Welcome to the IHSA football playoffs, where the season’s real work begins

Congratulations to the 46 area football teams that qualified for the playoffs.

Now the real work begins.

With the opening round of the IHSA playoffs beginning this weekend, it’s a good time to talk about some of the interesting storylines.

Forty-six will be whittled down pretty quickly, so let’s jump right in.

Welcome back

There are two things I most look forward to when the brackets are unveiled. One is the batch of qualifiers who haven’t been in the playoffs for several years, and the other is the batch of qualifiers who never seem to miss out.

This season we have a mix of both among our area teams.

Fenton (6-3) returns to the field after last making the playoffs in 2013. The Bison face Wauconda (7-2) in Class 6A as they try to win their first playoff game since 1984.

Burlington Central (7-2) rides a three-game winning streak into its 6A opener against Grant (6-3). The Rockets are in the playoffs for the first time since 2014, looking for their first postseason win since 2006.

The playoff drought was much shorter for other area teams. Schaumburg last qualified in 2017, Waubonsie Valley in 2018 and Benet in 2019. That came at the tail end of a streak of eight straight appearances.

Speaking of consecutive playoff berths, no one in the area comes close to Maine South (6-3), which travels to face Naperville North (7-2) in 8A. The Hawks boast a remarkable streak of 32 straight appearances.

Batavia is next among area teams with 14 straight berths. Glenbard South is right behind with 13.

Primed for a run

It’s always tricky trying to pinpoint a good playoff path, but I kind of like Naperville Central’s in Class 8A.

For starters, the seventh-seeded Redhawks (8-1) sit in the bracket opposite top-seeded Lincoln-Way East (9-0), which beat Naperville Central 28-7 last week. Two-time defending state champion Loyola (7-2) is also in the other half of the bracket.

In Class 7A, we’re looking at a potential quarterfinal showdown between No. 4 Downers Grove North (8-1) and No. 5 Batavia (8-1). Beyond that possible matchup, the path isn’t bad for either team.

Tough times

On the other hand, there are some brutal brackets our teams need to navigate.

It’s easy to look at 6A and envision a state title rematch between top seeds Cary-Grove (9-0) and East St. Louis (8-1). But I can’t stand the upper half of 6A.

Between Libertyville (8-1), Geneva (8-1), Antioch (7-2) and others, Cary-Grove will have its hands full returning to the final.

See you next year?

Let’s tip a cap to the perennial qualifiers who will be sitting out the playoffs.

Glenbard West, with one of the state’s toughest schedules, just missed at 4-5. The Hilltoppers, winners of three state titles, had made 16 straight playoff appearances.

IC Catholic Prep, winners of six titles, saw its streak of eight straight appearances snapped. Lake Zurich’s streak of seven straight appearances also came to an end.