Scouting Cook and Lake County football quarterfinals
Class 8A
No. 27 Warren (7-4) at No. 14 York (9-2)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m., Clarence D. East Field, York High School, Elmhurst
Seeds: Warren is the No. 27 seed in the 32-team Class 8A bracket; York is the No. 14 seed.
Scouting Warren: Our Lake County Blue Plate Special of the Week travels down to Elmhurst off St. Charles Road. The Blue Devils downed Palatine and Barrington in the first two rounds of the 8A playoffs and now are in the quarters for the third year in a row and fifth time since 2018, facing a formidable York squad with an impressive recent playoff dossier. “York is a big, physical team that has had a lot of success in recent years,” Warren coach Bryan McNulty said. “They have a new head coach (Don Gelsomino), but have not slowed down a bit. They are fundamentally sound and will not beat themselves. They have a big, physical defense and a fast, electric quarterback (Bruno Massel). We will have to eliminate turnovers and limit explosive plays on defense.” Standout Blue Devils running back Aaron Stewart, a junior, ran 44 times for 373 yards and 5 scores in last week’s win, while junior defensive back Zion Vines-Peterson registered 8 tackles. Stewart is now up to 2,348 rushing yards on 323 carries with 32 touchdowns. McNulty called fullback Nate Brock, who plays on both sides of the ball, “a hammer all year long.” McNulty added senior center Matt Vasquez has been Warren’s most consistent performer on the offensive line, while junior linebacker Javon Brisker has provided a spark defensively in the playoffs. “Javon has a very bright future,” McNulty noted. Warren started 1-2 and now has won six of its last 8 games. “I am extremely happy with the toughness our kids have shown, especially our seniors,” McNulty said. “They are a competitive group that doesn’t look the part physically, but gets it done. They are a close group of kids who stick together in tough spots. I am also extremely proud of how our kids have continually responded to adversity. They had a tough regular season, but used all those experiences to propel them to where they are now.”
Scouting York: The Dukes are looking for a third 8A semifinal appearance in a row. “Warren has one of the best running backs (Stewart) I think I have ever seen. He’s really good,” coach Gelsomino said. “They consistently make deep playoff runs. You don’t make it this far in 8A without being very good. Warren is a great program with a great coach. You watch them on film and they are 5-4 in the regular season, but they might not really be a 5-4 playoff team. They are playing very good football right now and will take a full team effort to shut them down and shut their running back down. It’s the quarterfinals in 8A. Anything can happen.” In its road last week at No. 3-seed and previously unbeaten Oswego, York had three players rush for 100 or more yards and ran for 395 yards on the ground on 45 carries (8.8 yards per carry). Massel led the way, running 18 times for 175 yards and 3 scores. Jimmy Conners ran 11 times for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns and Henry Duda had 16 carries for 106 yards. Also keep an eye on Notre Dame recruit Joe Reiff up front. York took third in a top-heavy West Suburban Conference Silver Division that includes 11-0 unbeaten Lyons Township and fellow quarterfinalist Downers Grove North. The Dukes are 4-2 against playoff teams this season with the losses coming to LT and Downers North.
Up next: Winner gets No. 7 Naperville Central (10-1) or No. 2 Lyons Township (11-0) in the 8A semifinals.
No. 9 Stevenson (10-1) at No. 1 Lincoln-Way East (11-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.; Lincoln-Way East High School, Frankfort
Seeds: Stevenson is the No. 9 seed in the 32-team Class 8A bracket: L-W East is the No. 1 seed.
Scouting Stevenson: The North Suburban Conference co-champion Patriots are on an 8-game winning streak and find themselves in the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2014 team won the state title. Stevenson was once again impressive on both sides of the ball in its second-round win over Glenbard East, racking up 480 yards of total offense (299 rushing, 181 passing). Quarterback Aidan Crawley threw for 181 yards and 2 scores and ran 8 times for 82 yards and 1 touchdown. Fatman Thorndyke ran for 115 yards and a score, while Zach Hersh caught 4 passes for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. Aiden Elliott also scored a touchdown. Stevenson’s defense did not give up a score after the first drive of the game. Anthony Adams (8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble), D’Angelo Washington (4 tackles, 1 sack), Frank Concialdi (5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 pass breakups), Caden Schultz (6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB hurry) and David Akinbosoye (1 tackle, 1 interception) starred on defense. Crawley has thrown for 2,078 yards and 21 touchdowns, while Thorndyke has run for 867 yards and 13 touchdowns. Thomas Simmons has 743 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, while Hersh has 610 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. Putting the Stevenson defensive prowess in more focus, the Patriots have 34 quarterback sacks and 19 takeaways (14 picks and 5 fumble recoveries). Concialdi has 6 interceptions and 10 pass breakups, while Adams leads the team with 10 sacks. Luke Nelson has 6.5 sacks. Washington and Colin Schulz are tied for the team lead with 85 tackles, while Griffin Suren has 76 tackles, 7 sacks and 2 interceptions. Stevenson is 10-0 when holding opponents to 21 points or less.
