Football semifinal previews
Class 8A
No. 14 York (10-2) at No. 7 Naperville Central (11-1)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
About the Dukes: York enjoyed a strong regular season, but has seemingly flipped a switch and taken it to another level once the playoffs rolled around. The Dukes have averaged 35.3 points to win their three postseason games by an average margin of 23.3 points, and are coming off a 34-15 rout of Warren that was even more one-sided than the final score suggests. The centerpiece of that offensive explosion has been speedy senior quarterback Bruno Massel, who has rushed for over 170 yards in all three playoff games while rushing for a total of 11 touchdowns. Jimmy Conners, also a York standout at linebacker, has topped 100 yards rushing in York’s last two games. Notre Dame recruit Joe Reiff is the anchor of a York defense that shut down Warren star running back Aaron Stewart early on last week, a good sign going into a matchup with a Naperville Central team that likes to establish the run. York is making its third consecutive semifinal appearance; the Dukes lost to eventual champion Loyola in this round the last two years. York is seeking its first state championship game appearance.
About the Redhawks: Naperville Central handled one West Suburban Silver heavyweight, league champion Lyons, 24-7 last week to reach the program’s first semifinal since 2013. Now the Redhawks have to go through another Silver powerhouse to reach the state finals for the first time since that 2013 Class 8A champion did so. Naperville Central’s strength starts with a defensive unit that has held six of its last nine opponents to one score or fewer. All-State defensive end Jake Stanish had a fumble recovery and Daniel Nussbaum an interception in last week’s win over Lyons. Naperville Central senior QB Sebastian Hayes is quite the feel-good story. Hayes missed his sophomore and junior seasons with two separate torn ACL injuries, but has returned to pilot the Redhawks’ offense. Hayes threw for two early TDs to Indiana State recruit DeShaun Williams, who had six catches for 127 yards, to spark the win at Lyons. The workhorse of the Redhawks’ offense, though, is Aiden Clark, who has rushed for nearly 1,200 yards and 17 TDs on the season.
Advancement: Winner plays winner of No. 12 Loyola (10-2) at No. 1 Lincoln-Way East (12-0)
Loyola (10-2) at Lincoln-Way East (12-0)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
About the Ramblers: Loyola clearly has found something that has worked for it in the second half of the season after looking a little shaky — at least by Ramblers standards — early in the season. Factors in that? Along with the renewed health of QB Ryan Fitzgerald, the fact that the running game has become stable with Iowa-bound RB Drew McPherson also staying healthy and spearheading a sometimes punishing Ramblers running game. That recipe has allowed Loyola to slowly wear down opponents, and with a defense led by DB Donovan Robinson, a Washington commit, you don’t want to be trying to make up ground in the second half. In the quarterfinals against Maine South, Loyola ran away and hid in the second half, amassing nearly 300 yards of total offense after the break. These two teams have played in five of the six previous postseasons, including the past two Class 8A state championships, and Loyola has won the past five meetings. However, if the Ramblers are going to run that streak to six, they will have to likely play their best game of the season.
About the Griffins: Lincoln-Way East doesn’t really talk about wanting this rematch with Loyola, as the Ramblers have owned the recent series between the two, albeit in close games. But it is hard not to notice how the Griffins might look more prepared for this matchup than any of the previous meetings. Lincoln-Way East has been dominant all season. With no opponent coming closer than three touchdowns and with electric QB Jonas Williams displaying a new trick in his bag in the quarterfinal win over Stevenson by running for a pair of long touchdowns, the Griffins look almost unstoppable on that side of the football. Lincoln-Way East’s defense also has played near flawlessly this season, often throwing teams out of their plan of attack almost immediately. DEs Caden O’Rourke and Jacob Alexander seem to be causing almost constant havoc against opponents.
