November 26, 2024
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Opening-round IHSA playoff results, second-round schedules across the Northwest Herald area

Cary-Grove, Burlington Central, Prairie Ridge, Woodstock North all win playoff openers

By Alex Kantecki
Prairie Ridge's Jack Finn runs with the ball as Chicago Goode's Zacharias Pagan tries to tackle Finn during an IHSA Class 5A first-round football game on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake.

Prairie Ridge's Jack Finn runs with the ball as Chicago Goode's Zacharias Pagan tries to tackle him during a Class 5A first-round playoff game in Crystal Lake. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

Class 8A

West Aurora 31, Huntley 21: Quarterback Braylon Bower accounted for all three touchdowns as the No. 29-seeded Red Raiders fell to the No. 4-seeded Blackhawks. Huntley finished the season 5-5.

Class 7A

Bradley-Bourbonnais 34, Jacobs 27: The 16th-seeded Golden Eagles (7-3) jumped out to a 14-0 lead on two touchdowns from fullback Caden DuMelle but ultimately lost by a touchdown to the No. 17-seeded Boilermakers.

Class 6A

Cary-Grove 71, Chicago Senn 6: The defending state champions scored 38 points in the first quarter and rolled in a win over the No. 16-seeded Bulldogs. The top-seeded Trojans (10-0) will host No. 8 Antioch (8-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Burlington Central 42, Grant 14: Quarterback Jackson Alcorn accounted for four touchdowns as the Rockets won their first playoff game in 18 years against the No. 11-seeded Bulldogs. Sixth-seeded Central (8-2) will play at No. 3 Geneva (9-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Class 5A

Prairie Ridge 65, Chicago Goode 6: Fullback Jack Finn returned from injury and scored four touchdowns to lift the Wolves past the No. 12-seeded Knights. No. 5 Prairie Ridge (8-2) plays at No. 5 St. Francis (8-2) in a second-round game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Woodstock North 34, Freeport 24: Fullback David Randecker ran for over 200 yards and scored three TDs for the Thunder, who defeated the No. 11-seeded Pretzels for their first postseason win since 2012. Sixth-seeded North (8-2), which set the program record with its eighth victory, plays at defending state champion No. 3 Nazareth (8-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday in a second-round game.

Class 4A

St. Laurence 35, Richmond-Burton 17: Hunter Carley scored two rushing touchdowns late as the No. 5-seeded Rockets ended their season with a loss to the No. 12-seeded Vikings. R-B, which won the Kishwaukee River Conference championship, ended the season 7-3.

Coal City 41, Johnsburg 13: The No. 10-seeded Skyhawks (6-4) scored on their opening drive on a 6-yard TD pass from Carter Block to Kaeden Frost but couldn’t keep up with the No. 7-seeded Coalers in a first-round loss.

Dixon 35, Marengo 14: Quarterback David Lopez hit Parker Mandelky for a 54-yard TD on the fourth play of the game, but the No. 14-seeded Indians (5-5) saw their season come to an end with a loss to the No. 3-seeded Dukes. Dixon scored the last 21 points after the game was tied at 14 early in the fourth quarter.

Illinois 8-Man

Polo 58, Alden-Hebron 20: The No. 15-seeded Giants took an early lead against the No. 2-seeded Marcos, driving 63 yards in nine plays on their opening possession, but ultimately fell in their first-round playoff game. A-H finished the season 5-5.