Preview: Football playoffs
Class 7A
No. 7 St. Charles East (8-2) at No. 2 Cary-Grove (10-0)
When: Saturday at 6 p.m. at Al Bohrer Field
Round 1: Cary-Grove 47, Guilford 0; St. Charles East 17, Lake Zurich 13
Outlook: Cary-Grove is seeking its fourth quarterfinal berth in five seasons. To beat St. Charles East the swarming Cary-Grove defense must find a way to limit the production of Saints senior running back Wes Allen, who this week was named offensive MVP of the Upstate Eight Conference. Allen has carried 291 times for 1,906 yards and 28 touchdowns. "He's just a very good high school running back," Trojans coach Bruce Kay said. "He runs outside, inside, he runs with power and he finishes all his runs. He's very good fundamentally, and we're going to need a lot of guys to take him down. They have that big offensive line that moves people, so it's a real challenge." The Saints rallied last week from a 13-3 deficit to beat defending Class 7A champion Lake Zurich 17-13. Allen rushed for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winner with 1:03 to play. He'll face a Cary-Grove defense that has held its last six opponents to a total of 19 points, a span in which the Trojans recorded 3 shutouts. The Trojans are as healthy as they've been since Week 3, when gamebreaker Alex Hembrey suffered a leg injury. The triple-option offense could give the Saints trouble; no teams in the Upstate Eight run that complicated offense, making it particularly tough to defend after one week of practice. "Anytime you've got to defend the triple option you've got to cover the whole field and you can't miss tackles," Saints coach Ted Monken said. "It's so timing related. And when you give a coach like Bruce Kay and those guys time to start doing their job, then they get faster and faster at doing it and it becomes more difficult to defend. That's why a lot of teams practice without a football."
Advancement: The winner will face the winner of Saturday's 1 p.m. game between No. 6 Crystal Lake South (8-2) at No. 3 Rockford Boylan (10-0). If they advance to the quarterfinals, the Trojans would host Boylan or play at Crystal Lake South.
Class 6A
No. 5 Huntley (9-1) at No. 13 Grant (7-3)
When: today at 7 p.m.
Round 1: Huntley 70, Batavia 63; Grant 32, Vernon Hills 31, 2OT
Outlook: Huntley is seeking its first quarterfinal berth since 2001 in its second postseason appearance since 1974. Grant, which is making its fourth straight playoff appearance, lost in the second round last season to Lemont. The Bulldogs have never advanced beyond the second round. Huntley proved two things last week in a jaw-dropping 70-63 win over Batavia: its offense can run at will, but its defense cannot stop a good passing team. Grant junior quarterback Justin Cokefair has rushed for 680 yards and 10 touchdowns in the option offense, but he entered the playoffs with only 372 passing yards and 2 scoring throws. However, he was without his No. 1 receiver most of the season, senior receiver Tommy Bychowski. He had 56 receptions last year but was sidelined for most of the regular season with mononucleosis. Bychowski returned in Week 9 to make 5 catches for 72 yards, and he caught the winning 2-point conversion in double overtime last week to beat Vernon Hills. "Their quarterback does an adequate job of breaking containment and throwing the football, and they've got a hotshot receiver back who is a tremendous athlete," Huntley coach Steve Graves said. "They like to throw the ball to him and get him the ball in a variety of ways." Bychowski also scored a rushing touchdown on a pitchout last week. Grant junior fullback Dan Hourihan ran for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns against Vernon Hills. Huntley counters with one of the state's top rushers in Jordan Neukirch. The Illinois State recruit has rushed for 1,641 yards and 21 touchdowns. Last week he rushed for 266 yards and on 23 carries and scored 4 touchdowns, including the game-winner with 40 seconds left. Junior running back Brett Kleckner is also a quality back. He rushed for 248 yards last week on only 13 carries. "Their defense is pretty stingy and we know we're going to have trouble scoring points," Graves said. "We think this game will be a lot lower scoring, and we think our defense will come back and play better defense against the run."
Advancement: The winner will play the winner of Saturday's 3 p.m. between No. 1 Lemont (10-0) and No. 9 Morgan Park (7-3). If Huntley wins, the Red Raiders would host a quarterfinal against Morgan Park. They would travel to Lemont.
Class 7A
No. 6 Crystal Lake South (8-2) at No. 3 Boylan (10-0)
When: Saturday at 1 p.m.
