Scouting Fox second round playoff football games

Class 8A

No. 10 Warren (8-2) at No. 7 South Elgin (9-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday.

About the Blue Devils: The Blue Devils played a complete game during last weekend's 39-3 first-round victory over Oswego, rushing for 310 yards while recording 5 sacks and limiting the Panthers to 130 total yards. Senior tailback Donovan McNeal rushed for 106 yards on 15 carries, while sophomore teammate Aaron Stewart added 93 yards on 17 carries. The duo has combined for 39 touchdowns. "This season more than most, we have had a bunch of different players flourish in multiple roles," said Warren coach Bryan McNulty. "Our kids are just really hard working, tough-nosed kids who are committed to the team and not themselves." Defensively, the Blue Devils have allowed 10 total points in their last 5 games, led by senior lineman Jeremija Hixson and Aidan Porreca. "We are a young team in general, but specifically defensively," said McNulty. "Our secondary is very young. It takes game reps for kids to gain experience. They have responded well to coaching." After losing back-to-back games to Barrington and Maine South, the Blue Devils have reeled off 8 straight victories, including 4 against playoff qualifiers Lake Zurich, Stevenson, Lake Forest, and Libertyville. "Our schedule is huge for us," said the coach. "This season, we played 6 playoff teams. Our first two opponents finished 17-1 during the regular season, so that has paid huge dividends. I would assume we had the toughest schedule in the area." McNulty knows that South Elgin will be a formidable opponent. "South Elgin is tough and expects to win," he said. "They play their game and play it well. We will have to play well in all phases to be successful."

About the Storm: Last weekend's 55-6 victory over Lane Tech marked South Elgin's fourth consecutive year with a first-round playoff win. It also was the 100th career coaching victory for Storm coach Dragan Teonic. Nicolas Barkho returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown, while Stewart Williams returned a punt 56 yards for another touchdown. London Leflore, who is the team's leading tackler at linebacker, saw playing time in the offensive backfield and rushed for a 5-yard touchdown against Lane Tech. Now, the Storm is preparing for a talented Warren squad. "Warren is a team that plays to its strengths well," said Teonic. "They have very good line play on both sides of the ball. Their toughness is apparent. They are like us in our style of play and consistency within their conference. You can tell football matters at Warren." The biggest challenge facing the Storm defense? "Warren's physicality and their running back tandem of Aaron Stewart and Donovan McNeal," said the coach. "That has been everyone's challenge this year." Teonic welcomes the opportunity to play a second-round game at home. - on natural grass. "We've been fortunate to be in this situation two years in a row," he said. "It helps to avoid playing on turf." South Elgin is looking to get over that proverbial hump and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time. "Of course we are, but we don't take this level of consistency lightly, as it is very rare to be in this situation," said Teonic. "At some point, we will bust through to the next level ... some team at this school will do that. It might as well be us." The winner will advance to next weekend's quarterfinals against either No. 2 Lincoln-Way East or No. 15 Minooka.

No. 8 Huntley (9-1) at No. 24 St. Ignatius (7-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday.

About the Red Raiders: Huntley defeated Niles West 26-14 in the first round. ... The Red Raiders are in the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years. ... RB Haiden Janke had another big game last week with 152 yards and three touchdowns, making it his fifth three-TD game this season. ... QB Braylon Bower has completed 74.5% of his passes for 1,274 yards and 14 touchdowns. ... The Raiders made their longest playoff run in school history in 2001 when they lost to Driscoll in the Class 4A semifinals. With a win, they can equal their best run in the larger classes with the 2016 team that reached the Class 8A quarterfinals. ... Huntley was ranked No. 7 in The Associated Press Class 8A poll. Its only loss was to Prairie Ridge 27-14 in Week 4.

About the Wolfpack: St. Ignatius beat Joliet West 39-6 in the first round. ... The Wolfpack lost to Prairie Ridge 21-19 in last year's Class 6A semifinals, which was the third playoff appearance in school history. ... St. Ignatius started the season 2-3 and has won five consecutive games since. The Wolfpack's last loss came against Nazareth, 21-13 in Week 5. ... St. Ignatius' other losses were against Fenwick (27-13) in Week 2 and Brother Rice (28-6) in Week 3. ... Defensive lineman Justin Scott (6-foot-4, 310 pounds) is one of the state's top players, a five-star recruit, and committed to Ohio State. Scott was the CCL/ESCC Green Division Lineman of the Year.

Up next: The winner advances to meet the winner between No. 16 Neuqua Valley (7-3) vs. No. 1 Loyola (10-0) in the quarterfinals.

