The Herald-News Week 9 high school football roundup

Here’s a look at Week 9 results across the Will/Grundy County area.

Byron Center (Mich.) 48, Morris 28: At Byron, Michigan, Morris traveled across state lines to end the season on a losing note.

Morris ends the regular season 5-4 and will play at Troy Triad in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Lincoln-Way West 51, Bradley-Bourbonnais 7: At New Lenox, the Warriors ended the regular season with a commanding victory over the Boilermakers.

L-W West ends the regular season with a 6-3 record and visits Pekin on Friday for a first-round 7A contest.

Durand-Pecatonica 33, Seneca 22: At Seneca, the Fighting Irish finished the regular season just short of perfect, taking their first loss of the season in its final week.

Seneca will head to the postseason with an 8-1 record, opening at home Friday in the 2A field against El Paso-Gridley.

Peotone 42, Herscher 10: At Peotone, the Blue Devils wrapped up the regular season at 6-3 overall following a comfortable conference win over the Tigers. Peotone will visit Eureka to open the 3A playoffs.

Reed-Custer 49, Lisle 12: At Braidwood, the Comets avoided a winless season in convincing fashion with a blowout win over winless Lisle.

Reed-Custer ends its 2024 campaign with a 1-8 overall record.

Coal City 49, Manteno 0: At Coal City, the Coalers finished the regular season with an impressive shutout of the Panthers.

The victory ends Coal City’s regular season with a 7-2 record, with the team hosting Johnsburg on Friday in a 4A opening-round game.

Lincoln-Way East 28, Naperville Central 7: At Frankfort, the Griffins finished the season with an unblemished 9-0 record by handing the visiting Redhawks their first loss.

The top seed in Class 8A will open the postseason at home against 5-4 Niles West. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Joliet West 43, Plainfield Central 0: At Joliet, the Tigers made short work of the Wildcats at home, scoring all 43 points in the first half of a rout.

Joliet West is 5-4 and as the No. 31 seed in Class 8A will open the postseason at 9-0 Lyons on Friday. Plainfield Central will go without a victory this year at 0-9.

Lincoln-Way Central 51, Rich Township 12: At New Lenox, the Knights will head into the postseason with a head of steam following a one-sided win over the Raptors.

L-W Central is 6-3 and will visit Maine West to open the 7A playoffs.

Wilmington 56, Streator 18: At Wilmington, the Wildcats head to the postseason with a spotless 9-0 record after a commanding victory over the 3-6 Bulldogs. Wilmington hosts Stillman Valley in a 3A opener Saturday night.

Yorkville 20, Plainfield North 0: At Plainfield, the Tigers were forced to settle for a 4-5 record to end the regular season after being shut out at home by the Foxes.

Joliet Catholic 21, Providence 18: At New Lenox, the Hilltoppers survived a late push from the Celtics to pick up a narrow win away from home and finish the regular season at 6-3. JCA hosts also 6-3 Jacksonville on Saturday night to open the Class 5A postseason.

The loss ended Providence’s 2024 campaign at 4-5 overall.

Dwight/GSW 21, Ottawa Marquette 20: At Ottawa, the Trojans narrowly survived a Week 9 showdown with the Crusaders to finish the regular season at 6-3 overall and avenge a Week 4 defeat. Placed in Class 2A, Dwight/GSW visits Momence on Friday.

Lockport 36, Homewood-Flossmoor 32: At Homewood, the Porters capped their season with a dramatic comeback win on the road after trailing 26-7 at halftime.

Lockport finishes 4-5.

Minooka 29, Bolingbrook 22: At Minooka, the home team scored the only points of the second half to notch a comeback victory over the Raiders.

Minooka ends the regular season at 7-2 overall and visits Taft in a 17-16 seed matchup in the Class 8A field. Bolingbrook wraps things up at 3-6.

Romeoville 30, Plainfield East 21: At Romeoville, the host Spartans finished the regular season 4-5 and left the Bengals 2-7.

Plainfield South 56, Joliet Central 6: At Plainfield, the Cougars moved to 7-2 heading into the playoffs while closing out the Steelmen’s season at 1-8. Plainfield South visits Downers Grove South to open the 8A playoffs.

Lemont 43, Hillcrest 42: At Country Club Hills, Lemont battled back to claim the South Suburban Blue league title in a Thursday night regular-season finale. Lemont (6-3) will visit Bloomington to start the 6A postseason.

Cole Johnson (kickoff return, reception), Michael Preuss (two TD passes) and Zac Piskule (two TD runs) were responsible for two touchdowns each for Lemont.