IHSA 2023 Playoffs: 3 reasons Sycamore can beat Evergreen Park

The Sycamore football team is playing in the postseason for the fifth straight season and has missed the playoffs only twice since 2007.

The Spartans (8-1) have made the semifinals the past two years. They kick off their 2023 run at 7 p.m. Friday against Evergreen Park, a team they’re playing in the playoffs for the third time since 2019. Sycamore won the matchups in 2019 and 2021.

Here are three ways the Spartans can come away with a first-round playoff win.

The defense is very good

The Spartans are giving up just over seven points per game, and that factors in a 22-14 loss to Morris in Week 9. The loss not only gave Morris the Kishwauukee River/Interstate 8 White title but was the most points Sycamore has surrendered this season.

Five players have at least five tackles for a loss, six have an interception and five have forced a fumble. Iowa commit Burke Gautcher leads the team with 55 tackles, seven for a loss. He has a team-best three interceptions and a sack. Diego Garcia is coming off an 11-tackle game against Morris and has 50 on the season, eight for a loss.

Gautcher and Carter York had interceptions Friday against Morris in forcing three turnovers. Morris coach Alan Thorson said he didn’t think his team had turned the ball over that many times all season.

Morris scored touchdowns on the first two possessions for a 15-0 lead. Coach Joe Ryan said for a lot of Sycamore players Friday was the biggest game they’ve played in and it showed with them being too amped up and out of position on some plays.

“They wanted to do too much,” Ryan said. “They got out of their fits and that creates opportunities for other teams. We did that at times. But the experience from that type of game will help them down the road. The more times you play in a big game, the more knowledgeable you are on how to play in a game like that.”

The run game is balanced, bruising, explosive

There are a lot of words that can describe the Spartans’ ground attack, and for the past couple weeks they’ve been showing their depth.

Garica had been one of the main ball carriers and still is second on the team in carries despite getting none in Week 8 against La Salle-Peru or Week 9. Ryan said it’s kept him fresher.

Tyler Curtis has gone back to fullback, and the end result is more options. Curtis leads the team with 769 yards and averages 8.1 yards per carry. Gautcher averages 10.15 yards per carry and has run for 548 yards at quarterback.

Even in the loss last week against a Morris defense that doesn’t give up much, Sycamore had about 250 rushing yards despite three turnovers, two of them fumbles at the end of runs.

“I suspect we could have had even more against a top defense if we quit being so charitable with the ball,” Ryan said. “I thought our offensive line played really, really well Friday night.”

They’ve learned from their only loss

Aside from getting some big game experience and the fumbles, Ryan said there was plenty to learn from the loss that will help the Spartans grow.

Even with three turnovers, even with spotting Morris a 15-0 lead, the Spartans were within one score of forcing overtime.

“I’m not a big proponent of wanting to lose, but we learn a lot win or lose watching film,” Ryan said. “There were things we didn’t do to be successful. We’ll take some things from that game and do better going into the playoffs.”