North Boone (8-2) at Lisle (9-1) Friday at 7
North Boone is making its 18th appearance in the playoffs,with a 14-17 record and a Class 1A State-Runner up finish in 1992.
The guests from Poplar Grove North Boone, are led by their,senior quarterback, Britton Morris, who has thrown for 2,966 yards and 32 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions. Senior WR Ethan Rydell has hauled in 82 passes for 1,163 yards and 14 touchdowns. WR Josh Hoffman has 27 receptions for 616 yards and 10 TDs. RB Cooper Baden has 31 catches for 458 yards and two touchdown catches. WR Garrick Oliver chips in with 17 catches for 247 yards and three touchdowns.
Baden also has rushed for 291 yards and scored six touchdowns. Morris,is the Vikings’ leading rusher,with 543 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Vikings average 39.1 points-per-game and allow 23.1 points-per-game
The Lions are in the playoffs for 23rd time with an 8-22 record.
Senior quarterback/defensive back/place/kicker-deluxe, Jay McGrath, will lead his Lions against what appears to be an aerial circus from the Vikings’ QB and his talented receivers.
McGrath scored four touchdowns, had five successful PATs and kicked a 29-yard field goal in the Lions’ 38-14 Class 3A first-round win over Dwight. McGrath would score 32 of the 38 Lions’ points.
McGrath is fifth in the area in pass receiving yardage, with 1,121 yards and nine touchdown passes. and is currently in third place in area scoring with 114 points. Demo Kellie (377 yards, four touchdowns) and Jakub Kowal (335 yards, three touchdowns) are McGrath’s favorite receivers. Senior Mike Walker (365 yards, four touchdowns) and Dylan Laue (335 yards seven touchdowns), lead the Lions’ ground attack.
6-foot, 255 pound senior DT Kevin Paz,spent Friday night in the Dwight backfield, with 17 tackles to lead the Lion “D”. The Lions average 25.7ppg and allow 16.1 ppg.
(North Boone stats courtesy of the Rockford-Register Star)
DRAKE Lisle 34 North Boone 28
MARK Lisle 28 North Boone 24
Maine South (9-1) at Waubonsie Valley (8-2) Saturday at 1
This is the 27th consecutive time in the playoffs for the Hawks and the 34th appearance in Maine South football history. The Hawks have won six IHSA state football championships with three second-place finishes.
The Hawks are led by senior QB Cole Dow, who has thrown for 1,103 yards with 11 touchdown passes. Dow ranks third in the area in passing yardage. The area’s top two receivers, juniors Danny Lazic (672 yards, six TDs) and Ryan Kilburg (577 yards, seven TDs) are Dow’s favorite receivers. Recent injury returnee, Bobby Inserra, moves back to his former wide receiver spot to give Dow another top-notch option. As a junior, Inserra was All-Central Suburban League South and a member of the 2017 Bugle Newspaper All-Area Football Team.
Senior Danny Wolf leads the Hawks’ ground attack with 539 yards and eight touchdowns. From his LB spot on defense, Wolf has destroyed numerous enemy running backs and wide receivers,with his devastating hits. LBs Luke Preston and Jimmy Bartell cause major headaches for enemy offensive coordinators.
Jon Halverson anchors the Hawks defensive line. Kilburg, anchors the Hawk secondary, along with Mike Velasquez, who also handles the Hawk, punting chores. Pete Skoronski and friends, the O-line, clear the road for Hawk running backs and make life easy for Dow.
PK Aiden Carolan (52 points) lost his Hawks’ scoring leadership to Wolf (54 points). The individual battle will continue in Aurora Saturday. The Hawks are averaging 36.9 ppg and allowing 13.5ppg.
The host Warriors,are making their 21st playoff appearance with a 16-20 overall mark. The 2018 Warriors have averaged 20.3ppg and have allowed 18.8ppg.
Junior running back Bryce Logan has rushed for more than 1,150 yards with 10 touchdowns for Waubonsie Valley and Warrior senior QB Jack Drow has thrown for almost 1,000 yards with 10 touchdown passes.
DRAKE Maine South 35 Waubonsie Valley 14
MARK Maine South 42 Waubonsie Valley 17
Marion (7-3) at Joliet Catholic Academy (8-2) Joliet Memorial Stadium Saturday at 5
The Wildcats from “The Little Egypt” section, of the far, southern section of Illinois, as 13 miles to the west of Marion. lives a band of “Egyptian Dogs”, the Salukis of Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, are making their 14th consecutive playoff appearance and 20th overall. Marion has an 11-19 playoff game record. The 2018 Wildcats are averaging 29 ppg and allow 21.7 ppg.
The Wildcats from “The Little Egypt” section, of the far, southern section of Illinois, as 13 miles to the west of Marion. lives a band of “Egyptian Dogs”, the Salukis of Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, are making their 14th consecutive playoff appearance and 20th overall. Marion has an 11-19 playoff game record. The 2018 Wildcats are averaging 29 ppg and allow 21.7 ppg.
