High school football in Illinois finished the semifinal round of the playoffs. That means two things: (1) the winners of the 16 games played Saturday have now advanced to the state title games in their respective classes on Friday (classes 1A–4A) and Saturday (classes 5A–8A) at Huskie Stadium on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb; and (2) we saw some very competitive football this afternoon.
A Lincoln-Way East kickoff, blown back by the wind, effectively became an onside kick (NFHS screenshot)
Writing in The Caravan, the student newspaper at Mt Carmel High School in Chicago, editors suggest a tough season better prepares teams for playoff football than an easy one with all blowouts. Mt Carmel defeated Normal Community in the second playoff game, 14-13, and are now ready for undefeated Lake Zurich in class 7A.
“Normal had averaged over 53 points a game in 10 blowouts and had never won by fewer than 24 points in any of their prior games,” the paper reported. “The Caravan, however, endured a typically tough CCL Blue Division schedule and proved ready for any opponent.”
Unfortunately for the Caravan, Lake Zurich rose to the challenge and defeated Mt Carmel, 14-7. Here are the results for all semifinal games played today:
In class 1A
Lena-Winslow (12-0) d. Forreston (11-1), 12-8
Tuscola (12-0) d. Athens (10-2), 21-14
In class 2A
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (12-0) d. Newman (12-0), 14-8
Maroa-Forsyth (11-1) d. Shelbyville (10-2), 25-14
In class 3A
Immaculate Conception (11-1) d. Byron (12-0), 7-0
Pleasant Plains (9-3) d. Anna-Jonesboro (12-0), 41-2
In class 4A
Morris (10-2) d. Raby (11-1), 43-8
Rochester (12-0) d. Highland (12-0), 31-14
In class 5A
Phillips (12-0) d. Sterling (12-0), 27-14
Dunlap (12-0) d. Washington (10-2), 21-0
In class 6A
Prairie Ridge (12-0) d. Hoffman Estates (10-2), 42-21
Nazareth (11-1) d. Providence (8-4), 24-7
In class 7A
Batavia (11-1) d. Benet (9-3), 23-13
Lake Zurich (12-0) d. Mt Carmel (Chicago) (9-3), 14-7
In class 8A
Lincoln-Way East (12-0) d. Maine South (11-1), 24-14
Loyola (11-1) d. Edwardsville (9-3), 17-10
