Playoff conditions favorable for area teams
The whirlwind is past. We know which area teams are in the state high school football playoffs. We know who is in which class. We know the first-round matchups, and we have had a chance to project which matchups could happen when as the tournament progresses toward a climax on Thanksgiving weekend.
And if it is fair to make a generalization, I do not know if things could have worked out much better for our 11 area qualifiers. There is a bit of good news for just about everyone.
Let's take a closer look by class:
Bolingbrook (9-0) -- The Raiders are the No. 1 seed in the lower (southern) bracket and drew Chicago Curie (5-4) for Friday night's 7 p.m. opener. Curie has lost to Mount Carmel 49-7, Stagg 15-13, Sterling 42-7 and Lane 34-14. We know a little something about Stagg and Sterling from games those schools played against other Joliet area competition. Bolingbrook is a decided favorite and, if there is a rematch against Downers Grove South in Week 2, the Raiders would be at home.
Plainfield C. (8-1) -- The Wildcats are the No. 4 seed in the lower bracket and entertain Belleville East (6-3). The Lancers, who lost 40-0 to powerful East St. Louis in Week 8 and have scored 11 fewer points than their opponents, are facing a 232-mile bus ride to Plainfield for Friday's 7 p.m. game, and that could play into the Wildcats' hands. Incidentally, a rematch with Brother Rice, which ousted Plainfield Central in Round 1 last season, could happen in Week 2, but at least that game would be at Plainfield.
Lincoln-Way Central (6-3) -- The Knights are the No. 10 seed in the lower bracket and visit Chicago Marist (7-2) at 8 p.m. Friday. It will not be easy for Lincoln-Way Central, which may be the biggest opening-round underdog among our area's 11 playoff teams, but that's not to say the Knights are a big underdog, if that makes sense. Marist's biggest win was 21-8 over Carmel in Week 3. JCA later beat Marist 29-14. The RedHawks average nearly 30 points per game.The Knights, though, have been battle tested in Southwest Suburban Blue.
Lincoln-Way East (8-1) -- The Griffins, the third seed in the lower bracket, face an athletic bunch from Waubonsie Valley (6-3) in Round 1 at 7 p.m. Friday. The Warriors dropped their first three games to playoff qualifiers Naperville Central, Prairie Ridge and St. Charles East and now have won six straight. But none of the six was over anyone close to the caliber of East. Next week, The Griffins will host Mount Carmel. Can't wait for that one.
Class 6A
The mild surprise is Lemont being in the upper (northern) bracket. The non-surprise is JCA and Providence Catholic being on a collision course in Round 2. All three of our area qualifiers are strong defensively, and all three may need to crank up the passing game to complement their strong running attacks if they hope to play in Champaign on Thanskgiving weekend.
Lemont (9-0) -- The No. 1-seeded Indians are hosting a Lake Forest team (5-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday that has been outscored by its opposition and has lost to Stevenson 33-0, Warren 42-21, Lake Zurich 48-17 and Libertyville 24-7. The Indians will roll on. However, a potential meeting with Morgan Park looms in Chicago in Round 2. If the Warriors survive this week's trip to Crystal Lake Central, next week's game will be a great one.
JCA (7-2) -- The Hilltoppers are the third seed in the first quadrant of the lower bracket, and they will tangle with Crete-Monee (6-3) at 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium. The Warriors of former University of St. Francis standout Jerry Verde, remember, gave JCA a good run last year in the playoffs. This time around, they are limiting opponents to 10 points per game. Crete's losses came in Weeks 1-3 to playoff qualifiers Crystal Lake South 7-0, Rock Island 7-6 and Thornton 18-12. Far fewer points will be scored than a year ago, but this one still has a Hilltopper flavor.
Providence (5-4) -- The Celtics are No. 7 in the same quadrant as JCA and will visit Oak Forest (8-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. The seeds say the Celtics are underdogs. Most observers in this area feel otherwise. Lemont beat Oak Forest 31-7 late in the season, and Providence is an outstanding defensive team, as demonstrated by the Celtics' track record in the Catholic Blue. I feel we are going to get that JCA at Providence matchup in Round 2.
Class 5A
Morris (5-4) -- The Redskins barged into the playoffs with a 21-13 victory over Plainfield North in Week 9 and are the No. 11 seed in the 16-team upper bracket. But that does not mean they are not in position to make some noise. They open at 2 p.m. Saturday against Chicago Manley (6-3) at Hanson Stadium. Manley opened the season at Geneseo and lost 49-0. Enough said.
Class 4A
Reed-Custer (7-2) -- The Comets, the No. 3 seed in the 16-team upper bracket, scored an impressive 26-0 shutout over Coal City late in the season and will host Richmond-Burton (5-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday. Richmond-Burton began the season with three losses, and three of the four losses are to playoff teams. Reed-Custer has won four straight is primed to move on.
Coal City (6-3) -- The Coalers are the No. 8 seed in the 16-team upper bracket and will entertain Interstate Eight Large foe Sandwich (6-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday. Coal City perhaps grabbed the psychological advantage with a 35-14 win over Sandwich in Week 6, and the Coalers finished the season with a road win at Plano.
Class 3A
Wilmington (9-0) -- The Wildcats (9-0) were short on playoff points so they are the third seed in the 16-team upper bracket. They open at home against St. Joseph-Ogden, which knocked them from the playoffs last season, at 6 p.m. Saturday. St. Joe-Ogden is a perennial power and handed Momence its only loss 12-7. But the Spartans also have lost to four playoff teams, and playing at Wilmington is a tall order, beginning with having to experience the ultimate pregame festivity.
Our picks have not been made yet, but my feeling is all of our Gridiron panelists will be picking a majority of our teams to move on to Round 2. Realistically, we could not have hoped for much more than that.