Round 1: Crystal Lake South 24, St. Charles North 21; Boylan 24, Libertyville 14
Outlook: CL South is seeking its second quarterfinal appearance in four seasons. Boylan is aiming for its third straight appearance in a quarterfinal. Last season the Titans lost in the quarterfinals to eventual state champion Lake Zurich, 28-17. Boylan's offense adapts to what defenses present. The Titans have operated out of the shotgun spread and a wing-T scheme this season. They lost two-year starting quarterback Zach Lane to a torn ACL in practice in Week 9. Backup Michael Morman has completed 24-of-44 passes for 355 yards and 9 touchdowns in limited duty. Last week Morman ran for 52 yards and completed 11-of-16 passes for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns against Libertyville. Running backs Will Sahlstrom (58 carries, 712 yards, 8 TDs) and Paul Barmore (70-702-8) can both do damage. "They're a solid football team with a lot of very good high school football players," CL South coach Jim Stuglis said. "For us to overcome that we'll have to play a good football game and limit the mistakes, like we did last Friday night." The Gators enter the second round with growing confidence after last week's win over St. Charles North. The Gators can run the ball effectively with junior tailback Colin Masterson (129 carries, 880 yards, 9 TDs) and senior fullback Derek Mortensen (118-455-4), but they are hardly one-dimensional thanks to the passing of first-year quarterback Drew Ormseth. The sophomore has completed 54-of-108 attempts for 1,023 yards and 14 touchdowns. His top targets are Masterson out of the backfield and tight end Vince Benedetto, who has 8 receptions for 188 yards and 2 scores. Masterson reminds the Titans of one of their own. "We liken him to Paul Barmore," Boylan coach Dan Appino said. "They're very similar runners, about the same size with great wheels and very shifty. (Benedetto) is a scary kid, too. When you see him on film, he's a tremendous blocker with great hands. We don't have somebody who matches up with him very well."
Advancement: The winner will play the winner of Saturday's 6 p.m. game between No. 7 St. Charles East (8-2) and No. 2 Cary-Grove (10-0). If the Gators advance to a quarterfinal, they will host regardless of the opponent.
Class 8A
No. 5 Warren Blue Devils (9-1) at No. 13 Schaumburg Saxons (6-4)
When: 5 p.m., Saturday
Last week: Warren def. York, 21-9; Schaumburg def. Glenbrook South, 20-16.
Playoff history: Warren is making its second straight playoff appearance after missing in 2006. Before that, the Blue Devils had made seven straight appearances, including a quarterfinal finish in 2001. Last year, Warren was ousted in the first round by Loyola. Schaumburg missed the playoffs last year and is making its fourth appearance since 2000. In 1999, the Saxons were the Class 6A runners-up, losing to Naperville Central.
Scouting Warren: The Blue Devils scored all 21 of their points against York in the first half and then the defense went to work, Warren held York in check largely by forcing 4 turnovers. The Blue Devils, who are allowing a North Suburban Lake Division-low 14.1 points per game, were active and pressured York's quarterback incessantly. Offensively, the player of the game for Warren was senior Aaron Montgomery. He had one of the best 60-second stretches of the season when he rushed for a touchdown, picked off a pass on defense on the very next play and threw a halfback option touchdown pass on the next play. Sophomore running back Tom Lindal rushed for 120 yards on 15 carries, and wide receiver Ryan Maguire hauled in a pretty 39-yard touchdown pass from Zach Shaw. The Blue Devils are averaging 29.1 points per game.
Scouting Schaumburg: Schaumburg placed fourth in the Mid-Suburban West with a 2-3 record and narrowly qualified for the playoffs with a 5-4 record. The Saxons are 2-2 in their last four games and are averaging 30.3 points per game while allowing 30 points per game. The Saxons earned some respect by knocking off a heavyweight in Glenbrook South. In a wild finish, the two teams scored 4 touchdowns in the final 3:43. Schaumburg's Mike Valenti recovered a Glenbrook South onside kick to put an end to the scoring and the game. Valenti was a key factor prior to that. He caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Iannotti (104 passing yards), and he also intercepted 2 passes. On the season, Iannotti has passed for more than 2,000 yards. But the Saxons aren't just a passing team. Sophomore running back Shepard Little ran for 124 yards on 29 carries against Glenbrook South and has more than 1,200 yards on the season. Defensively, the Saxons showed some heart, making 5 fourth-down stops against the Titans.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 8 Fremd vs. No. 1 Bartlett in the quarterfinals.
• Patricia Babcock McGraw contributed to this report.