Herald-News area IHSA playoff picture: 10 are in, 8 more still alive heading into Week 9

Although Morris, Lincoln-Way West, Joliet Catholic, Lincoln-Way East, Minooka, Seneca, Wilmington, Coal City, Lincoln-Way Central and Joliet West have already wrapped up their postseason berths, they still have plenty to play for in their regular-season finales. Others around the extended Joliet area, meanwhile, will be competing for their playoff lives.

Here’s a look at the Week 9 playoff picture across the Herald-News area.

IN

8-0 teams

Morris (44 playoff points)

Morris is playing for the final Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 White championship at home against Sycamore and a top seed in either the Class 4A or 5A fields depending on where enrollment breaks, but is already locked into a playoff spot and most likely a first-round home playoff game.

Lincoln-Way East (43 playoff points)

The Griffins can lock up an undefeated season and the SouthWest Suburban Blue championship with a Week 9 win at 3-5 Bolingbrook. The defending Class 8A runners-up have never missed the postseason since the school moved to a four-year campus in 2001.

Seneca (32 playoff points)

The Fighting Irish are in via both their eight wins and the inaugural championship of the Chicagoland Prairie League. Week 9′s home game against St. Bede won’t change any of that, but it would guarantee Seneca a top seed in the Class 2A or 3A field, whichever the Irish end up in.

7-1 teams

Wilmington (37 playoff points)

The Wildcats have wrapped up the Illinois Central Eight Conference’s automatic bid and will look to win their eighth straight game and lock up a likely first-round home playoff game when they visit 2-6 Streator this Friday.

Lincoln-Way Central (34 playoff points)

The Knights will get a playoff-caliber test Friday with a visit to 6-2 Bradley-Bourbonnais, but regardless of the result are locked into the Class 7A field for the first time since 2018. A win could get L-W Central a first-round home game.

Joliet West (28 playoff points)

Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, the Tigers really could use a win Friday at 4-4 Plainfield Central – which will be playing for a playoff spot itself – to help offset Joliet West’s seed-sinking low number of playoff points and get a better draw in the 8A bracket.

6-2 teams

Lincoln-Way West (39 playoff points)

The Warriors are locked into a playoff spot and seem destined for the Class 7A field regardless of the result of Friday’s home game against Andrew. A win would greatly help L-W West’s seed though.

Joliet Catholic (33 playoff points)

Already in the playoffs for the 44th time in program history, the Hilltoppers host St. Ignatius in Week 9 with the CCL/ESCC Green championship on the line as well as a better shot at a potential first-round home playoff game.

Coal City (32 playoff points)

The Coalers will visit a hungry 4-4 Manteno team playing for its own postseason berth Friday but have already locked up their spot in the Class 4A field for the 12th consecutive season. It’s all about the seed for the Coalers.

Minooka (30 playoff points)

The Indians are locked in with six wins no matter the result of Friday’s visit to 5-3 West Aurora, but a win would go a long way to compensating for Minooka’s relatively low number of playoff points when it comes to seeding the 8A bracket.

STILL ELIGIBLE

5-3 teams

Lockport (45 playoff points)

The Porters will host a playoff-hungry, 4-4 Homewood-Flossmoor squad in Week 9. Regardless of the result, Lockport’s high number of playoff points makes it a virtual lock to be in the the Class 8A field for Week 10, although a win would dramatically improve their seed in a tough field.

Dwight/GSW (31 playoff points)

The Trojans need either a home win over 6-2 Marquette on Friday or a forgiving playoff point cutoff for 5-4 at-large bids. Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington seems likely to finish with 35 playoff points if it does finish 5-4, probably enough to get the Trojans into the Class 2A or, less likely, 3A field.

Peotone (30 playoff points)

The Blue Devils’ low number of playoff points could be a concern if more than a few 5-4 teams wind up missing the cut this season. That’s normally the case, although none did last season. A win at 2-6 Herscher on Friday would alleviate those worries and get Petone into the 3A bracket for certain.

4-4 teams

Providence (48 playoff points)

The Celtics’ whopping 50-something playoff points when it’s all said and done will get them into the playoffs with a victory at home Friday against Benet. There also could be a path with a loss if 4-5 teams wind up getting at-large bids, but a win’s a much safer course.

Plainfield North (44 playoff points)

Three close wins over the past four weeks have the Tigers in striking range of making the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They’ll likely need one more victory, however, Friday at 5-3 Yorkville.

Lemont (43 playoff points)

A Class 6A state semifinalist last fall, Lemont almost certainly will need a victory at 7-1 Thornton Fractional North on Thursday to get back to the postseason unless an unprecedented number of 4-5 teams make the cut.

Plainfield Central (28 playoff points)

With only 28 playoff points, the only path to the postseason for the Wildcats includes first upsetting 7-1 Joliet West on Friday, then either winning whatever tiebreaker the Southwest Prairie East will use to determine its conference representative or getting an at-large bid because of an unusually low cutoff for playoff points. Either path begins or ends with Friday’s outcome.

3-5 teams

Bolingbrook (46 playoff points)

If any 4-5 teams get at-large bids – a big “if” seeing as only one, Buffalo Grove, did last season, and most seasons none do – Bolingbrook’s final playoff point total in the 50s should put the Raiders toward the front of the line. For that to even be a possibility, however, Bolingbrook would have to knock off undefeated Lincoln-Way East on Friday night.