CLASS 5A

No. 5 Sterling (8-2) at No. 4 Chicago Goode (9-1)

When: 5:30 p.m. Friday

About the Golden Warriors: Sterling started the playoffs with a 34-17 win over St. Viator last week, as Kael Ryan scored 4 touchdowns and the defense forced 3 turnovers. … The Warriors’ only two losses this season have come to teams with 9-1 records and first-round playoff wins: Wheaton St. Francis in Week 2 and Moline in Week 8. … Sterling has outscored its opponents 432-193, an average of 43.2-19.3 per game. … Ryan has rushed 134 times for 1,094 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns, and he is 27-for-55 passing for 338 yards and 2 TDs. … JP Schilling has run 101 times for 518 yards and 11 TDs, and is 40-for-60 passing for 547 yards and 5 TDs. … Antonio Tablante has 102 rushes for 662 yards (6.5 yards per carry) and 11 TDs, while AJ Kested has 39 carries for 300 yards and 6 scores, and Cale Ledergerber has 41 rushes for 204 yards and 2 TDs. … Isaiah Mendoza has 15 catches for 227 yards and a score, while Justin Null has 12 catches for 137 yards and 2 TDs, and Ledergerber has 11 catches for 112 yards and a score. Dylan Ottens has seven receptions for 151 yards and a TD.

About the Knights: Goode won the Chicago Public League’s Red-Southeast Conference title this season with a 7-0 record; that league had five other teams win at least three games. … Goode gave up only 89 points in the regular season and shut out Noble/Pritzker 48-0 in the first round of the playoffs last week. … Goode also led its conference with 274 points scored in the regular season, and now has 322 points in 10 games. … The school is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Academy named after Sarah E. Goode, an inventor who lived from 1855-1905 and was the second known African American woman to receive a U.S. patent; she invented a bed that could be folded up into a cabinet that was used as a desk during the day to save space in small New York City apartments.

CLASS 1A

No. 4 Fulton (8-2) at No. 12 Rockford Lutheran (6-4)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

About the Steamers: Fulton rolled to a 38-13 win over Aurora Christian in the first round of the playoffs last week, pitching a shutout in the second half. … The Steamers controlled the line of scrimmage the whole way in their first-round win, and dominated the second half after allowing a 47-yard TD pass on the final play of the first half. … Fulton now holds a 358-182 scoring edge this season, and has scored 30 or more points nine times. … Lukas Schroeder leads the Steamers with 624 yards and 12 touchdowns on 111 rushes, while Ryan Eads has 119 carries for 567 yards and 8 TDs. Joel Ford has 49 rushes for 288 yards and 5 TDs. … Brayden Dykstra is 119-for-98 passing for 1,330 yards and 16 TDs, with 6 INTs. … Baylen Damhoff has 44 catches for 600 yards and 9 TDs, and Eads has 38 catches for 346 yards and 4 scores.

About the Crusaders: Lutheran finished 5-4 and held a 225-177 scoring edge in the Big Northern Conference, with their losses to Genoa-Kingston, Byron, Dixon and Stillman Valley – all playoff teams that were a combined 29-7 this season. Lutheran won its first-round playoff game 35-19 on the road over Annawan-Wethersfield. … The Crusaders’ Week 6 loss to Dixon was by only three points (22-19), and came after they had led for most of the game. The Dukes scored 15 points in the final 10 minutes to rally for the victory. … Lutheran is led by dual-threat QB Kyng Hughes, who is equally dangerous as a runner and a passer. Against Dixon, he had 94 yards rushing and 48 yards passing, but the Crusaders also had a half-dozen dropped passes by their receivers. … AJ Moore, Gavin Sanders and David Ballard III are Lutheran’s top playmakers, and all three can line up either in the backfield or at receiver.

No. 2 Chicago Hope Academy (10-0) at No. 10 Forreston (6-4)

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

About the Eagles: Playing as an independent, Hope outscored its opponents 438-142 in the regular season, an average margin of 48.7-15.8 per game. The Eagles opened the playoffs with a 69-0 rout of Chicago Corliss last week. … Hope played only two games against teams with winning records in the regular season: a 33-14 win over 5-4 Quincy Notre Dame in Week 3, and a 40-25 win over 8-1 Ottawa Marquette in Week 5. The combined record of Hope’s opponents this season – including Corliss – is 28-62. … The Eagles have scored 33 points or more in every game this season, and have passed the 40-point mark eight times, the 50-point mark five times, and the 60-point mark four times. They’ve given up more than 20 points only four times and more than 30 just once.