The Wildcats are led by their senior QB, Boston Zeigler. Ziegler has thrown for over 1,000 yards with 10 touchdown passes and has run for over 500 yards and seven touchdowns
Zeigler’s favorite receivers are seniors Dylan Kinell (24 catches, 340 yards, 4TD; 2 rushing TDs) and Jack Welch (18 catches,209 yard 2TD; 178 rushing yards, 3 TD.
The host Hilltoppers are making their 40th appearance, in the playoffs, with an IHSA state-record 13 state football championships. The Hilltoppers have also had four state runner-up finishes. They own a 110-26 record in the playoffs. The 2018 Hilltoppers average 31.4ppg and allow 27.7ppg.
Hilltopper senior RB Keenan Hailey leads the area with 1,822 yards and has scored an area-leading 24 touchdowns. Senior FB Nick Iannantone, has rumbled for 867 yards and has scored nine touchdowns. Senior QB Jordan Alavarez, has thrown for 667 yards and 10 touchdowns. WR Izaiah Murphy is Alvarez’ favorite receiver with 287 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
The Hilltopper offensive line affectionately is known as “The Big Dogs” of the Hilltopper offensive line are led by 6-foot-4, 276 pound, senior Ty O’Janovac and consist of 6-foot-1, 276 pound, Conor Kovas, 6-foot, 270 pound Ryan Laule, 6-foot-2, 290 pound, Colin Cox and 6-foot-6 290 pound, Dave Monnot.
Middle LB Fernando Chavez and DE Ryan Jones anchor the Hilltopper defense.
DRAKE Joliet Catholic 45 Marion 7
MARK Joliet Catholic 48 Marion 12
Notre Dame (8-2) at Crystal Lake South (6-4) Saturday at 7
(Crystal Lake South stats courtesy of our old friend Joe Stevenson of The Northwest Herald)
The Dons are making their 19th playoff appearance and sixth in succession. They have a 13-19 overall playoff record, with a second-place finish, in 1989. The 2018 Dons’ average 30.5 ppg and allow just 11.5 ppg.
The Dons’ senior RB/DB Ty Gavin, has done it all for the Dons, since his sophomore year in 2016. On Saturday night in Niles, Gavin went 90-yards, to score the game winning-touchdown, in the Dons’ 14-7 Class 6A first round game victory over St. Ignatius. Gavin is second in the area in both rushing yardage (1,072 yards) and scoring (21 TDs, 126 points). Junior RB Julian Schurr has ran for 761 yards and has scored 10 touchdowns on the campaign.
The Dons sophomore QB Anthony Sayles has accounted for more than 1,200 yards of total offense and 10 touchdowns. Kicking-specialist Danny Simon has scored 49 points for the Dons.
The Don’s defense which only allows 11.5 ppg is led by junior LB Anthony Ranallo and senior DB Xavier Buckley.
The host Gators are making their 20th playoff appearance with a 24-19 record. The 2018 Gators average 31.7 ppg and allow 15.3ppg
The Gators are led by junior QB Ian Gorken who has thrown for 1,199 yards and 13 TDs. Gorken has also rushed for 568 yards and nine TDs. Senior WR Jake Rana has hauled in nine of the 13 Gorken TD tosses with 586 receiving yards. Gorken ran for 128 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns replacing the injured (ankle) Gator rushing leader Zach Borgert (1,294 yards, 15TDs) in the 56-0 Gators’ first-round victory. Senior WR Mike Helm, chips in with 325 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.
DRAKE Notre Dame 21 Crystal Lake South 17
MARK Notre Dame 27 Crystal Lake South 24
First Round Picks: Mark 5-3 .625; Drake 4-4 .500
Season: Drake 125-27 Mark 116-34
STATE STUFF
TOP TEN OFFENSE
1.Decatur St. Teresa 10-0 55.3ppg
2.East St. Louis 8-2 54.2ppg
3.Gibson City 10-0 51.3ppg
4.Carlinville 10-0 50.4ppg
5.Bishop McNamara 9-1 49.6ppg
6.Monticello 10-0 47.6ppg
Highland 10-0 47.6ppg
8.Illini West Carthage 10-0 47.4ppg
9.Byron 10-0 46.9ppg
Maroa-Forsyth 10-0 46.9ppg
TOP TEN DEFENSE
1. Gibson City 10-0 3.0ppg
2. Ottawa Marquette 10-0 3.9ppg
3. Oak Lawn Richards 10-0 4.3ppg
4. Princeville 10-0 5.2ppg
Brother Rice 10-0 5.2ppg
6. Lincoln-Way East 10-0 5.6ppg
Hillcrest 10-0 5.6ppg
Coal City 9-1 5.6ppg
9. Gurnee Warren 9-1 5.7ppg
10. Chicago Mt.Carmel 9-1 6.0ppg