By Bobby Narang
The West Suburban Silver Conference is showing its strength in the playoffs this season.
Filled with big schools with the capability to be among the best in the State, the West Suburban Conference (WSC) Silver is led by the strong play of York and Glenbard West High Schools.
York, in the midst of the best season in program history, won all nine of its regular-season games to capture the WSC Silver championship. The Dukes, the No. 2 seed in Class 8A, opened the playoffs with a resounding 31-10 victory over Oswego East in the first round to set up a memorable second-round battle with powerhouse Marist (7-3) at 1 p.m.Saturday in Chicago. Marist beat Naperville North, 42-28.
Glenbard West (9-1) enters the second round riding a four-game losing streak since dropping a 17-13 decision to York September 30. The Hilltoppers had one of the more impressive first-round playoff victories by dispatching Lockport, 38-7, last week to set up a battle against visiting Glenbrook South (9-1) Saturday, Nov. 5 in Glen Ellyn.
Lyons is getting hot at the right time of the season following a pair of losses in a four-week stretch late in the regular season. The Lions (8-2) beat Naperville Central 26-17 in the first round to advance to a second-round match-up against host Plainfield North (10-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4.
Downers Grove North sneaked into the playoffs following two defeats in their final three regular season games, but the Trojans (7-3) crushed Lincoln Park 46-0 in the first round.
Downers Grove North coach Joe Horeni said the road victory was a key moment for the seniors.
“Not everyone makes the playoffs, so to be continuing to play in the 11th week of season is special,” Horeni said. “The kids are excited. We had a good fan turnout at Lane (in Chicago). It was nice get the younger guys in the game, too, plus to see the seniors in our last playoff team since we didn’t have a playoff in the COVID-19 year and we missed out on the playoffs last year. It was nice for them to get a taste of the playoffs.”
The Trojans have a tough task in the second round by facing off against undefeated and visiting Chicago Mt. Carmel in a Class 7A battle at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5 in Downers Grove.
“Mt. Carmel has essentially studs at every level, offensively and defensively,” Horeni said. “We’re excited about the challenge. Not many people thought we would be in this position before the start of the season. We’re motivated to keep on playing. We’ve played some tough teams throughout the year. Mt. Carmel is extremely well-coached. Their quarterback is so accurate, thrown about at an 80% completion rate, when most people are satisfied with 65%. They have an explosive running back, are big up front. We will be giving up some weight. But we’ve faced some big offensive lines. They have playmakers at so many positions. We have to limit their possessions, put together some long drives to keep their offense off the field.”