Class 7A

Lincoln-Way Central (9-1) at Batavia (9-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Last matchup: First meeting

About the Knights: The whatever-it-takes philosophy of Lincoln-Way Central paid dividends again for the Knights in their opening-round win over Jacobs. The Knights were outgained and had to settle for three different promising drives that ended in field goals. But Andrew Schiller is almost automatic from inside 30 yards, and those nine points ultimately accounted for the difference in the game. That was required, as RB Anthony Noto was held under 100 yards for one of the few times all season, which made the contribution of three forced then recovered fumbles absolutely critical to Lincoln-Way Central's fortunes. The stat sheet wasn't pretty at the end, but the end result suited the Knights fine.

About the Bulldogs: One would be hard-pressed to find a team playing better football than Batavia, which overwhelmed Brother Rice in the opening round. QB Ryan Boe is in the midst of a spectacular senior season. He's thrown for over 2,100 yards and 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He's also run for 10 touchdowns. Five different Bulldogs have at least 20 receptions, led by Charlie Whelpley. Defensively, Charlie Osborne and Ben Fiegel lead the way, but this really is a team defense as 10 different players have recorded at least a portion of a quarterback sack, and a whopping 17 of them have recorded at least one tackle for loss. Batavia carries a plus-14 turnover ratio into Week 11.

Class 6A

No. 7 Geneva (8-2) at No. 15 Lake Forest (6-4)

When: 7 p.m., Friday

Last matchup: First known meeting since at least 1996

About the Scouts: Lake Forest is led by quarterback Daniel Van Camp and he's flanked by some standouts in Martin Hippel and Charlie Markee who appear to be difference-makers. Lake Forest survived a three-game skid in the regular season but beat Mundelein to secure their spot in the playoffs.

About the Vikings: Geneva breezed past Senn High School 50-8 last week. The Vikings, after a strong DuKane Conference slate, only have two losses by a combined four points. Even without the availability of wideout Talyn Taylor for the past several weeks, the offense has hummed along with Nate Stempowski, Finn Weppner, Troy Velez and others along the way. Standout linebacker Tommy Diamond is, well, at the center of their defense and is one of the best linebackers in the DKC.

Up next: The winner plays either Cary-Grove (8-2) or Highland Park (7-3)

Lake Zurich (9-1) at Kaneland (7-3)

When: Saturday, 4 p.m.

Seeds: Lake Zurich is the No. 1 seed in the top half of the Class 6A bracket; Kaneland is the No. 9 seed

Outlook: A hefty bus ride out to Maple Park near DeKalb for Lake Zurich for this second-round matchup with Kaneland. "Kaneland is a traditional playoff qualifier and a team that knows how to win," Bears coach Ron Planz said. "They are athletic and play very well at home. There is going to be a lot of adversity for us this week with the game being far from home, in a new stadium against a new opponent. We need to make sure our guys tune out all noise and play Lake Zurich football." Lake Zurich has won the turnover battle throughout the season. The Bears sit at plus-10 with four of their own turnovers coming with subs in games that had turned into blowouts. "So, we are really at plus-14," Planz said. "The turnover margin has been big for us." Planz likes how senior offensive lineman Trevor Schuetz has played this season. "Trevor has been our utility man on the offensive line all year," he said. "He has played guard, tackle and center. He is an underrated, yet extremely important part of our team." Senior Logan Cunningham also has been a rock for the Bears. "Logan is our true ironman," Planz said. "He is a two-way starter for us on the offensive and defensive lines. He plays nearly every snap for us." Some notables from Lake Zurich's 21-7 opening-round win against Crystal Lake Central: Lucas Lappin passed for 109 yards and ran for 78 more and recorded 2 rushing touchdowns. Chris Pirrone had a rushing touchdown and provided insurance after the game was tied 7-7 at one point. Jackson Piggott had 59 receiving yards. Lake Zurich held only a 56-51 advantage in plays run and only had a 48-yard delta in total yards. Two keys: Lake Zurich's defense held Crystal Lake Central to a poverty 1-for-9 on third downs and was plus-1 in the take-away department. On the season, Lappin has thrown for 660 yards and 3 scores and has run for 422 yards (6.49 yards per carry) and 7 touchdowns. Pirrone has a shot at a 1,000-yard season this week. He's at 908 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Piggott has caught 21 passes for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns. Lincoln Adams has 1 sack and 8 tackles for loss, while Cason Gwizdala had 4 sacks and 5 tackles for loss. Nate Snep has 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss, while Nolan Siko has 5 interceptions. The Bears have 12 picks and 8 fumble recoveries as a team. Christopher Chang has 2 defensive touchdowns to his credit. Kaneland quarterback Troyer Carlson (6-2, 200) has completed 104 passes for 1,830 yards and 20 touchdowns. He's also run for 362 yards and 6 scores. Aric Johnson (6-1, 190) has 882 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He's also run for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns. Running back Josh Mauthe (6-2, 200) has 957 rushing yards and 15 scores. Wide receiver Dom Deblasio has 587 yards receiving (5 touchdowns) and 300 rushing yards (7 touchdowns rushing). "Lake Zurich is a solid football program and has a very good football team this year," Kaneland coach Mike Thorgesen said. "They have a very tough defense and can run the ball very well. Our team has been successful because we are senior led, have an explosive offense and have been getting much better on the defensive side of the ball." The Knights have played four teams still alive in the playoffs and are 1-3, defeating Wauconda (a 5 seed in 6A) and losing to Morris (a 1 seed in 5A), Sycamore (a 5 seed in 5A) and downstate Washington (a 2 seed in 6A).

