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Class 7A
No. 4 Batavia (11-1) at No. 24 Lincoln-Way Central (9-3)
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
About the Bulldogs: Batavia reverted to playing old-school football to take down Downers Grove North in the quarterfinals, relying on itss impressive defense while handing the ball off to RB Nathan Whitwell 40 times in a 17-7 victory. The Bulldogs held DGN to only 163 yards of offense, including just 17 rushing yards, marking the sixth time this season that the defense has held a team to under 200 total yards of offense. A good reason for that is the team’s ability to make it into the backfield, as the Bulldogs have 111 tackles for loss this season, as well as 39½ sacks and 149 QB hurries on defense. Meanwhile, the offense has been doing their part in getting wins. Whitwell’s been the main source of the offense, scoring his 27th touchdown of the season against the Trojans, but has been further expanded in the postseason thanks to the dual-QB play of Bodi Anderson and Michael Vander Luitgaren, who have both spread the ball throughout the field to receivers such as Isaiah Brown and Brett Berggren, as well as even some Wildcat plays from RB Greyson Kelly. Batavia won its last game against Lincoln-Way Central, winning 45-17 in the second round of the playoffs in 2023.
About the Knights: Lincoln-Way Central is into the state semifinals for the first time since 2000 following a consistent blueprint that has served its team all season. The Knights started 1-2 and were still sitting at just the .500 mark after six games. However, they began to figure out some solutions on defense and began to make life difficult for opponents to gain serious offensive traction. Meanwhile, the offensive attack may not be extremely flashy, but the Knights’ power-running game has formulated a thunder and lightning combination of Tyler Tulk and Luke Tingley. Tingley shouldered most of the load in Lincoln-Way Central’s 28-16 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais – the Knights’ second win over the Boilermakers this season – but Tulk has gotten the lion’s share of the work for much of the season. Ultimately, Lincoln-Way Central chooses whatever is working on a given night, and lately they’ve had a lot to choose from.
-- Steve Soucie
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 10 St. Rita (10-2) and No. 19 Mt. Carmel (9-3)
FND Pick: Batavia
Class 6A
No. 1 Cary-Grove (12-0) at No. 3 Geneva (11-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Trojans: Reigning Class 6A champion Cary-Grove has looked just as, if not more, dominant in the playoffs as it did during the Trojans’ state title run in 2023, with a 42-7 victory over Belvidere North in the quarterfinals being further proof. While the loss of FB/DE Logan Abrams, who had 86 rushing yards and two scores against the Vikings last season, is big, the Trojans haven’t missed a step, with QB Peyton Seaburg, as well as HBs Holden Boone and Michael Massat providing extra power to the triple-option offense that has averaged 43.5 points a game this season, and have scored 154 points in the playoffs so far. Their defense has been just as good, holding opposing teams to an average of 11.3 points a game, with the lone outlier being a 43-point outing from Huntley in Week 7. Since then, the Trojans have held each of their past five opponents to singular-digit points. The Trojans are making their eighth appearance in the state semifinals since 2004. A win would give them their fourth appearance in the state title game since 2018, as well as extend their win streak to 20 games.
About the Vikings: In a game that was predicted to be a highly-contested matchup, Geneva put up a dominant showing to make it into a one-sided contest, taking down Lake Forest 49-14 to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2008. The Vikings put up arguably their best efforts of the season on defense and special teams in that game, forcing five turnovers (most since 2019) while also recovering back-to-back onside kicks for three straight offensive possessions to start the game. While C-G ended Geneva’s season last year with a 41-7 rout in the quarterfinals, the Vikings are bringing in a different team this time around that has proven to have success with avenging past losses, including a Week 6 victory over Batavia, which was their first against their rivals in 13 seasons. Leading the new brigade is senior QB Tony Chahino, who has put up 49 total touchdowns on the season, including five (three passing, two rushing) in the win over Lake Forest. The Vikings also will have a healthy Talyn Taylor this time around. The Georgia commit is heading into the contest having amassed over 1,300 receiving yards and 24 total touchdowns on the season. The Vikings have not scored less than 20 points in a game this season and have scored over 40 in eight of their 12 games, including in each one of their playoff games.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 1 East St. Louis (11-1) and No. 2 Richards (11-1)
FND Pick: Cary-Grove
Class 5A
No. 4 St. Francis (10-2) at No. 3 Nazareth (10-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Spartans: St. Francis is known for an offense that’s amassed just over 30 points per game this season – but it is the defense that carried the day last week in a 10-0 win over previously undefeated Sycamore. It was the second shutout recorded by the St. Francis defense this season, first since Week 2, and a good sign for a unit that has been susceptible at times to giving up points (five games of 27 or more points allowed). St. Francis is in a familiar spot. The Spartans are in the semifinals for the third consecutive season, but have dropped close calls to Providence and Nazareth the last two and seek a breakthrough – the program’s first state finals appearance since winning the 2008 Class 5A championship. These two programs are no strangers. They met in Week 9 last year (a 35-17 St. Francis win), in the semifinals last year (a 38-31 Nazareth win) and in Week 9 this year (a 39-36 St. Francis win). Junior QB Brady Palmer returned from a late hit out of bounds in that game this year to throw for four TDs, including the game-winner late in the fourth quarter to Zach Washington. Washington, who holds 13 offers including Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota, is one of a host of targets for Palmer, including Ian Willis and Tanner Glock, although junior tight end and Division I prospect Gavin Mueller is out for the year with a torn labrum.
About the Roadrunners: Two-time defending Class 5A champion Nazareth has looked the part of a team intent on a three-peat during its playoff run. The Roadrunners have blown out three playoff opponents by an average margin of victory of 36.7 points, and are coming off a tidy 42-8 rout on the road at Rochelle. Now Nazareth hopes for history to repeat itself with a semifinal win over St. Francis following a Week 9 loss to the Spartans. Senior QB Logan Malachuk leads a Nazareth group with a ton of big-game experience. Malachuk, a four-year starter, threw for 212 yards and two TDs and junior and three-year varsity starter Lesroy Tittle ran for two TDs against Rochelle. Stanford recruit Gabe Kaminski, another four-year starter, led a Nazareth defense that held Rochelle to 145 total yards. Nazareth’s defense has shown a few cracks during the season – allowing 56 points to Mount Carmel and 39 to St. Francis in its two losses – but has been dominant during the playoff run. Nazareth seeks its eighth state finals appearance since 2014.
Advancement: Winner faces the winner of No. 13 Morris (8-4) at No. 6 Joliet Catholic (9-3)
FND pick: Nazareth
-- Josh Welge