IHSA playoff outlook for Week 9: What Will County (and beyond) teams need to do to make the field of 256

With just one game remaining in the IHSA football regular season and the postseason looming for the top 256 teams statewide, here are where the Herald-News area football teams stand.

The first tiebreaker the IHSA uses to rank teams with the same record is playoff points, which is the combined win total of a teams’ regular-season opponents. The number of playoff points required to earn a playoff spot varies year to year. Each team still eligible for a playoff spot listed here also has its playoff point total listed.

Locked in

Lincoln-Way East 8-0 (40 playoff points)

The top-ranked team in Class 8A projects as the top seed in the 8A bracket if the Griffins can win this Friday’s home showdown with also-undefeated Naperville Central, per Friday Night Drive expert Steve Soucie’s latest projection.

L-W East has run its consecutive playoff streak to 24.

Wilmington 8-0 (34 playoff points)

A Week 9 home game against Streator is all that stands between the Wildcats and an undefeated regular season. The defending Class 2A state champion Wildcats still will have some drama Saturday, though. Wilmington is projected to be the smallest school in the 3A field but could slip back into 2A depending on who claims the final few playoff spots statewide.

Seneca 8-0 (26 playoff points)

After a Week 8 win over Marquette, the Fighting Irish will enter the postseason as an at-large qualifier and have an intriguing Friday matchup against 7-1 Durand-Pecatonica, a 3A state quarterfinalist in 2023. Like Wilmington – the team that eliminated it last postseason – a win likely will give Seneca one of the top seeds in either 2A or 3A.

Coal City 6-2 (32 playoff points)

A Week 9 home game against 7-1 Manteno for second place in the Illinois Central Eight Conference remains for the Coalers, who clinched their postseason spot with last week’s 55-0 blowout of Herscher. A win over Manteno could propel Coal City to a first-round home game in 4A if things break right.

Minooka 6-2 (29 playoff points)

Despite losing two of their past three games, the Indians already have secured their spot. A victory over 3-5 Bolingbrook would strengthen Minooka’s hopes of a first-round home game or at least offset its somewhat low number of playoff points.

Plainfield South 6-2 (21 playoff points)

The Cougars wrapped up the Southwest Prairie Conference East’s league championship with Week 8′s 63-0 pasting of Plainfield Central, and one-win Joliet Central awaits to close the regular season. Neither their title or low number of playoff points will help when it comes time to seed the 8A field, but Plainfield South is in nevertheless.

Sitting comfortably

Morris 5-3 (48 playoff points)

It is difficult to foresee any Week 9 scenario that ends with Morris missing the postseason. It can lock it up and vastly improve its seeding, however, with a win Friday 289 miles from home at Byron Center, Michigan, a 7-1 team from the Great Lake State.

Morris’ enrollment of 848 straddles the Class 4A/5A cutoff. Its four most recent appearances and 10 of its past 13 have come in 5A, but 4A could be in the cards.

Joliet Catholic 5-3 (47 playoff points)

The Hilltoppers are coming off a forfeit win and face a likely win-and-in team when they visit rival Providence Catholic on Friday. JCA’s robust number of playoff points will help its seeding in the 5A bracket but are not as effective as a Week 9 win, which could deliver a first-round home game.

Lemont 5-3 (44 playoff points)

Lemont can lock up a playoff berth two ways at once Friday against also 5-3 Hillcrest by winning the South Suburban Conference Blue title and notching Win No. 6. While a victory would improve its playoff seeding, Lemont’s 44 playoff points already has it in either the Class 6A or less likely 5A playoff field.

Lincoln-Way West 5-3 (43 playoff points)

A one-point win at Lockport last week was exactly what the Warriors needed to all but wrap up a playoff spot before having to host 7-1 Bradley-Bourbonnais on Friday. A win would be great for L-W West’s seed, but likely won’t be needed to get in the field of 256.

Peotone 5-3 (38 playoff points)

The Blue Devils have won two in a row after a three-game skid and are in excellent position to make it with an at-large bid regardless of the result of Friday’s home game with a 4-4 Herscher team that will be fighting for its playoff life. Peotone fits right in the middle of Class 3A.

Lincoln-Way Central 5-3 (35 playoff points)

The Southwest Valley Green Conference championship doesn’t give the Knights an automatic bid, as the league doesn’t have the requisite six members. L-W Central should be OK to get in with its five wins and somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 playoff points, and a win at home over 4-4 Rich Township would guarantee it.

On the threshold

Dwight/Gardner-S. Wilmington 5-3 (29 playoff points)

Five wins should get Dwight/GSW into 2A as an at-large bid if things play out as forecasted. Its low number of playoff points, however, might make for a stressful Saturday morning.

That’s all moot, however, if the Trojans can get a clinching sixth win Friday at also 5-3 Ottawa Marquette.

Plainfield North 4-4 (43 playoff points)

The Tigers will almost certainly be in with a win at home over 3-5 Yorkville in Week 9. A loss and things get a lot dicier, but with 43 playoff points and more to come, they are toward the front of teams who could potentially sneak in with four wins.

Providence Catholic 4-4 (41 playoff points)

The Celtics could possibly get in with four wins, but it’s far from a sure thing. A surer path lies with scoring a home win over rival Joliet Catholic (5-3) on Friday night. Otherwise it’s pins and needles watching Steve Soucie reveal the field on Live with Friday Night Drive late Friday night/early Saturday morning.

Joliet West 4-4 (30 playoff points)

Joliet West is in decent position to return to the playoffs for the second straight year if it can beat winless Plainfield Central at home Friday. That’s based on Steve Soucie’s projections, although the Tigers’ pedestrian number of playoff points would leave Joliet West with a low seed and a tough opener in 8A.

A win and a little luck

Lockport 3-5 (45 playoff points)

The Porters’ one-point loss to Lincoln-Way West last week was a big hit to the team’s playoff hopes, although not a fatal one. Lockport’s sizable number of playoff points puts it in the conversation of potential 4-5 playoff entrants – if there are 4-5 playoff entrants. The Porters have to win at 4-4 Homewood-Flossmoor to have that chance.

Hail Mary time

Bolingbrook 3-5 (38 playoff points)

Last Friday’s 14-7 loss to Plainfield North hurt the Raiders’ path to the playoffs. Any chance Bolingbrook has involves upsetting 6-2 Minooka on Friday and then hoping for a historically high number of 4-5 teams to make the cut.

Romeoville 3-5 (26 playoff points)

It is difficult to imagine a way for the Spartans – who added only two playoff points last week – to get in despite its Week 8 win at Joliet Central no matter the result of Friday’s game against 2-6 Plainfield East.