December 21, 2024
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Steve Soucie’s Week 5 games to watch: The chase is officially on for playoff spots

120 teams scrap to stay above the ,500 mark

By Steve Soucie
Prairie Ridge's Jesse Kautz tries to break the tackle attempt of Huntley's Noah Van de Voorde during a Fox Valley Conference football game against on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at Huntley High School.

Prairie Ridge's Jesse Kautz tries to break the tackle attempt of Huntley's Noah Van de Voorde during a Fox Valley Conference football game earlier this season. Prairie Ridge is involved in one of the eight games that pair two undefeated teams as they challenge Cary-Grove. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

The regular season goes very quickly.

Nothing is a bigger indication than the fact that around 65 teams will essentially lock in playoff berths this week.

Yes, five wins is not an absolute lock to earn a playoff berth, but based on the numerical trends it seems extremely unlikely that any team that reaches five victories won’t make the playoffs.

Obviously those teams that do win this week and keep their records spotless at 5-0 will have larger goals in mind, securing a high seed and possibly running the regular season table, but they do have the security of knowing they’ve already got a bid to the field locked in.

Two schools, due to forfeits, are already in that group: Maroa-Forsyth and Lena-Winslow.

But for someone who is watching how the field might be constructed in five weeks the most interesting teams to watch are teams in the current two-win group. That group consists of 120 teams, a fair amount of which are playing a fellow 2-2 team. A team that currently has two wins that leaves this weekend with three has a much rosier picture for playoff qualification than one that stays in that same two-win group. Simply put, a team that sits at 2-3 after five weeks needs to finish at least 3-1 over the remaining four games to get a berth unless they’ve stacked up a large treasure trove of playoff points.

Here’s a look at some of the top games in Week 5:

Cary-Grove (4-0) at Prairie Ridge (4-0), 7 p.m. Friday: It seems this is rinse and repeat situation on a yearly basis as these two Fox Valley rivals lock horns as the lone remaining undefeated teams in the loop. The winner of this one will be in sole possession of the driver’s seat to win the league.

Benet (4-0) at Mount Carmel (3-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday: How good are the undefeated Redwings? No one is completely sure right now, but there’s few better proving grounds than this Week 5 matchup. Mount Carmel seems to have completely recovered from a Week 1 loss to the Hun School out of New Jersey.

Joliet Catholic (3-1) at Nazareth (3-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday: Joliet Catholic has pulled several rabbits out of its hat over the last few weeks, but its defense is going to put to a stern test this week with a Nazareth squad that has a high octane offense.

Hoffman Estates (4-0) at Fremd (4-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday: Neither of these two teams were likely expected to find themselves at the top of the Mid-Suburban West race through four weeks, but the 4-0 starts by both indicate they both intend to be a factor moving forward.

Kaneland (4-0) at Morris (3-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday: A key game in a congested Interstate Eight Conference race. Morris has scored 50-plus points in each of its last two games while Kaneland hasn’t allowed 50 points total to opponents over its first four games.

Other games of note: Coal City at Peotone; Lincoln-Way West at Naperville Central; Loyola at DePaul Prep; Marist at IC Catholic; Naperville North at Lockport; Palatine at Schaumburg; Plainfield North at Oswego; Princeton at Monmouth; St. Ignatius at St. Viator; Eureka at Clinton; Farmington at Elmwood; Hardin Calhoun at Greenfield, Olympia at Williamsville, Pana at Greenville; Quincy Notre Dame at Springfield; Salt Fork at Bismarck-Henning