December 26, 2024
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IHSA Football: DeKalb County second-round playoff preview

By Eddie Carifio
Sycamore's Aidan Wyzard (4) runs with the ball during the game on Saturday Nov. 2, 2024, while taking on Chicago Bulls College Prep in week one of the class 5A playoff held at Sycamore High School.

Sycamore's Aidan Wyzard (4) runs with the ball during the game on Saturday Nov. 2, 2024, while taking on Chicago Bulls College Prep in week one of the class 5A playoff held at Sycamore High School. (David Toney for Shaw Local News /David Toney)

Class 5A

No. 1 Sycamore (9-0) at No. 9 Westinghouse (6-4)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Rockne Stadium

About the Spartans: They reached the second round for the second straight year with a 50-8 first-round win over Noble/Bulls. They lost in the second round last year to Morgan Park. Saturday’s game against Westinghouse marks their third straight playoff game against a Chicago Public League team. The Spartans featured a healthy rushing attack against the Bulls last week, a unit that coach Joe Ryan said did some really good things on Saturday, led by Dylan Hodges. Hodges has 608 yards and six touchdowns this year, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, while Kevin Lee has scored 13 times with 409 yards and a 5.6 average. Quarterback Burke Gautcher has scored eight times and averages 5.1 per carry. The Spartans also continue to get better and better on the defensive end. Caden O’Donnell has three of the Spartans’ five defensive touchdowns this year to go with 57 tackles, four interceptions, two sacks and five tackles for a loss. Carter York is up to five interceptions this year in the secondary.

About the Warriors: They hail from the same Chicago Public Red as Bulls/Noble, although the two teams did not play. The Warriors’ four losses all came against teams that lost three or fewer games, and two teams that are still alive in the postseason - Whitney Young (10-0) survived Kenwood (4-6) by a 13-12 margin and faces Bradley-Bourbonnais on Friday and Morgan Park blanked TInley Park and faces Metamora in Round 2. After a 32-0 loss to Whitney Young in Week 7, the Warriors beat Clark (2-7) 20-14 then beat Prosser 32-14 to open the postseason. It’s the third postseason meeting for the Warriors and Spartans. Sycamore won 54-13 in 2022 and 55-0 in 2014, both first-round matchups. IHSA records indicate Westinghouse’s last playoff win before this season was in 1994. The winner of this one will face St. Francis or Prairie Ridge.

FND pick: Sycamore