Glenbrook South football draws a No. 12 seed into Class 8A playoffs
Glenbrook South football earned a No. 12 seed into the Illinois High School Association Class 8A playoffs and drew a playoff home opener.
The Titans (8-1) host No. 21 Homewood-Flossmoor (6-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at John Davis Stadium.
Making its 25th playoff appearance and second straight, Glenbrook South tied several past teams for its second-best regular season record.
The Titans' sole loss came Sept. 23 against Maine South, 23-16. Glenbrook South comes off a 35-19 win over Evanston to earn second place in the Central Suburban League South with a 4-1 record, behind 5-0 Maine South.
Seeded No. 13 in 8A, Maine South (7-2) also earned a home opener, against No. 20 Bolingbrook.
"The regular-season record of 8-1 is another step in the right direction for our football program. Our players and assistant coaches have done a terrific job of preparing for each game and I believe our team played extremely hard and a very physical brand of football," Glenbrook South coach Dave Schoenwetter told the Herald in an email.
Glenbrook South's 1978 and 1995 teams each went 9-0 during the regular season. The 1978 team was coached by Dave Schoenwetter's father, Bob.
"The record is the second-best in school history and something that our players should be very proud of," Dave Schoenwetter said in the email. "We are looking forward to hosting a home playoff game in front of our great student body and fans."
If successful, Glenbrook South would advance to the second round against the winner between No. 5 Glenbard West (8-1) and No. 28 Lockport (5-4).
Making its 32nd state field, Loyola (8-1) drew a No. 6 seed in Class 8A. The Ramblers will host No. 27 Plainfield South (6-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hoerster Field.
Loyola, which owns three state titles and five second-place finishes, has reached at least the state semifinals 10 times since 2009.
A potential second-round game would be against the winner between No. 11 O'Fallon (8-1) and No. 22 Edwardsville (6-3). Lurking in the lower half of the 8A bracket with Loyola is CCL/ESCC Blue nemesis and No. 18 seed Marist (6-3), though they wouldn't face each other until the semifinals.
Unbeaten Lincoln-Way East and York drew the Nos. 1-2 seeds, respectively, in the playoffs' highest classification.
Undefeated Mt. Carmel, which beat Loyola 42-37 on Saturday, earned the overall No. 1 seed in Class 7A.
Gilbert goes national
Former Illinois Wesleyan University swimming standout Ellen Gilbert, a Glenbrook North graduate, is among 30 national semifinalists for the NCAA's Woman of the Year award.
Gilbert is among 10 Division III finalists for the award, which will be presented Jan. 12 in San Antonio. A selection committee will choose three finalists from each division, and the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will pick an overall winner.
Gilbert graduated last spring with a degree in psychology. Twice voted swimmer of the year in the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin, she was an eight-time individual CCIW champion and last season was a First-Team NCAA All-American.
Also a three-time Academic All-America honoree, Gilbert was inducted into two national honor societies in 2021, and served on Illinois Wesleyan's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Among other volunteer efforts, she was a tutor with Teaching Buddies, a Chicago nonprofit to help low-income students with pandemic-induced learning disabilities.