Sterling preparing for rematch with Wheaton St. Francis in second round of IHSA playoffs

The No. 16 Sterling Golden Warriors will host the No. 8 Wheaton St. Francis Spartans in a second-round Class 5A playoff game at Roscoe Eades Stadium at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Last week, the Golden Warriors (5-5) evened their season record with a 50-0 road win over top-seeded Chicago Payton. This week, they’ll head home to face a familiar foe: the 8-2 Spartans.

The last time these teams met in Week 2, St. Francis prevailed 42-28. With the experience of the last eight weeks under its belt, Sterling hopes to flip the script in Round 2 versus the Spartans.

Of course, that’s easier said than done.

Wheaton St. Francis, a 2022 Class 4A state semifinalist, still has plenty of playmakers on the team. Senior quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, a Ball State University commit, passed for 266 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) in the Week 2 game. Last week, he passed for 296 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-14 win over Rochelle.

Junior wide receiver Ian Willis and sophomore wide receiver Zachary Washington are threats on the perimeter. Willis caught nine passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, and Washington caught three passes for 53 yards and one touchdown in the last game versus Sterling. Junior running back TyVonn Ransom gashed the Golden Warriors on the ground, rushing 17 times for 97 yards.

Senior linebacker Domenic Beres, the 2022 Metro Suburban Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has recorded over 100 tackles this season. Suffice to say, Sterling will have its hands full on Saturday.

“They’re good at a lot. Their quarterback, I view him as one of the top quarterbacks in the state, if not the top kid. Their running back is dynamic. They’ve got kids on the outside offensively,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said. “Up front, they do a really good job. They’re probably a little underrated given how well they play up front. On defense, you’ve got a linebacker who’s lights out. He’s one of the best players that we’ve seen in a while, the physicality that he plays with. Then, obviously, their coaching staff. They’ve coached some big games.”

As is often the case, the battle of the trenches could be the deciding factor this week. Sterling senior linemen Lucas Austin and Kendric Muhammad will lead the charge on both sides of the ball, but they’re not the only ones who need to perform well this week. It’s going take every single player on the offensive and defensive lines to win those battles in the trenches, and ultimately, earn a victory.

“We’ve gotta win the line of scrimmage. That’s the case for every game. Our kids, If we can compete up front where we need to [that’ll go a long way],” Schlemmer said. “We’re pretty young. We think we’ve got some pretty good players here. The line of scrimmage is where this game’s going to be won.”

Sterling junior quarterback Drew Nettleton will conduct the offense, throwing to a group of receivers that includes seniors Mason Emin, Dylan Ottens and Miles Nawrocki and junior Kaedon Phillips. The Golden Warriors’ run game will be led by senior running backs Cale Ledergerber and Andre Klaver.

After finishing the regular season 4-5, the Golden Warriors’ seniors thought they might’ve played their last home game in Week 9. But, after sneaking into the playoffs and defeating Payton in the first round, they’ll get at least one more chance to play at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

“It’s great to be back home. We sat here after our Week 9 win against Moline, and we were waiting, we were all hoping for what ended up happening: a chance to play here as a team,” Schlemmer said. “So after that one, maybe our kids had a little bit of a thought in their mind that might be the last home game that we got, so it’s going to be another opportunity to run out of the tunnel and being together here in Sterling is something that we’re not going to take for granted. So we’re excited about it.”