The signs are all there - it's time for fall postseason
One rumble of the furnace is all it took. That and a look at the calendar.
The fall postseason is upon us.
Actually the postseason began this past week with golf regionals and now those who survived hit the links again Monday with a trip to state on the line.
Here's a quick look at what's coming up around the area this week, in addition to Week 8 of the football season, a week that has two great rivalry matchups on the schedule, the Cary-Grove vs. Crystal Lake South clash of the unbeatens, and the second oldest rivalry in the area -Burlington Central vs. Hampshire
Boys golf: Area teams and individuals will head to four different sites for sectional play. St. Edward's team will play in the Class 1A Somonauk sectional at Edgebrook, while the Hampshire team will compete in the Class 2A Wheaton Academy sectional at Pheasant Run. Individually, Elgin Academy's Christian Lynn will join Westminster Christian's Christian Benson and Brandon Weingartner at Edgebrook, while Burlington Central's Matt Allison plays at Pheasant Run. In Class 3A, South Elgin and Bartlett join a tough field in the St. Charles East sectional at St. Andrews. Larkin's Ryan Smith and Scott Harm will also play at St. Andrews. Up north, Lake Forest will host a sectional at Lake Bluff Golf Club that includes Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South as teams as well as Jacobs' Scott Cahill and Josh Kopka as individuals.
Girls golf: Sectional play for all of our area players will be at Prairieview in Byron and at Ingersoll in Rockford. St. Edward seeks to make it to the Class A state finals as a team when it competes at Byron. In Class AA, Streamwood senior Carly Schneider and Bartlett sophomore Samantha Coyne join the field at Ingersoll as members of the South Elgin co-op team. Also in the individual field at Ingersoll are Taylor Ellett, Connie Ellett and Tina Tuminaro of Hampshire; Jordan Maisto of Burlington Central; and Huntley senior Katlyn Anderberg.
Boys soccer: The Class 1A postseason kicks off this week with Westminster Christian hosting a regional. The Warriors are seeded second and could meet No. 7 seed St. Edward in a Tuesday quarterfinal. The Green Wave host North Boone Monday in a play-in game. Class 2A and Class 3A regional play begins next weekend with a handful of Saturday play-in games.
Girls tennis: With some conference meets concluding Monday because of the bad weather Friday and Saturday, those players will be cut short a day of practice leading up to next weekend's sectionals. Elgin will host the bulk of the area schools, minus Bartlett (at St. Charles East) and Cary-Grove and CL South (at Cary-Grove). Sectional play begins on Friday, weather permitting.
Cross country: Conference meets are on the docket for next weekend. Neuqua Valley plays host to the Upstate Eight meet, while Johnsburg is host of the Fox Valley Conference meet.
Girls volleyball: While the postseason is still a couple weeks away, the IHSA did release regional and sectional pairings for the state series. As expected, Elgin and Larkin will meet again, this time in the semifinals of the Class 4A Larkin regional, where South Elgin and Streamwood are on the other side of the bracket. The Larkin regional is part of the Huntley sectional with Rockford Auburn, Crystal Lake South and Barrington the other regional hosts. Cary-Grove won't have to get past South to win a regional but the Trojans will have to knock off Barrington on its home court. And South will likely meet Huntley for a regional title, a preview of which will be at Huntley Thursday night. Fourth-seeded Bartlett is the top seed at the St. Charles North regional with the host North Stars looking as a regional title-match foe.
In Class 3A, Hampshire is the No. 1 seed and Burlington Central No. 2 at the BC regional. The Whips and Rockets could meet on Halloween night for a regional title and a trip to the Rochelle sectional, while in Class 2A, St. Edward was shipped off to the Willows Academy regional, where the Green Wave is the No. 2 seed behind Immaculate Conception. And, in Class 1A, Westminster Christian hosts a regional where it is the No. 2 seed behind Hinckley-Big Rock.
Busy times, fun times. Take it all in, appreciate the athletes for their hard work, show good sportsmanship and enjoy.
jradtke@dailyherald.com