By Bobby Narang
With the first round of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) football playoffs in the rear view mirror, the action will heat up this weekend.
The first round of the playoffs is often a unique mix of mainly blowouts combined with a few surprises. The eight-class system went pretty much as expected last weekend.
In Class 3A, Montini crushed North Lawndale 49-0 to advance to a second-round matchup with top-seed Byron (10-0) Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. in Lombard. Wheaton Academy defeated Sandwich 55-19 in a Class 4A first-round play, traveling to St. Laurence for Saturday’s 1 p.m. contest.
In Class 5A, No. 1 seed Sycamore advances to play at Westinghouse College Prep on Saturday in Lane Stadium.
Wheaton St. Francis will play host to Prairie Ridge Saturday at 1 p.m. following an impressive 42-18 win over Sterling. Rochelle will entertain Benet on Friday at 7 p.m..
Nazareth Academy will play against Woodstock North at 1 p.m. Saturday in LaGrange Park. Joliet Academy will hit the highway for a game at Sacred Heart-Griffin Saturday at 2 p.m..
The 6A field features No. 3 seed Geneva to play host to No. 6 Burlington Central Saturday at 6 p.m.. The Geneva Vikings (9-1) crushed Amundsen 49-7 in the first round thanks to a high-powered offensive attack.
Senior wide receiver Talyn Taylor, a five-star recruit committed to Georgia, caught three touchdown passes. Quarterback Anthony Chahino threw five touchdown passes.
Geneva coach Troy Thorgesen, a former all-state quarterback from Kaneland, said the game plan was simple: Get the ball to Taylor.
“He’s obviously a stud,” Thorgesen said. “He’s one of the better players in the state. Anytime he touches the ball, it’s electric. In the playoffs, you want to give your best players a chance to make plays. You have to feed him and see what he can do. I’m very proud of him. He had a great game.”
Several Geneva players said last season’s playoff loss to Cary-Grove has motivated the team. Cary-Grove, the No. 1 seed in the top bracket, defeated Senn 71-6 in the opening round.
“The offseason we really took that Cary-Grove loss really deep and promised to work our heart and tail off and work as a group,” Chahino said.
The 7A bracket has runnerup Downers Grove North looking to take another step closer to a repeat trip to the State championship game and play host to Fenwick Saturday at 1 p.m.. Junior quarterback, Owen Lansu, a Minnesota recruit, is back on the field and healthy following a strong showing against Wheaton Warrenville South in the first round. Willowbrook, the No. 26 seed, upset No. 7 Rockton Hononegah 40-21 in the first round to earn a second-round date with St. Rita in Villa Park Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.. St. Charles North will head to Mt. Carmel for a 5 p.m. battle Saturday.
In Class 8A, Minooka will play host to Lincoln-Way East Friday at 6 p.m.. Glenbard East will welcome Stevenson to town Friday, and Maine South will play host to West Aurora Saturday.
Downers Grove South will heads to Lyons for a highly anticipated game Friday at 7 p.m., and Naperville Central will play host to Fremd Friday at 7:30 p.m.. Oswego (10-0) will try and stay undefeated in a home game Friday against York at 6:30 p.m..