Scouting Fox Valley second round playoff games
Class 8A
No. 4 West Aurora (10-0) at No. 20 Maine South (7-3)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Last week: West Aurora beat Huntley 31-21; Maine South beat Naperville North 49-42
Previous meeting: 2016 playoffs: Maine South 42, West Aurora 40
Outlook: This game has all the marks of a high-scoring shootout. Maine South is averaging 40 points per game this season. The Hawks have been flying high since landing on Jameson Purcell as their starter at quarterback. The sophomore is coming off a game where he threw for 513 yards and six touchdowns. He has thrown 25 TDs for the season, completing 73% of his passes for 2,119 yards. Jack Naughton has 52 receptions for 739 yards, Mason Patras has 40 receptions for 641 yards while Jacob Vitel has 31 catches for 610 yards. Michael Dellumo is a dual threat to defend. The senior running back has 33 catches for 322 yards while he has rushed for 727 yards and 11 touchdowns. “People will say we had a slow start, but we were two plays away from being 3-1, not 1-3, versus some of the best competition in the state,” Maine South coach Dave Inserra said. “We have made a few changes to put the right kids in the right spots. The main objective at 1-3 was not to panic, stick together, trust what Maine South football is all about, and not worry who gets the credit. Our boys have done that.”
West Aurora, which is averaging 51 points per game, won its 10th game to tie a school mark for wins. The 2024 Blackhawks are also the only West Aurora football team to be unbeaten this late in the season. “It’s been a special season,” West Aurora coach Nate Elmer said. “We have tied the school record for wins. We are continuing to get better each week.” West Aurora is led by junior quarterback Mason Atkins, who has completed 73% of his passes for 1,436 yards and 31 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 224 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Blackhawks have weapons and depth at both wide receiver and running back. Reese Powers has 30 catches for 458 yards and 9 touchdowns, Kewon Marshall has 24 receptions for 380 yards and 7 touchdowns while Terrence Smith has 19 catches for 254 yards and 8 touchdowns. West Aurora also boasts a trio of running backs in Azuriah Sylvester, who has 479 yards and 10 touchdowns, Bryce Riley, who has 448 yards and four touchdowns along with Michael Williams, who has run for 444 yards and four touchdowns.
Advancement: Winner plays winner of Marist/Loyola
Class 7A
No. 3 St. Charles North (9-1) at No. 19 Mt. Carmel (7-3)
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
About the North Stars: St. Charles North saw its win streak extend to six games after securing a dominant 49-14 victory at home over No. 30 Rolling Meadows. The North Stars have now made it to the second round six times in eight postseasons under coach Rob Pomazak, and will be looking to make their third quarterfinal with a win. QB Ethan Plumb continued his excellent play during the second half of the season in the win, throwing for 400 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns in the contest. He wasn’t the only player to make history on the night, as WR Keaton Reinke had a school-record 210 receiving yards in the contest, while also becoming the first North Star player to record over 1,000 receiving yards in a season. This will be the first time North has faced Mount Carmel since their matchup in the state semifinal in 2018, where current New York Giant Tyler Nubin carried the North Stars to a 27-21 victory to advance to their first and only state title game.
About the Caravan: After being limited to just seven points in their final regular season game against Loyola Academy the week before, Mount Carmel went right back to its winning ways with a dominant 56-14 victory over No. 14 Harlem. The two-time defending Class 7A champions managed to put up 49 points by halftime in the victory, with QB and Vanderbilt commit Jack Elliott leading the way through the air, while Danyil Taylor and Madden Taylor controlled the ground game. The Caravan have made it to the quarterfinals in each of the last six playoffs, with Glenbard West being the last team to take them down in the second round back in 2015, the same season the Hilltoppers went on to win it all.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of No. 11 Prospect (8-2) at No. 6 Normal Community (9-1).
