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SYCAMORE – For the fourth time in nine postseasons and second year in a row, the Sycamore football team is playing in a Class 5A semifinal.
A win over No. 11 Nazareth (8-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Engh Community Field will put the No. 1 Spartans (12-0) into the state championship for the first time.
“It’s pretty important to us,” said offensive and defensive lineman Lincoln Cooley on reaching the 5A title game in Champaign. “It’s an expectation for us.”
Last year, the Spartans lost 17-6 to eventual state champ Fenwick on the road in a semifinal game. They haven’t lost since as they’ve torn through the 2022 schedule undefeated with six shutouts, including the past two weeks.
Linebacker Kiefer Tarnoki said there may have been some complacency in just reaching the semifinals last year. Like Cooley, he said that’s not the case this season.
“The thing with last year is we were content with making it that far,” Tarnoki said. “This year we’re looking past that notion of ‘Oh, we made it. We’re good.’ We want to make it to the next level, so we’re going to make sure to get the little things done.”
Nazareth is on its second straight deep playoff run after a 5-4 regular season. Last year the Roadrunners were bounced in the quarterfinals and have gone at least a round past that this season.
They won state titles in 2014, 2015 and 2018 in three different classes, plus were runners-up in 7A in 2019. The path to the 2015 5A title included a first-round win against the Spartans.
Tarnoki said the Spartans are playing with a chip on their shoulder and realize a win against a program like the Roadrunners would mean a lot.
“As a program, I feel like we always get overlooked,” Tarnoki said. “No matter how good we’re doing, everyone has to come up with something that proves us not as good as we are. It will label us as a powerhouse, honestly, because I don’t think many people think that we are. It will be a big checkmark.”
In 2013, the Spartans lost 42-20 to Montini in the semifinals, although they beat Nazareth 33-28 in a second-round game. In 2016, Sycamore lost 21-16 to Vernon Hills in a semifinal. Sycamore also made semis in 1976 and 1978.
The Spartans have nine three-year starters on the roster – not only Cooley and Tarnoki, but quarterback Eli Meier is in that group as well. The group has played 32 games over the past year and a half, and coach Joe Ryan said that’s a definite strength for them.
“The experience thing is huge,” Ryan said. “They understand the things we didn’t do right and the things we need to correct to be successful in a game like this. Experience does help. They are more confident in the fact they know what the game presents.”
During the 2016 run for the Spartans, they finished the regular season 5-4 and reached a semifinal, much like Nazareth has done this season.
“There’s a reason they’re still playing,” Ryan said. “People get caught up in 5-4, well we’ve been 5-4 and in a semifinal. And there’s been other teams. They’re well-tested, and we expect to play a real good team on Saturday.”
The winner Saturday faces either Morris or Peoria in the title game at 10 a.m. Nov. 26 in Champaign.
“I think we know what to expect,” Tarnoki said. “Obviously, going into it everyone is going to be good this time of year. But now we really know what to expect being here this time last year. We can prepare with that added knowledge and prepare off of that so we won’t let what happened last year happen again.”