About the Cardinals: Forreston lost two of its final three regular-season games but rolled to a first-round win on the road, defeating St. Bede 46-22 in a game it dominated from the start. … All four of the Cardinals’ losses came to playoff teams – and all four of those teams won their first-round games. … Forreston holds a 366-217 scoring edge this season, and has scored 34 points or more six times. … Johnny Kobler leads the Cardinals with 145 rushes for 1,103 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Kaleb Sanders has 96 carries for 792 yards and 10 TDs. Micah Nelson had 49 rushes for 513 yards and 7 scores, while Quinten Frederick (57-304, TD), Brock Smith (37-302, 5 TDs) and McKeon Crase (52-301, 4 TDs) also have rushed for more than 300 yards this season.

EIGHT-MAN

No. 5 Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio (8-2) at No. 4 Milford-Cissna Park (8-2)

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Milford

About the Clippers: Amboy celebrated the return of senior QB Tucker Lindenmeyer from a hamstring injury – he was hurt at the start of the Clippers’ Week 4 game against Milford – with a 48-0 shutout of Blue Ridge in the first round of the playoffs last weekend. It was Amboy’s second shutout of the season and the seventh time it has allowed 14 points or fewer in a game. … The Clippers have outscored their opponents 418-204 through 10 games. … Landen Whelchel leads Amboy with 119 rushes for 1,036 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Quinn Leffelman has 74 carries for 591 yards and 11 TDs. … Lindenmeyer has 32 rushes for 235 yards and 2 TDs and is 25-for-39 passing for 615 yards, 9 TDs and 2 INTs in only four games. … Brennan Blaine has 35 catches for 922 yards and 16 TDs and has 110 yards and 3 TDs on the ground.

About the Bearcats: Milford lost two of its final three games of the regular season but opened the playoffs with a 70-24 win over AFC. … The first-round game was the seventh time the Bearcats have scored 40 or more points. Their high-water mark was 81 in a Week 8 win over Danville Schlarman; they also scored 67 in a Week 1 win over Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland. … On the season, MCP holds a 475-240 scoring edge in 10 games. … The Bearcats have defeated Amboy in each of their first two meetings in eight-man football, winning 48-46 last season and 40-30 in Week 4 this fall.

No. 6 Polo (8-2) at No. 3 Ridgewood (9-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Cambridge

About the Marcos: Polo got going early in its 44-8 first-round win over Hiawatha, scoring on five of its six first-half possessions. It now holds a 462-172 scoring edge; the 172 points are the fewest allowed by any eight-man team this season. … The Marcos will be without senior running back/linebacker Avery Grenoble (897 yards, 13 TDs rushing), who injured his knee last week; he is 103 yards away from 1,000 for the second straight season. They also will not have one of his backups, Noah Dewey, who was ejected from last week’s game. … Brock Soltow has 173 rushes for 1,879 yards and 30 TDs; he ran for 224 yards and 5 TDs in the first-round victory and now needs only 121 rushing yards to reach 2,000 for the season. He also has thrown for 123 yards and 4 scores while taking the direct snap the past several weeks.

About the Spartans: Ridgewood rolled past South Fork in the first round of the playoffs, posting a 58-26 victory. It was the sixth time it scored more than 50 points this season. … The Spartans have outscored opponents 516-250. Their 458 points in the regular season were the third most in eight-man football, behind only Decatur Lutheran and West Central. … Ridgewood has played only four games against a team with a winning record in its 10 games; two of those games came against South Fork, which finished 5-5 after the first-round loss. … The Spartans’ only loss this season is to West Central, a 66-34 defeat in Week 3.

No. 7 Milledgeville (7-3) at No. 2 West Central (10-0)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Biggsville

About the Missiles: Milledgeville has outscored opponents 459-255 this season after a 52-3 first-round win over Sciota West Prairie last weekend. It was the seventh game scoring 46 or more points. … One of the two games the Missiles didn’t score more than 40 points was a 64-36 loss to West Central at home in Week 7. … Milledgeville’s three losses are to teams with a combined 25-2 record, with all three of those teams winning easily in the first round last weekend. … Connor Nye leads the Missiles in rushing (74 carries, 826 yards, 12 TDs) and passing (75 for 144, 1,325 yards, 24 TDs, 3 INTs). … Kolton Wilk has 95 rushes for 763 yards and 8 TDs, and he has 15 catches for 136 yards and 4 scores. …. Kacen Johnson has 39 catches for 815 yards and 13 TDs, 3 punt-return TDs and 2 kickoff-return scores. … Konnor Johnson has 190 yards rushing and 3 TDs and 199 yards receiving and 5 more scores.

About the Heat: West Central rolled to a 72-16 win over South Beloit in the first round of the playoffs, the eighth time it has scored more than 60 points this season. … The Heat’s 556 points scored in the regular season were the most my any team in eight-man football this season, while their 202 points allowed were the fourth fewest. … West Central has scored 50 or more points in every game this season and has allowed more than 30 only four times. … The Heat won the Week 7 matchup 64-36 at Floyd Daub Field. … West Central coach Jason Kirby is a former Bureau Valley head coach; he guided the Storm to their runner-up finish in Class 3A in 2004.