Up next: The winner plays either No. 5 Wauconda (8-2) or No. 4 Belvidere North (8-2) in the 6A quarterfinals.

No. 3 Cary-Grove (8-2) at No. 11 Highland Park (7-3)

When: 2 p.m. Saturday.

About the Trojans: C-G defeated Libertyville 49-6 in the first round. ... The Trojans are 58-24 in their playoff history with Class 6A state championships in 2009, 2018 and 2021. C-G has won six consecutive playoff games and won 13 of its last 14 postseason games. ... C-G's offense is really clicking with FB Logan Abrams (1,140 yards), RB Andrew Prio (852) and QB Peyton Seaburg (526). Abrams has 16 rushing touchdowns and Prio averages 14.2 yards a carry. ... The Trojans are in the playoff for the 18th time in 19 years and advanced to at least the quarterfinals all but three times during that run.

About the Giants: Highland Park beat Chicago Mather 56-6 in the first round. ... The Giants finished second in the Central Suburban Conference North Division behind Maine West, which they lost to 20-19. ... Highland Park's other losses came to Deerfield (21-16) in Week 2 and Conant (64-34) in Week 4. ... The Giants have won five consecutive games since a 2-3 start. ... Highland Park's win last week was its first playoff victory since 2009. The Giants have made the postseason five times since 2013.

Up next: The winner advances to meet the winner between No. 7 Geneva (8-2) vs. No. 15 Lake Forest (6-4) in the quarterfinals next week.

Class 1A

No. 6 Aurora Christian (8-2) at No. 3 Hope Academy (9-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday at Altgeld Park, Chicago.

About the Aurora Christian Eagles: Last week, Aurora Christian kicked off the playoffs with a convincing 38-7 first-round victory over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley. Sophomore quarterback Jalen Carter passed for 219 yards and a 15-yard touchdown strike to Vinny Delgado, while adding a 1-yard touchdown run. Owen Hampton had 5 catches for 88 yards, while scoring a defensive touchdown on a 45-yard interception return. Hampton finished with 10 tackles. Drew Kegebein rushed for a 5-yard touchdown. Linebacker Rudy Griffing paced the Eagles with 13 tackles, while teammate Lamari Hall had 11 tackles, including 1 ½ sacks, 2 ½ tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. "The defense was very good last Friday," said Eagles coach David Beebe. "Coach (Nate) Perry, our defensive coordinator, did a great job of preparing our defense. The offense struggled at times but made it count when we needed to." This will be a rematch of the Week 3 contest, won by Aurora Christian, 27-22. In that game, Carter threw 3 touchdown passes, while Jonan Miceli had 4 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Aurora Christian handed Hope Academy its lone loss. "Hope does just about everything well," said Beebe. "The biggest thing that stands out about them is their overall team speed. We definitely have our work cut out for us." The winner advances to the quarterfinals against either No. 2 Stark County (10-0) or No. 10 Oneida ROWVA Coop (8-2) next weekend.

About the Hope Academy Eagles: While this is the Eagles' 10 consecutive postseason appearance (full season), they are looking to advance past the second round for the first time in school history. Quarterback Eddie Jenkins runs the show offensively, as he has thrown 14 touchdown passes and rushed for 4 touchdowns. His favorite target is Jamari West, who caught touchdown passes covering 71 and 14 yards, respectively, during Hope Academy's 58-6 first-round win over Peru St. Bede last weekend. West has 9 TDs on the season. Tailback Jamarkus Lofton, who has scored 11 touchdowns this season, carried the ball 13 times for 204 yards and a pair of TDs against Peru St. Bede. Defensively, the Eagles are led by middle linebacker Jaeveon Hilton (averages 7 tackles per game), and safety Aaron Green, who had 7 tackles and an interception last weekend. West, who doubles as a cornerback on defense, recorded a pick-6 against Peru St. Bede.