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Class 5A
No. 1 Glenbard South at No. 9 Sycamore
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Last matchup: It’s the first meeting since the last year of the Western Sun in 2009, when the Glenbard South Raiders beat the Sycamore Spartans 32-20.
About the Spartans: The Spartans rolled into the second round with a 48-21 win at Evergreen Park, scoring on six-straight drives at one point and triggering the running clock before two late EP touchdowns.
The starters surrendered one touchdown, the fifth time in the last seven games the Spartan starters have allowed seven points or fewer. Despite missing three games, Kiefer Tarnoki leads the team with 15 tackles for a loss and four sacks. Eight different Sycamore players have an INT this year, and the Spartans intercepted Evergreen Park three times last week.
Sam Carlson leads the Spartans in both aspects of the offense – he has 500 rushing yards and 413 receiving yards. He has four TDs on the ground and five through the air. While Carlson leads in receiving yards and TDs, Kayden Galto has a team-best 19 catches for 327 yards. Quarterback Eli Meier is not only third on the team with 493 rushing yards (Nathaniel Altepeter leads with 657), he has completed 65% of his passes for 1,459 yards, 15 TDs and five interceptions.
About the Raiders: Last week, Glenbard South defeated Chicago Noble/Bulls, 41-14, the program’s first playoff win since 2017. It was the fifth time this season Glenbard South has topped 40 points in a game. Trevor Burnett ran for 188 yards on 26 carries with two TDs and also caught three passes for 45 yards and two TDs. The Upstate Eight Conference Offensive Player of the Year, who also ran for 243 yards and three TDs against Glenbard East in Week 8, holds five scholarship offers, including Air Force and Eastern Illinois.
Beyond Burnett the Raiders are steeped with young skill-position talent including sophomore QB Michael Champagne, who threw for four TDs last week, and sophomore receiver Cam Williams, who holds five scholarship offers including Illinois, Iowa and NIU. Receiver/outside linebacker Dominic D’Ambra is another player to watch. Glenbard South makes its first quarterfinal appearance since 2009.
Friday Night Drive pick: Sycamore
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Class 4A
No. 5 St. Francis at No. 4 Genoa-Kingston
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: The St. Francis Spartans ended the Cogs’ last playoff run with a 21-12 win in Wheaton in 2019.
About the Cogs: The Genoa-Kingston Cogs rolled over Bogan at home last week, 59-0, holding the Bengals to less than 30 yards of total offense for their fifth shutout in the last six games.
Ten different Cogs have a rushing touchdown this year. Chase Engel leads the team with 86 carries for 687 yards, but nine other backs have between 14 and 44 carries this year. Ethan Wilnau is second on the team with 44 carries, 601 yards and nine touchdowns. Brody Engel has a team-best 10 rushing touchdowns on just 40 carries.
Defensively, Colin Nesler leads the Cogs with 77 tackles. He also is tied with Nolan Perry with 10 tackles for losses and his three sacks are tied for second with Declan Creadon, behind leader Connor Grimm (7.5).
About the Spartans: St. Francis survived a fairly significant challenge in round one, holding off Peoria Notre Dame, 41-31. Adam Criter, forced to switch from wide receiver to quarterback to run the Wildcat formation when sophomore QB Alessio Milivojevic hurt his shoulder in the second quarter, ran for 208 yards with a game-clinching 36-yard score. The status of Milivojevic going forward is uncertain; his absence would seem to change the complexion of the Spartans’ offense, that has averaged close to 35 points per game.
Junior running back Blake Lawson also left the Notre Dame game with an injury. If St. Francis’ offense is limited it could fall on Sammy Atkins and a St. Francis defense that has given up seven points or fewer in three games, but has also given up 26 or more points in six games. St. Francis, in the postseason’s second round for the third straight time, now seeks its second consecutive quarterfinal appearance.
FND pick: St. Francis