The Times Football Notebook: Week 10 IHSA playoff edition

More from the Week 9 sideline and playoff pairing weekend for The Times area’s four qualifiers, Marquette, Seneca, Sandwich and FCW.

Marquette-NUIC a familiar pairing

When playoff pairing were released Saturday night, no one was surprised to see the Marquette Crusaders paired with a team from the small-school powerhouse Northwest Upstate Illini Conference.

Like Marquette going to the playoffs in recent years – 11 seasons in a row – the Crusaders playing an NUIC team has become a familiar late October/early November sight.

Marquette has faced NUIC opponents in the playoffs 11 times over the past 25 years, going 0-1 vs. Galena, 1-0 vs. Aquin and Stockton, 1-2 vs. Dakota, 0-2 against Fulton and 0-3 against this Friday’s opponent, Forreston. Marquette lost to Forreston in 2012, 2016 and 2019.

Indians ready for ‘rocking’ home game

Sandwich coach Kris Cassie and his players got an extra dose of unexpected good news Saturday night when playoff pairings were announced.

They’re staying home Friday.

Sandwich (6-3) earned the No. 8 seed in the northern half of the Class 4A bracket and will host No. 9 seed Ridgewood (6-3) at 7 p.m. Friday for a first-round game.

“That was kind of a surprise after the Marengo game [a loss in Week 8],” Cassie said. “The guys are really excited, and the community is excited. There was a little bit of extra energy at practice on Monday for sure.”

Indeed, a year after Sandwich did not field a varsity football team because of low numbers, two years removed from an 0-9 season, the Indians are back in the playoffs.

It’s the Sandwich program’s first playoff appearance since 2013 and the Indians’ first home playoff game since 2012.

“It’s going to be a rocking stadium. I think the place will be absolutely packed,” Cassie said. “Hearing a lot of students talk and just hearing from a lot of people after we beat Woodstock North to get the sixth win. I’m getting a lot of texts from people that are just excited. It’s really about the players. It’s just so hard to get to the playoffs in high school football, and the work that goes into it. It’s an amazing experience, and I’m so excited that they get to experience it.”

Sweet 16 for Fighting Irish

Seneca will be making its 16th IHSA playoff appearance beginning Friday at home in a rematch against Chicagoland Prairie Football League rival Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington and second consecutive after recording its second straight 9-0 regular season.

This is the Fighting Irish’s third multi-year playoff run since their first appearance in 1985. Dave Lett’s teams went six consecutive times from 1989-1994 (including winning the 1990 Class 2A state title), Don Brown’s teams made it four straight times from 1998-2001, and current head coach Terry Maxwell’s Irish have gone each of the past two seasons.

Little guys play big for D/GSW, Marquette

They may not be the biggest guys on their rosters, but Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington’s 5-9, 160-pound Conner Telford, Marquette’s 5-6, 170 Jacob Smith and 5-9, 155 Anthony Couch grew in stature in Friday’s 27-26 Crusaders win.

Telford rushed 16 times for 93 yards and completed 10 of 16 passes for 142 yards and two TDs for the Trojans but couldn’t overshadow Smith’s 76 tough yards and three touchdowns and Couch’s 7 of 10 passing for 96 yards.

Don’t forget about 8-man

The Illinois Eight-Man Football Association also released its playoff bracket over the weekend. Sixteen of the state’s 28 8-man teams qualified for the bracket, with the top seed awarded to St. Thomas More and the No. 2 seed to Amboy/LaMoille – the only two 9-0 teams in the I8FA this season.

The magic number for making the eight-man playoffs was four wins, with 4-5 Bushnell-Prairie City getting the 16th and final spot. River Ridge and Kirkland Hiawatha also finished with four wins and made the I8FA postseason.

Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland (7-2) is the No. 7 seed and hosts No. 10 South Beloit in the first round.