in the first half, I was a little worried,” Plano head coach Rick Ponx said. “We had six wins and that is more the last two years combined.”