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St. Rita faces Willowbrook in Round 2 of the 2024 Class 7A IHSA football playoffs. Friday Night Drive correspondent Scott Schmid will have live updates, scores and news from the game.
What to know
St. Rita vs. Willowbrook kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Willowbrook High School
About the Mustangs: St. Rita, like Willowbrook, beat a team out of the NIC-10 in the first round. But this one wasn’t much of a surprise, a 45-3 win over Rockford Guilford. The Mustangs have averaged 44.3 points during a four-game winning streak since a Week 6 loss to Nazareth. St. Rita’s only other loss was to Mount Carmel in Week 2. Nick Herman ran for two TDs and caught two TDs from Steve Armbruster in the win over Guilford. Armbruster also threw two TD passes to Walter Jones and ran for a score. St. Rita seeks its third quarterfinal appearance in four seasons and its fifth since 2017.
About the Warriors: Willowbrook pulled off one of the more notable first-round upsets – at least by seed – last Friday, a 40-21 win over a Hononegah team whose only previous loss this season had come by forfeit. Aidan Kuehl ran for a TD, and Jahonise Reed threw a TD pass to KJ Rhodes, one of their two scoring connections as the Warriors jumped out to a 17-0 lead after a quarter. OJ Powell returned an interception for a TD, and Dean Romano kicked two field goals in the win. Willowbrook has won six consecutive games since a 1-3 start to the season, averaging 42.3 points in those wins. Willowbrook seeks its first quarterfinal appearance since 2021 after making four straight from 2016-2019.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 15 Moline (8-2) at No. 2 Quincy (10-0).
FND Pick: St. Rita