Football: Morris, Lemont, Lincoln-Way West on 2017 IHSA football playoff bubbles

How about Morris in Class 4A, Lemont in 5A and Lincoln-Way West in 6A?

According to the IHSA football playoff outlook released on its website Monday morning, if the playoffs were beginning today, that indeed would be the case.

Of course, all are on the bubble. Morris would be the second-largest qualifier in 4A, Lemont the second-largest in 5A and Lincoln-Way West the largest in 6A. My gut feeling is all three will wind up playing in the higher of their two potential classes. Then again, results from all around the state over the last two weeks will make that final determination.

For those three area schools, and any others statewide that are on the bubble between two classes, scouting potential playoff foes is doubly difficult. It is less tedious to scout one class than to feel as if you need to get a handle on two classes.

The teams that would be in the playoffs were they beginning now have a record of 4-3 or better and at least 29 playoff points (opponent victories). Our 13 area qualifiers would be Lincoln-Way East (7-0), Bolingbrook (6-1), Minooka (6-1) and Joliet West (4-3) in 8A; Lincoln-Way Central (6-1) and Plainfield North (5-2) in 7A; Providence (5-2) and Lincoln-Way West (5-2) in 6A; Lemont (6-1) in 5A; Coal City (6-1) and Morris (6-1) in 4A; Peotone (6-1) and Wilmington (6-1) in 3A. Those are the 13 teams that appear somewhere on these weekly Herald-News rankings.

LARGE SCHOOLS

1. Lincoln-Way East (7-0): Five of the Griffins’ seven victims have not yet lost to anyone else.

2. Lincoln-Way Central (6-1): The Knights escaped a trap game as they went on the road and beat nonconference foe Waubonsie Valley, 19-7.

3. Bolingbrook (6-1): Too bad the Raiders can’t get a mulligan on their second half against Homewood-Flossmoor.

4. Lincoln-Way West (5-2): The Warriors score a 31-14 victory at Thornton, which always is a difficult place for visiting teams.

5. Morris (6-1): Coming off the huge victory over DeKalb in Week 6, the Redskins fell behind Kaneland, 13-0, and never could catch up, suffering their first loss, 20-14.

6. Providence (5-2): The Celtics are where they want to be, riding a five-game winning streak heading into Friday’s showdown with powerful Loyola.

7. Lemont (6-1): Quarterback Marcus Mathias and running back Andrew Martin put up good numbers as Indians whip Tinley Park, 42-0.

8. Minooka (6-1): The Indians’ visit to Oswego East on Friday night will help determine how the Southwest Prairie Conference race plays out.

9. Plainfield North (5-2): The Tigers come out of a physical battle with Plainfield South with a 31-10 victory and are on a positive path as the playoffs approach.

10. Joliet West (4-3): Tigers coach Jason Aubry said Monday that all the key players who left the game at Minooka with injuries are day-to-day. As of now, there is no reason to believe any will not play Saturday against Joliet Central.

SMALL SCHOOLS

1. Coal City (6-1): The Coalers escape an upset bid, beating Sandwich in overtime, 27-20.

2. Wilmington (6-1): Matteo Lombardi rushes for 293 yards, including touchdown runs of 70, 87, 84 and 6 yards, in 54-21 win over Reed-Custer.

3. Peotone (6-1): Blue Devils roll over Seneca, 49-0, as the defense limits the Irish to four first downs.

• Dick Goss can be reached at dgoss@shawmedia.com.