Batavia-Mt. Carmel rumble highlights Round 1 playoff slate for area qualifiers

Let the Twitter hashtags and T-shirt slogans start rolling in.

Batavia, climbing up in class from last season’s landmark run through the IHSA football playoffs, opens its bid for a second straight state title against defending Class 7A champion Mt. Carmel in a first-round, 7A game.

Bulldog Stadium has hosted some big games before, but the one coming to town at 1:30 p.m. Saturday certainly could rank near the top.

"You're looking at a team that plays in one of the best conferences in the country [Chicago Catholic Blue] with a longstanding history of great success not only in the playoffs, but for winning state championships. That's what they do there at Mt. Carmel," Bulldogs coach Dennis Piron said.

"If we're going to go 7A, we might as well play someone like that, you know. … We're thrilled with the quality of the opponent and the game that we're about to have."

Batavia (8-1) clinched its fourth straight Upstate Eight Conference River Division title Friday. Two of its casualties during a 7-0 run through conference play, Geneva (8-1) and St. Charles North (7-2), join the Bulldogs in 7A.

Geneva’s first-round foe, Hersey (6-3), routed North’s first round foe, Rolling Meadows (7-2), 48-6 on Friday night. The Vikings open the playoffs at home, while the North Stars begin on the road.

Apart from living in the north suburbs when he coached Niles North "in the day," Wicinski admits little knowledge of or experience with Hersey. This time of year, that's the way he likes it.

"We really don't have too many connections with Hersey, but it's cool," Wicinski said. "The playoffs are about playing somebody different and somebody out of the area, so it's nice to have somebody different who's out of the area."

No. 9 seed North's first-round game at No. 8 Rolling Meadows pits North coach Rob Pomazak against his alma mater. But Pomazak, a class of 1996 Rolling Meadows graduate, said the novelty of facing the Mustangs has expired after many matchups against them when he coached at Elk Grove.

Pomazak suggested Rolling Meadows' season-ending blowout loss likely was "an anomaly" for the Mustangs.

"I think they're a very good football team," said Pomazak, who said he guessed Rolling Meadows might be North's opponent in the wee hours Saturday morning once it appeared Rolling Meadows would bump up to 7A from 6A. "I know coach Matt Mishler does a very good job. Their offense is going to be very dynamic, and we have our hands full. We really relish our opportunity here."

Marmion (6-3) will visit DeKalb (8-1) in Class 6A, meaning the Cadets will try to wrangle Illinois-bound running back Dre Brown on the Barbs’ turf field. Cadets coach Dan Thorpe’s first inclination is the Cadets must keep Brown and Co. off the field as much as possible to pull the upset.

"I'm sure if you're going 8-1, people have tried to focus on stopping Dre Brown, so I assume the other players have stepped up," Thorpe said. "You go 8-1, you have a nice team, so I'm sure there are some other skilled kids and linemen. I don't know if they're big or small or what but we'll find out in the film exchange that we do with them."

St. Francis, Marmion’s brethren in the Chicago Catholic Green, also is part of the 6A field, its first time in that class after making its past five postseason trips as a 5A team. The Spartans (7-2) host Grayslake North (6-3) in the first round.

Landing in Class 5A didn’t shock Burlington Central coach Rich Crabel, who commenced crunching the numbers from the time the Rockets boarded the bus after Friday’s regular season-ending romp at Rockford Christian. Based on the Friday results in hand, he figured the Rockets weren’t in strong enough position to host a first-round game after clinching a playoff spot against the winless Royal Lions.

By the time the 5A draw was announced around 9 p.m. Saturday, the brackets dispelled Crabel’s initial suspicions. The seventh-seeded Rockets are hosting 10th-seeded Sterling, a fellow 6-3 team.

"That's awesome. We're very happy about the opportunity to play at home," Crabel said.

"You can figure all you want going into today, but until you see it, you don't know."

Piron expressed some surprise at the Bulldogs' placement in the southern part of the 7A bracket, saying he thought initially the draw might be split into quadrants.

With Geneva heading to the north bracket, Fabyan Parkway served as the de facto Mason-Dixon line. If Batavia defeats Mt. Carmel, which won its final three games to become playoff-eligible after a 2-4 start, the Bulldogs could travel to Belleville West in the second round.

The Maroons travel to Bradley-Bourbonnais in the first round. IHSA officials' policies weren't for Piron to figure out.

"Who knows why they do what they do," he said. "I mean, we'll never know. It's a very unusual process with so many variables and so little predictably. But that's what makes it fun."

Well, in some circles, anyway.

Wheaton Academy tied Aurora Christian for the 256th and final berth in the eight-class field. Although both former Suburban Christian Conference rivals had 39 playoff points – the total of opponents' victories – the Eagles earned the edge via tiebreaker. They played more playoff qualifiers, 4-3.

Aurora Christian (5-4) travels to defending 2A champion Sterling Newman Catholic (9-0) in the first round in 3A. Wheaton Academy ends its season with a 5-4 record, one of 22 teams with that distinction statewide.

"It's pretty devastating," Warriors coach Brad Thornton said. "You've got a whole range of emotions going through you. You're frustrated and you feel awful for your players, especially your seniors, who their goal all along had been to make the playoffs. ... I really felt the work they put in this season was enough, and I really thought they deserved the chance to play in the playoffs."

Seeking its first postseason berth since 2009, Wheaton Academy rolled to a 4-0 start that included three shutouts, but didn't become playoff-eligible until a 24-14 win against Fenton in Week 8.

"To be the first team out just stinks," Thornton said. "It hurts. … But No. 1, we didn't get our sixth win, so it's really no one's fault but our own for not guaranteeing a spot."

In Class 4A, Aurora Central Catholic (6-3), which defeated Wheaton Academy Friday night in Metro Suburban West play, drew Johnsburg (8-1), a team that visited ACC for a summer 7-on-7.

The Chargers are in the playoffs for the third straight year under coach Brian Casey but are searching for their first postseason win during that span. This time, at least, ACC is heading in with momentum after Friday's playoff-clinching win at Wheaton Academy.

“This is the first time we’ve gone in on a high,” said Casey, who said he expects the game at Johnsburg to be at 1 p.m. Saturday. “When you finish the year with Montini the last couple years, you get beat up a little bit mentally and you certainly get beat up physically. This is the first time we’ve gone in playing well and we’ll have a chance to [make the momentum] continue forward.”

CLASS 7A

No. 9 St. Charles North (7-2) at No. 8 Rolling Meadows (7-2)

No. 14 Mt. Carmel (5-4) at No. 3 Batavia (8-1)

No. 13 Hersey (6-3) at No. 4 Geneva (8-1)

CLASS 6A

No. 15 Marmion (6-3) at No. 2 DeKalb (8-1)

No. 11 Grayslake North (6-3) at St. Francis (7-2)

CLASS 5A

No. 10 Sterling (6-3) at Burlington Central (6-3)

CLASS 4A

No. 13 Aurora Central Catholic (6-3) at No. 4 Johnsburg (8-1)

CLASS 3A

No. 8 Aurora Christian (5-4) at No. 1 Sterling Newman Catholic (9-0)