The Herald-News IHSA playoffs quarterfinal preview

Here’s the Herald-News prep football preview for the third round of the state playoffs, featuring key showdowns across the greater Joliet area.

Class 8A

Stevenson (10-1) at Lincoln-Way East (11-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Griffins: Lincoln-Way East didn’t look its best while collecting a 38-7 win over Minooka in Round 2, but it says a lot that the Griffins still manage to collect a runaway win in a second-round playoff game despite not having their “A” game. QB Jonas Williams added five more touchdown passes to his already impressive total on the season, but admitted he and his team still didn’t quite play up to their potential. Lincoln-Way East’s defense, though, played very well in shutting off most avenues that Minooka tried to travel, as the defensive line consistently broke down plays and forced the Indians into attempts outside of their comfort level. The L-W East defense is only allowing about 10 points a game to opponents, very few of which scored against Lincoln-Way East’s first-string unit. Friday’s effort was the fifth game this season where an opponent has been held to a touchdown or less.

About the Patriots: The only loss Stevenson suffered this season was at the hands of Libertyville back in Week 3, but the Patriots brushed themselves off from that defeat and immediately got back to work, ripping off eight wins in a row – most of them by substantial margins. The Patriots don’t have a bunch of flashy offensive statistics, but they are very balanced on that side of the ball, making it difficult for opponents to key on any one weapon. QB Aiden Crawley is a dangerous dual threat, while RB Aiden Elliott does a nice job helping Stevenson sustain drives. WR Zach Hersh has made several key plays for Stevenson down the stretch, including snaring two long touchdown receptions in Stevenson’s second-round win over Glenbard East.

Friday Night Drive pick: Lincoln-Way East

Class 7A

Lincoln-Way Central (8-3) at Bradley-Bourbonnais (9-2)

When: 6 p.m. Friday

About the Knights: Lincoln-Way Central has found another gear in the postseason and suddenly become an offensive juggernaut. The Knights have scored 98 points in two playoff games and stacked up nearly 500 yards of total offense in the win over Hoffman Estates in Round 2. RB Tyler Tulk was responsible for a lot of that productivity, as he racked up 282 yards rushing on just 21 carries for the Knights. Tulk also formed a formidable one-two punch with RB Luke Tingley, who also ran for 126 yards. Lincoln-Way Central also owns a previous win this season over this weekend’s opponent, a 28-6 victory back in Week 5. The Knights appear to now have coupled a strong offense with a stout defense, which makes a repeat victory over Bradley-Bourbonnais a good possibility.

About the Boilermakers: Bradley-Bourbonnais’ only two losses this season came to Lincoln-Way schools. The Boilermakers also fell to Lincoln-Way West in Week 9. But outside of the Lincoln-Way schools, Bradley has done much better offensively using a piecemeal attack that could feature any number of players running the football and QB Gavin Kohl picking and choosing from a litany of wide receivers to target. Defensively, the Boilermakers have been up and down all season, having scuffled at times and then at other times being able to go into complete shutdown mode. It might all come down to which version of the Boilermakers team shows up on Friday night.

FND pick: Lincoln-Way Central

Class 5A

Joliet Catholic (8-3) at Peoria High (9-2)

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

About the Hilltoppers: Joliet Catholic has found little resistance through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and its vaunted ground game continues to stack up yardage and points largely behind the one-two punch of RBs Larry Stringham and Nate Magrini. This is a repeat game from last postseason where Joliet Catholic earned a 40-16 win in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. Joliet Catholic will hope to use much the same blueprint that it did last year – control possession and keep Peoria’s high-octane offense on the sidelines as much as possible. But if Joliet Catholic’s defense continues to play with the strength it has in the playoffs thus far, it might not matter if Peoria does get a bunch of chances with the ball.

About the Lions: Peoria High went through a coaching transition, but it doesn’t appear it matters who holds the main headset when it comes to keeping the Lions moving on offense. Peoria has scored at least 44 points in all but two games this season, largely using a tandem of RBs Detaurion Pollard and Kendall Netters. That duo racked up 243 yards and three touchdowns in Peoria’s win over T.F. North in Round 2, while junior QB Breon Green is also highly efficient in moving the football both with his arm and his legs. He accounted for three touchdown passes (two to WR Spencer Russell) and one rushing score in the T.F. North win as well.

FND pick: Joliet Catholic

Morris (7-4) at Morgan Park (10-1)

When: 4 p.m. Saturday at Gately Stadium

About Morris: Morris battled health issues for most of the second half of the season, but largely healthy now has looked like a different team in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. Morris does have a variety of offensive weapons at its disposal when healthy, as QB Brady Varner has a multitude of choices in where to send the football. WR Ethan Mumbrue had a solid game against Highland in Round 2, but he’s far from the only choice Varner has. Morris might be able to figure out a way to continue its high rate of scoring against Morgan Park, but the focus will be on the defense’s ability to get at least some stops. Morris has given up more than its fair share of points over the past few weeks, so getting those things in check will be pivotal for Morris in its hopes to topple the bracket’s top seed.