No. 4 Batavia (9-1) at No. 20 Lincoln-Way West (7-3)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Bulldogs: Batavia looked to be in peak postseason form in the first round, putting up 47 points in the first half alone in a 54-13 victory over No. 29 Collinsville. It marks the ninth straight season that the Bulldogs have appeared in the second round of the playoffs, with their last first-round exit coming in 2014. The Bulldogs’ defense held the Kahoks to just 15 yards of total offense in the first half before being subbed out. WR Isaiah Brown was the main focus of the offense in the win, picking up 109 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the game. The Bulldogs also showed off the excellence of their backfield duos, with RBs Nathan Whitwell and Greyson Kelly combining for three touchdowns and QBs Bodi Anderson and Michael Vander Luitgaren combined for 200 passing yards and four touchdowns. The two teams last faced off in the 2017 quarterfinals, where the Bulldogs won 20-10 before preceding to take the Class 7A title.
About the Warriors: Lincoln-Way West is making its 13th appearance in the playoffs in 15 years. The Warriors’ offense, led by QB Chase Hetfleisch, has recorded over 30 points in each of their wins this season, and over 40 in all but their 34-7 victory over No. 13 Pekin in the first round. The defense has also been solid for the Warriors this season, led by Northwestern-bound LB Josh Veldman, along with a strong secondary. All three of their losses (to Sandberg, Naperville Central and Naperville North in Weeks 4-6) came by no more than seven points. A win would secure a trip to the quarterfinals for the Warriors in back-to-back years for the first time since doing it in 2012-13.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of No. 12 Fenwick (8-2) at No. 5 Downers Grove North (9-1).
Class 6A
No. 6 Burlington Central (8-2) at No. 3 Geneva (9-1)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
About the Rockets: Burlington Central played its first playoff game since 2014 on Saturday night and turned in a dominant effort on its home field, beating No. 11 Grant 42-14. The Rockets scored on their first four possessions in building a 28-0 lead by halftime. QB Jackson Alcorn continued his strong senior season, throwing three TD passes and running for a score. He completed 8-of-10 passes for 184 yards, connecting with fellow three-year varsity starter LJ Kerr on TD throws of 23 and 65 yards, and tossing a 30-yard TD pass to Chase Powrozek. Zach Samaan had two rushing TD runs. The defense forced three turnovers in the first half, getting fumble recoveries from Matt Bending and Tyler McGladdery and an interception from Rocco Boss. … It was Central’s first playoff win since 2006, when the Rockets beat Byron 49-19 in a Class 4A second-round game to advance to the quarterfinals. … This is the first meeting between the teams, despite the schools being only 14 miles apart. … The Rockets are seeking their first five-game winning streak since 2014.
About the Vikings: Geneva rebounded from their Week 9 loss to St. Charles North by returning to their high-scoring ways with a 49-7 victory over No. 14 Amundsen in the first round. The Vikings put up 42 points in the first half alone, marking the fifth time this season that they’ve put up over 30 points in the first half. Senior QB Tony Chahino completed 13-of-16 passes for 282 yards and five touchdowns in the contest, which put him at 40 total touchdowns on the season (38 passing, 2 rushing). Of those 40, WR Talyn Taylor has been on the receiving end of 20 of them this season, which has been helped by five three-touchdown games this season, including against Amundsen. He also secured his first 1,000 receiving yard season in the win, putting up 122 yards in the game to put him at 1,102 on the season. WR Finnegan Weppner (12 receiving touchdowns) and RB Michael Rumoro (725 rushing yards, nine touchdowns) have also been consistent sources of offense throughout the season. The Vikings, who have averaged over 42 points in a game throughout the season, will be looking for their second straight trip to the quarterfinals with a win.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of No. 7 Lake Forest (8-2) at No. 2 Libertyville (9-1).
No. 8 Antioch (8-2) at No. 1 Cary-Grove (10-0)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m., Al Bohrer Field, Cary-Grove High School, Cary
Seeds: Antioch is the No. 8 seed in the top half of the 6A bracket; Cary-Grove is the No. 1 seed.
Scouting Antioch: Three Lake County teams (Libertyville, Wauconda and Antioch) are alive in the top half of the 6A bracket, with two more Daily Herald coverage schools Burlington Central and Geneva, out of the Fox Valley area, occupying the fourth second-round bracket in that upper deck. Antioch is in the second round of the playoffs for the fourth time since 2018. These two teams met in the second round in 2019 with Cary winning 14-7.