Scouting Lincoln-Way East: The Griffins, who finished second in 8A in 2022 and 2023, compete in the new Southwest Valley Conference Blue Division that also includes Naperville North and Neuqua Valley from the old DuPage Valley Conference. East has piled up 444 points in 11 games, while allowing only 111. Only 2 teams have scored more than 20 points against the Griffins this season, one being perennial state power Maine South. East won that game 49-22 in Week 1. According to IHSA records, since the 2001 season with coach Rob Zovnar (243-44 in 24 years) at the wheel, the Griffins have not missed the playoffs and won state titles in 2005, 2017 and 2019 to go with 3 state runner-up finishes.
Up next: The winner gets No. 20 Maine South (8-3) or No. 12 Loyola Academy (9-2, defending 8A champion) in the 8A semifinals.
No. 20 Maine South (8-3) at No. 11 Loyola (9-2)
When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Last week: Maine South beat West Aurora 41-6; Loyola beat Marist 24-20
Previous meeting: 2019: 8A playoff 1 st round: Loyola 14, Maine South 6
Outlook: Will there be Swagger or a Hollywood finish? The teams have met 9 times in the state playoffs with Maine South beating Loyola in 2016 in the 8A state title game. Loyola does hold a 5-4 lead in their playoff matchups. Both teams got off to uncharacteristic slow starts this year with Maine South opening the year 1-3 and Loyola at 1-2. But since these two programs are some of the best in the state, it is no wonder they are right back where they usually are. The game will also be a reacquaintance for the Hawks with former offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss, who is now the quarterbacks coach at Loyola.
Scouting Maine South: The Hawks have won seven in a row. That coincides with a change at quarterback to Jameson Purcell. The sophomore has been lights out, especially in the playoffs, where he has thrown 9 touchdown passes and ran for another. That gives him 31 touchdown passes this season with 2,399 yards. Former starting quarterback Constantine Coines has become one of Purcell’s top go-to guys at wide receiver. Coines had a touchdown last week along with Joey Naughton, Jacob Vitel and Michael Dellumo. Mason Patras is also a key receiver while Dellumo is a major threat to run the ball, scoring 12 touchdowns. But it has been the Hawks defense that has stepped up, especially last week when they held West Aurora to 18 rushing yards. They are led by Tyler Fortis, Alex Cenich, Mateo Jekenkovic, Jake Cantal, Nick Hachigian, Gavin Smith and Dellumo. The Hawks have another weapon in kicker JJ Schlenhardt. The Northern Illinois commit had all 8 of his kickoffs go into the end zone last week.
“I do not believe it was a slow start, just not the record we wanted,” Maine South coach Dave Inserra said. “No panic needed, just get better at what we do and make some adjustments. The boys have responded well. Our adjustments have made us more sound on both sides of the ball. We are back in the quarterfinals for the 20th time since 1992. We do not take this lightly and cherish the significance. We have had some history with them (Loyola), mostly in the playoffs. The boys understand the significance of the opponent, but more importantly they know it is about us and how we play. That is what we can control, and we will prepare our best to do that.”
Scouting Loyola: Ramblers are the two-time defending Class 8A state champions and have turned their early season frustrations into 8 straight wins, including a 31-7 win over 7A favorite Mt. Carmel in Week 9. Loyola is led by quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald, who has overcome injuries to throw for 1,327 yards and 18 touchdowns. His top receiver is Will Carlson, who has 24 receptions, 8 for touchdowns. Gavin Vradenburg, who has 36 receptions, Conlon Kane and Brendan Loftus are also factors. The key to the offense is running back Drew MacPherson, who is a dual threat like Dellumo. MacPherson has gained 755 yards on the ground while catching a team-leading 46 passes for 594 yards and has scored 16 touchdowns. Loyola’s defense, which has been its strong point, is led by Charlie Daly, Max Mendoza, Charlie Pryor, Gavin King, John Baum, Henry Newton and Carlson.
“This deep into the playoffs every game is a challenge, and this one will be no different,” Loyola coach Beau Desherow said. “Maine South is a premiere program in the state with excellent coaching and players. We are focusing on controlling the things that we can control and are looking forward to a great game. We are playing our best football of the season. Our goal is to learn from the previous week and we look to improve on the areas that challenged us and continue to build on the areas that were successful.”
Up next: Winner plays winner of Lincoln-Way East/Stevenson