Playoffs a labor of love for Grant

Talk about a man on a mission.

Grant football coach Kurt Rous had to run a couple of very important errands on Saturday night.

One stop was at the ice cream shop.

Rous's wife Kirsten needed ice cream.

"She's been craving it for a couple of days," Rous said. "I told her I would stop and get her some on the way home."

Kirsten is pregnant with a baby girl. She is due February 19.

Good thing labor isn't imminent.

After all, Rous is going to be tied up with football a bit longer.

His 5-4 Bulldogs learned earlier in the evening that they had made the cut for the state playoffs.

That's why Rous had another stop to make before the ice cream shop.

After the pairings, which include nine teams from the Daily Herald's Lake County coverage area, were announced, he jumped in his car to meet up with the head coach of Crystal Lake South, Grant's opponent and host in the first round of Class 6A action. The two were anxious to exchange game films.

Interestingly, Grant lost its season opener to Crystal Lake South, 41-12. But Rous says that the Bulldogs are far too happy right now to dwell on that.

They won a must-win game over Lakes on Friday night to earn a chance at the playoffs in the first place. Getting that victory gave them five wins on the season, which is the minimum required to qualify for the playoffs on points as an at-large team.

Points are based on opponents' wins and Grant's brutal schedule yielded 43 points, more than enough to make the cutoff.

Ironically, Grant got its most points (nine) from 9-0 Crystal Lake South, which earned a No. 1 seed.

"People were saying we were stupid for scheduling such tough nonconference games," Rous said of Grant's losses to South and Plainfield North, which went 7-2 on the season. "Now, we're not looking so stupid.

"Yeah, Crystal Lake South has beaten us before, but all the pressure is on them. They're supposed to beat us again. They're being touted as the best team in the Fox Valley Conference. They're ranked like No. 3 in the state. I like being in the underdog role."

One team that is far from an underdog is Stevenson.

The 9-0 Patriots and North Suburban Conference Lake Division champions earned a No. 1 seed in Class 8A.

Stevenson will host No. 16 New Trier, which already faced a Lake Division opponent this season. The Trevians knocked off Warren in their season-opener, 10-7.

For the rest of the way, however, New Trier has been up and down and has lost two of its last three games.

"New Trier is still very much a playoff-caliber team," Stevenson coach Bill McNamara said. "They're very well-coached. Our coaches know some of their coaches and we think they do a great job. They've also got great athletes and a rich tradition.

"We're really going to have to prepare well for them."

Also in Class 8A, Warren qualified for the field by going 6-3. The ninth-seeded Blue Devils got their sixth win of the season in Friday's victory over Libertyville.

They'll hit the road to take on No. 8 South Elgin, which also finished 6-3.

Meanwhile, Carmel will also be facing a team from Elgin.

The Corsairs, who earned a No. 3 seed in Class 7A, will host Elgin High School, which is seeded No. 14 with a 6-3 record.

Carmel is coming off its first loss of the season, a disappointing 21-14 defeat to Cincinnati Elder on Saturday in Ohio. The travel-weary Corsairs are glad they won't have to travel at all for their next game.

"I like our draw," Carmel coach Andy Bitto said. "We could get two straight home games. I think this draw (and seed) is a pat on the back for a very tough schedule. We played some tough teams this season."

Usually, Bitto and his staff throw a party on the night that the playoff pairings are announced. But this time, they were still on busses with their team traveling back from Ohio.

"It was odd (not having the party this year)," Bitto said. "But we still found out (about the pairings) pretty fast. I had three coaches on the bus who all have Internet on their cell phones."

Also in Class 7A, one of the most interesting matchups in the area will be No. 12 Jacobs (6-3) against No. 5 Lake Zurich, which is 8-1 and will host the game.

Jacobs is the new home of Bill Mitz, who coached at Stevenson for 28 years up through last season. To say he knows Lake Zurich and the rest of the teams in this area well is an understatement.

Mitz whipped Jacobs into shape in record time. Last season, the Golden Eagles were 2-7. It was their third straight losing season.

Meanwhile, Lake Zurich seems poised for another deep playoff run. The Bears have won three straight games and boast many veteran players who can draw on last year's experience of advancing to the state semifinals.

In Class 5A, four teams from Lake County made the field.

No. 4 Vernon Hills, which is 8-1 and boasts two Division I receivers (DaVaris Daniels, Notre Dame and Evan Spencer, Ohio State) as well as the stingiest defense in the state (27 points allowed), will host No. 13 Chicago Harlan (6-3).

Antioch, Grayslake Central and Lakes are all on the road.

No. 9 Antioch (7-2) will take on No. 8 Crystal Lake Central (7-2). No. 15 Grayslake Central qualified on points at 5-4 and drew No. 2 Chicago Senn, which is a perfect 9-0. And No. 14 Lakes (6-3) gets No. 3 Sycamore (8-1).

"All I know at this point is that Crystal Lake Central is a very good team," Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. "They beat Cary-Grove in Week 1 and Cary-Grove is the defending state champion. They lost to Peoria Richwoods by a touchdown, and Richwoods is a No. 1 seed in our class.

"To have a team like them playing a team like us-it doesn't get much better in the first round. It's going to be a great game."