Scouting Cary-Grove: Talk about hitting the improvement pedal. In 2022, perennial state power Cary-Grove was 3-6 and missed the playoffs. Last year, the Trojans went 12-2 and won the Class 6A state title, and head into this game unbeaten having outscored opponents by a combined 318 points through 10 games. The only teams that has come close to sniffing an intense game against them were Prairie Ridge (18-12) and Huntley (44-43). Since the Huntley game, Cary has outscored its opponents 176-21. “When you have a game like Huntley, you scrutinize the film a little more and you scrutinize practice and practice film and try to get better at being a little more detailed,” said Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg, who has directed the Trojans to three state titles and two second-place finishes in his tenure there. Seaburg knows a talented Antioch team will be on the opposite sideline. “Antioch is a very good team on both sides of the ball,” he said. “They actually look like a lot of Fox Valley Conference teams. They play very good defense and run the ball very well.” Seaburg said Antioch standout Martin Cohen stands out on game film he’s seen. “No. 3 is the guy who jumps out on film,” he said. “He’s explosive and makes plays. He is the guy who gets their offense going. Anybody watching Antioch film, that’s the guy. If you have to stop a guy, he’s the one, for sure.” Seaburg said a strong senior class has paid huge dividends. Cary starts 10 seniors on offense and seven on defense. “We have a lot of guys back and a great senior class,” he said. “We have 8 guys with three years of varsity experience playing. We have a combination of kids who have played varsity football a long time and played in big games last year, and also some other guys who have gotten the opportunity this year and have done a good job.” Senior defensive end-outside linebacker Charlie Ciske leads the team in tackles with Seaburg labeling him a great leader on that Cary defense. Senior Ty Drayton (6-1 245) is one of the few two-way players on the roster (impacting on both lines and at linebacker). “He blocks very well and is very explosive,” Seaburg said. Offensively, senior running back Holden Boone and senior quarterback Peyton Seaburg lead the way out of the backfield. “Holden and Peyton have had really good years in the backfield. They have been steady and consistent,” Seaburg said. “We have had so many guys on any given night who have stepped up. One night it’s the quarterback, another night it’s the fullback and another it’s one of the slots. That’s how we play the game and how the season kind of goes.”
Up next: The winner gets either No. 5 Wauconda or No. 4 Belvidere North in the 6A quarterfinals.
Class 5A
No. 5 Prairie Ridge (8-2) at No. 4 St. Francis (8-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Wolves: Prairie Ridge rolled in its state playoff opener, building a 28-0 lead after one quarter en route to a 65-6 win over No. 12 Chicago Goode STEM Academy 65-6. Returning from a high-ankle sprain that sidelined him the past four games, Wolves senior FB Jack Finn rushed for 159 yards and four TDs on 15 carries, all in the first half. PR also got rushing TDs from Nick Petty (two) and Alexander Trejo. Sophomore QB Owen Satterlee threw a 45-yard TD pass to Elijah Loeding and also ran in a PAT and tossed a PAT pass to Loeding. The Wolves, who allow only 12.7 points per game, got an interception from senior LB Giovanni Creatore. While PR got Finn back, they played again without versatile junior QB/RB Luke Vanderwiel, who suffered a leg injury in Week 6 against Dundee-Crown and has not played since then. … The playoff win was the Wolves’ first since they beat St. Ignatius College Prep 21-19 to advance to the Class 6A championship game in 2022. PR opened the playoffs last year with a loss to eventual Class 5A state champ Nazareth Academy.
About the Spartans: St. Francis ran its winning streak to five games with a playoff-opening, 42-18 win over visiting Sterling. … Speedy junior wide receiver Zach Washington turned in a pair of electrifying plays against Sterling, returning a kickoff 95 yards for a TD and scoring on a reverse from 92 yards out. Junior QB Brady Palmer threw a 58-yard TD pass to Tanner Glock and scored on a 21-yard draw. St. Francis averages 32.3 points per game and allows 23.2 per game. … The Spartans play in the CCL/ESCC and tied for first place with Nazareth Academy and St. Rita (each team went 2-1). … St. Francis went 10-3 last season, losing to Nazareth 38-31 in the Class 5A semifinals.
Advancement: Winner plays the winner of No. 1 Sycamore (10-0) at No. 9 Westinghouse (6-4)
– Daily Herald Correspondents Mike Miazga and Dick Quagliano contributed to this preview