Class 7A
No. 4 Batavia (11-1) at No. 24 Lincoln-Way Central (9-3)
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
About the Bulldogs: Batavia reverted to playing old-school football to take down Downers Grove North in the quarterfinals, relying on itss impressive defense while handing the ball off to RB Nathan Whitwell 40 times in a 17-7 victory. The Bulldogs held DGN to only 163 yards of offense, including just 17 rushing yards, marking the sixth time this season that the defense has held a team to under 200 total yards of offense. A good reason for that is the team’s ability to make it into the backfield, as the Bulldogs have 111 tackles for loss this season, as well as 39½ sacks and 149 QB hurries on defense. Meanwhile, the offense has been doing their part in getting wins. Whitwell’s been the main source of the offense, scoring his 27th touchdown of the season against the Trojans, but has been further expanded in the postseason thanks to the dual-QB play of Bodi Anderson and Michael Vander Luitgaren, who have both spread the ball throughout the field to receivers such as Isaiah Brown and Brett Berggren, as well as even some Wildcat plays from RB Greyson Kelly. Batavia won its last game against Lincoln-Way Central, winning 45-17 in the second round of the playoffs in 2023.
About the Knights: Lincoln-Way Central is into the state semifinals for the first time since 2000 following a consistent blueprint that has served its team all season. The Knights started 1-2 and were still sitting at just the .500 mark after six games. However, they began to figure out some solutions on defense and began to make life difficult for opponents to gain serious offensive traction. Meanwhile, the offensive attack may not be extremely flashy, but the Knights’ power-running game has formulated a thunder and lightning combination of Tyler Tulk and Luke Tingley. Tingley shouldered most of the load in Lincoln-Way Central’s 28-16 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais — the Knights’ second win over the Boilermakers this season — but Tulk has gotten the lion’s share of the work for much of the season. Ultimately, Lincoln-Way Central chooses whatever is working on a given night, and lately they’ve had a lot to choose from.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 10 St. Rita (10-2) and No. 19 Mt. Carmel (9-3)
Class 6A
No. 1 Cary-Grove (12-0) at No. 3 Geneva (11-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Trojans: Reigning Class 6A champion Cary-Grove has looked just as, if not more, dominant in the playoffs as it did during the Trojans’ state title run in 2023, with a 42-7 victory over Belvidere North in the quarterfinals being further proof. While the loss of FB/DE Logan Abrams, who had 86 rushing yards and two scores against the Vikings last season, is big, the Trojans haven’t missed a step, with QB Peyton Seaburg, as well as HBs Holden Boone and Michael Massat providing extra power to the triple-option offense that has averaged 43.5 points a game this season, and have scored 154 points in the playoffs so far. Their defense has been just as good, holding opposing teams to an average of 11.3 points a game, with the lone outlier being a 43-point outing from Huntley in Week 7. Since then, the Trojans have held each of their past five opponents to singular-digit points. The Trojans are making their eighth appearance in the state semifinals since 2004. A win would give them their fourth appearance in the state title game since 2018, as well as extend their win streak to 20 games.
About the Vikings: In a game that was predicted to be a highly-contested matchup, Geneva put up a dominant showing to make it into a one-sided contest, taking down Lake Forest 49-14 to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2008. The Vikings put up arguably their best efforts of the season on defense and special teams in that game, forcing five turnovers (most since 2019) while also recovering back-to-back onside kicks for three straight offensive possessions to start the game. While C-G ended Geneva’s season last year with a 41-7 rout in the quarterfinals, the Vikings are bringing in a different team this time around that has proven to have success with avenging past losses, including a Week 6 victory over Batavia, which was their first against their rivals in 13 seasons. Leading the new brigade is senior QB Tony Chahino, who has put up 49 total touchdowns on the season, including five (three passing, two rushing) in the win over Lake Forest. The Vikings also will have a healthy Talyn Taylor this time around. The Georgia commit is heading into the contest having amassed over 1,300 receiving yards and 24 total touchdowns on the season. The Vikings have not scored less than 20 points in a game this season and have scored over 40 in eight of their 12 games, including in each one of their playoff games.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 1 East St. Louis (11-1) and No. 2 Richards (11-1)
Class 5A
No. 4 St. Francis (10-2) at No. 3 Nazareth (10-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Spartans: St. Francis is known for an offense that’s amassed just over 30 points per game this season — but it is the defense that carried the day last week in a 10-0 win over previously undefeated Sycamore. It was the second shutout recorded by the St. Francis defense this season, first since Week 2, and a good sign for a unit that has been susceptible at times to giving up points (five games of 27 or more points allowed). St. Francis is in a familiar spot. The Spartans are in the semifinals for the third consecutive season, but have dropped close calls to Providence and Nazareth the last two and seek a breakthrough — the program’s first state finals appearance since winning the 2008 Class 5A championship. These two programs are no strangers. They met in Week 9 last year (a 35-17 St. Francis win), in the semifinals last year (a 38-31 Nazareth win) and in Week 9 this year (a 39-36 St. Francis win). Junior QB Brady Palmer returned from a late hit out of bounds in that game this year to throw for four TDs, including the game-winner late in the fourth quarter to Zach Washington. Washington, who holds 13 offers including Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota, is one of a host of targets for Palmer including Ian Willis and Tanner Glock, although junior tight end and Division I prospect Gavin Mueller is out for the year with a torn labrum.