About the Mustangs: Morgan Park has its eyes set on becoming the second team from the Chicago Public League to win a state title, and so far the Mustangs have looked the part. After losing its Week 1 game against Marist, Morgan Park has done an incredible job on defense, allowing just 13 points over its next 10 games. Metamora broke Morgan Park’s defensive spell by scoring 28 points on them in Round 2, but the problem for Metamora was keeping Morgan Park from scoring at a frightening pace. The Mustangs feature a potent one-two punch of QB Marcus Thaxton and RB Terrance Gurley, both of whom had a field day running and throwing all over Metamora’s defense. It’s a dilemma that all of Morgan Park’s opponents didn’t manage to solve.

FND pick: Morgan Park

Class 4A

Dixon (10-1) at Coal City (9-2)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

About the Dukes: Dixon is one of the few schools in Illinois that has surpassed 500 points scored this season, as the Dukes have consistently put up big numbers offensively. Dixon has a nice combo of performers – most notably QB Cullen Shaner and RB Landon Knigge – and they’ve fueled an offense that has frequently run away from opponents early in games and not allowed much of anything in regards to rallies. Dixon allowed 29 points in its lone loss of the season to Byron. But other than that, opposing offenses haven’t made much of a dent against the Dukes. Dixon has only surrendered two touchdowns in four other games and held six opponents to a touchdowns or less.

About the Coalers: Coal City RB Landin Benson has getting a lot of praise for guiding the Coalers offense to great heights, as his back-to-back five-touchdown performances are certainly worth of note. And while Benson has been fantastic, Coal City’s defensive unit has also been stellar. The Coalers gave up 31 points in their season-opening loss to Joliet West, but just 69 points since and have shown a propensity to not only limit points, but yards as well. Both of those two teams seem solid through and through, both offensively and defensively.

FND pick: Dixon

Class 3A

Wilmington (11-0) at Durand-Pecatonica (10-1)

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

About the Wilmington: Wilmington’s transition to Class 3A has gone quite smoothly, as the Wildcats have breezed to a pair of playoff wins over Eureka and Stillman Valley. Wilmington’s outstanding running game continues to provide plenty of yards and points to the cause, as RBs Ryan Kettman and Kyle Farrell make a one-two punch that no one has really figured out how to slow down let alone stop to date. And while the offense has been prolific, the defense has quickly grown into a dynamic bedrock for the team. It completely took a Eureka offense that averaged over 30 points a game heading into its Round 2 playoff matchup out of its rhythm and didn’t allow a single first down until late in the third quarter of Wilmington’s 36-0 win.

About the Indians: Durand-Pecatonica has an explosive offensive attack guided by outstanding senior QB Cooper Hoffman, the NUIC Conference’s all-time leader in total yards (passing and rushing) and total career touchdowns. Although Wilmington’s defense has been absolutely dominant this season, it hasn’t seen a challenge quite like Hoffman presents, and it will be interesting to see how the Wildcats respond to that test. DuPec has put together numerous solid seasons in the Northern Upstate Illini Conference over the past few years, but despite the fact that the NUIC is an extremely well-regarded league, it is largely made of Class 1A teams. The Indians have won at least one playoff game in each of the last three seasons in 3A, but have never advanced past the quarterfinal round in school history.

FND pick: Wilmington

Class 2A

Farmington (11-0) at Dwight/GSW (8-3)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

About the Farmers: Farmington has taken on a couple of forms this season. Early on in the year, the Farmers were putting up tons of points. While that hasn’t continued at quite the same pace, the defense has played better and better and has just four games where it has allowed more than 10 points in a game. One of those was in Round 2 of the playoffs, where Farmington edged Rockridge 14-10 and forced a number of turnovers in the red zone to assure the victory was in hand. The Farmers haven’t lost this season, but have had a number of close calls with three games decided by a touchdown or less. One game that wasn’t close? The Farmers’ 40-0, Week 5 blanking of Elmwood-Brimfield, the team Dwight/GSW edged 12-6 last Saturday.

About Dwight: Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington showed a flair for the dramatic in its first-ever second round playoff victory, as it clipped Elmwood-Brimfield 12-6. Dwight’s first-round playoff win over Momence was the program’s first since 1983. The Trojans have done most of their postseason journey courtesy of strong defensive efforts. Limiting Elmwood to six points was an accomplishment considering how many points that team had posted during the regular season. Dwight/GSW’s offense has been extremely workman-like, utilizing a number of runners to keep the chains moving. It might be in Dwight’s best interest to try to play a little bit of possession ball with Farmington, as the Farmers do have the capability to be a quick-strike offense.

FND pick: Farmington