Bracket breakdown: Round 2 proves there’s still upset potential in football playoffs

High school football doesn't usually feature perfectly balanced competition.

But Round 2 of the IHSA playoffs brought some of the genuine upsets and dramatic craziness that make sports fun to watch.

Case No. 1: There was no reason to give Wheaton North much of a chance in a DuKane Conference rematch against Geneva, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in Class 6A. Just four weeks earlier, the Vikings beat Wheaton North 42-14.

Sophomore quarterback Grant Neibch threw an interception that led to Geneva's go-ahead touchdown with 1:23 on the clock. Trailing 35-30, Neibch came right back to lead an 80-yard drive, hitting four receivers in the process, and Johnny Clayton made an acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone for the game-winner with 1.6 seconds left on the scoreboard clock.

Case No. 2: The ending of Antioch vs. Sycamore deservedly went viral. The host Sequoits trailed 32-28 with 3.4 seconds on the clock and had the ball at their own 42-yard line. Quarterback Ethan Patel uncorked a long pass that landed near the 15-yard line.

Two Sycamore defenders jumped to knock down the pass. They collided in the air, both fell to the ground, and the ball bounced off the back of one of those Spartans. Antioch receiver Chance Verden caught the ball in the air and ran into the end zone as players poured off the Sycamore sideline in celebration.

The referees did not signal touchdown, had a discussion and ruled an inadvertent whistle. Antioch was given an untimed down from the 15-yard line, Patel's pass was incomplete and Sycamore won.

Antioch's touchdown should have counted, that much seems clear. But maybe another lesson here is don't let Sycamore sophomore quarterback Chaz Wright drive 89 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in the final three minutes and put yourself in a Hail Mary situation.

Let's check the playoff brackets heading into quarterfinal week:

Class 8A

The obvious highlight here is Mount Carmel at Lincoln-Way East. No. 1 vs. No. 2 shouldn't happen in the quarterfinals, but the IHSA bases seeds on records and wins by opponents. The Caravan lost twice in the regular season, thus dropping to the No. 8 seed.

Mount Carmel is the most talented team in the state, but often times in high school football, it’s not about which team has the best player, but who has the best 22nd player. Lincoln-Way East built its dynasty by always having that best 22nd player, but will it be enough in this matchup?

Two Class 8A games are regular-season rematches — Bolingbrook beat Oswego, while Loyola topped St. Ignatius. Wheaton North proved the tables can turn.

Huntley has been to the semifinals once in school history, in 2001. New Trier has also been once, in 1982. One of those streaks ends this week. Beating Homewood-Flossmoor was the Trevians' best playoff win in a long time.

Class 7A

On paper it feels like this should be a drama-free week. Brother Rice, plus the higher seeds in the other three games (East St. Louis, Hersey, Downers Grove North), seem like heavy favorites.

If the chalk holds, it would set up a pair of great semifinal matchups. Two national powers, Brother Rice and ESL, would square off. Then Hersey against DGN would feature maybe the best offense ever from the suburbs, against a historically good DGN defense.

Class 6A

We could have gotten a fascinating individual matchup this week — Geneva's Bennett Konkey against Fenwick's Jake Thies. The defending state champ in the 100 meters against one of the most explosive runners the state has seen. Illinois commit (Konkey) vs. Iowa commit (Thies).

By the way, Thies was asked recently if he's ever run track, and the answer was “not really.” He's played basketball throughout high school and decided to use the spring to focus on weightlifting. So there's been no Konkey vs. Thies race. Thanks to Wheaton North's upset, it won't happen this week, either. Maybe someday in the Big Ten.

At this point Fenwick vs. Nazareth is a realistic 6A title game. So is a battle of the Wheatons.

Class 5A

Providence made it through a tricky quadrant, beating Kankakee and Morgan Park. Are we headed toward a rematch of last year's Celtics vs. St. Francis title game? Yes, until proven otherwise.

Cary-Grove could offer that resistance against St. Francis this week, while undefeated Mahomet-Seymour has been eager to prove itself and could face Providence in the semifinals.

Class 4A

With last week's convincing victory over Montini, Morris is the clear favorite to win its first state title since 2005. Rochester and Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin are still looming on the other side of the bracket.

Class 3A

IC Catholic Prep lost to Byron last year in the quarterfinals. Could it happen again this week? Unlikely. The Knights could probably win it all in 6A this season.

Class 2A

Aurora Christian is still alive and visits undefeated El Paso-Gridley on Saturday. Coach David Beebe's team hasn't been to the quarterfinals since 2018.

Quick hitters

· This was the Year of the Quarterback in the Chicago area, with high-level recruits like Hersey's Jake Nawrot (Kentucky), Montini's Israel Abrams (Miami), Maine South's Jameson Purcell (Indiana) and New Trier's Jackie Ryder (Purdue), among others.

The Class of '28 doesn't have the recruit rankings, but several juniors are still alive in the playoffs and stating their case. That list includes Huntley's Malik Carter, Wheaton Warrenville South's A.J. Rogers, Morris' Marion Persich, Loyola's Matthew Lee and Fenwick's Myles Hill.

· We're down to two teams left that would have missed the playoffs under the old format. No surprise, it's St. Francis and Nazareth — two teams that were ranked at the start of the season but took some lumps in the CCL Green.

Neither Nazareth nor St. Francis has really been tested yet in the playoffs, though that could change with St. Francis visiting Cary-Grove this week. Nazareth will be heavily favored against Quincy, which followed up its 88-84 win over Goode with a much more normal 24-21 victory against East Moline.

· The Chicago Public League bowed out of the state playoffs by going 0-5 in Round 2. Kenwood put up a fight against undefeated Normal Community. The Broncos tied the game in final seconds of regulation, went for two and quarterback Malachi Henigan was stopped inches short of the goal line on a likely game-winning conversion.

In overtime Kenwood scored on its possession but was called for holding during a successful two-point attempt. That wiped out the points and on the second try, a pass was intercepted. Normal scored on its possession and kicked an extra point for the 49-48 win.

Morgan Park's Ronald Smith Jr. threw for 417 yards against Providence, but the Mustangs made too many mistakes in a 42-34 defeat.

Bold predictions

It's tempting to ride the chalk this week. The biggest toss-up is New Trier at Huntley. For an upset pick, let's go with Notre Dame to keep it going in Class 6A by beating Harlem.