About the Roadrunners: Two-time defending Class 5A champion Nazareth has looked the part of a team intent on a three-peat during its playoff run. The Roadrunners have blown out three playoff opponents by an average margin of victory of 36.7 points, and are coming off a tidy 42-8 rout on the road at Rochelle. Now Nazareth hopes for history to repeat itself, a semifinal win over St. Francis following a Week 9 loss to the Spartans. Senior QB Logan Malachuk leads a Nazareth group with a ton of big-game experience. Malachuk, a four-year starter, threw for 212 yards and two TDs and junior and three-year varsity starter Lesroy Tittle ran for two TDs against Rochelle. Stanford recruit Gabe Kaminski, another four-year starter, led a Nazareth defense that held Rochelle to 145 total yards. Nazareth’s defense has shown a few cracks during the season — allowing 56 points to Mount Carmel and 39 to St. Francis in its two losses — but has been dominant during the playoff run. Nazareth seeks its eighth state finals appearance since 2014.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 13 Morris (8-4) at No. 6 Joliet Catholic (9-3)
Class 3A
No. 2 Wilmington (12-0) at No. 9 Montini (10-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Wildcats: Defending Class 2A champion Wilmington put forth an impressive effort in ousting Durand-Pecatonica from the playoffs in the quarterfinals as its defense does what it tends to do, frustrate, annoy and cause problems for an opponent to run what it really wants to effectively. DuPec entered the contest averaging 43 points per game, but quickly found out that the sledding was going to be much more difficult than it has been all season. Wilmington’s offense also did a tremendous job of putting together several impressive drives that chewed up the clock and didn’t give the Rivermen much of an opportunity to get any momentum going. The fact that they did it all without the services of one of their best players, RB/LB Kyle Farrell, made the win even more impressive as Farrell went down on the first play of the game with an injury and would not return. His status is unknown for this game, but the Wildcats are obviously much more dangerous with Farrell than without him.
About Broncos: Montini followed up its thrilling second-round win over defending 3A champion Byron by dispatching of Princeton 24-7 in last week’s quarterfinals. Montini’s experienced defense led by CCL White Lineman of the Year JC Hayes, three-year starters Nicky Castaldo and Nick Irion and leading tackler Jaxon Lane has allowed just 114 points in 12 games and hasn’t allowed an opponent more than two scores in its last seven games. Sophomore QB Israel Abrams has thrown for 1,601 yards and 20 TDs, with CCL White Offensive Player of the Year Santino Florio his top target with 49 catches for 550 yards and seven TDs. Jeremiah Peterson, a bowling ball of a physical running back, has rushed for 719 yards and 11 TDs and taken on the mantle of lead back as the season has worn on. Montini made eight state finals appearances from 2009-2018 with five state championships, but the one-time staple seeks its first championship game appearance since a Class 5A runner-up finish in 2018.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 9 Tolono Unity (9-3) at No. 6 Monticello (10-2)
-- Joel Boenitz and Steve Soucie from Shaw Local News Network contributed to this preview.