AREA FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF GAME PREVIEWS: Can Maine South get back to Champaign?

The Hawks “Road to Champaign” begins Friday night at Wilson Field as Maine South welcomes the Red Raiders of Huntley High School. It is the fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs and ninth overall for the Fox Valley Conference power. The Red Raiders have a 7-8 record in the playoffs.

The Red Raiders are led by senior quarterback Chris Raffin.

Raffin, has completed 113 of his 180 passing attempts with 12 touchdown passes and five interceptions and has ran for 619 yards and has 13 rushing touchdowns.

Senior wide receiver Mike Boland is Raffins’ favorite receiver, hauling in 54 receptions for 937 yards and eight touchdowns. Senior WRs Connor Fitzgerald (286 receiving yards 2 TD) and Davis Pasco (187 receiving yards) are secondary receivers for Raffin.

Sophomore RB Ryder Havens, is the Red Raiders leading ball carrier, with 884 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Huntley defense is led by senior OLB Mike Taleski who leads Huntley with 91 tackles, including 12 TFL and six sacks.

The Hawks begin their 27th consecutive playoff run and 34th overall in school history. They have won six state championships and brought home three state runner-up trophies back to Park Ridge. The Hawks have a 66-27 record in state playoff competition.

Maine South is led by senior quarterbacks Cole Dow and Bobby Inserra.

Inserra returns from a Week 2 injury suffered against Mount Carmel.

Dow has thrown for 961 passing yards with eight touchdown passes. Dow can run, too.

Dow has seven rushing touchdowns and has rushed for 330 yards. Inserra threw his fourth and fifth touchdown passes of the season in Friday’s 48-6 Hawk win over Niles West.

The area’s leading receiver, junior,Danny Lazic (609 yards six TD) and fellow junior receiver Ryan Kilburg (438 yards, six TD) are Dow and Inserra’s favorite targets. Senior Danny Wolf leads the Hawks’ ground attack with 431 yards and six touchdowns.

Hard-hitting LBs Luke Preston, Jimmy Bartell and Wolf lead the Hawk defense. Kilburg, along with Mike Valazquez, anchor the Hawk secondary.

Valazquez also handles the Hawks punting chores. Senior Place Kicker Aiden Carolan, leads Lazic by one point for the Hawks’ scoring leadership with 45 points. 

For the visiting Warriors  from Waubonsie Valley, this is the 21st playoff appearance with a 15-20 record in school history. The Warriors have averaged 19 point-per-game and have allowed 18.6 ppg on the season. The Warriors are led by junior RB Bryce Logan who has run for 1,000 yards on the season with eight touchdowns. Senior QB Jack Drow, has thrown for 800 yards with eight touchdown passes. Senior WR Harper Cole, is Drow’s favorite receiver with 200 receiving yards.

For the host Raiders, this is their 30th playoff appearance with a 34-28 record with one state championship and one runner-up season. The Raiders have averaged 33.3 ppg and allowed just 12.3 ppg, for 2018.

The Raiders have been led by their senior, running back tandem of Quentin Pringle (924 yards, 15TD) and Anthony Williams Jr. (778 yards 15 TD). Junior QB Devyn Suggs, has thrown for 626 yards and three touchdowns. Williams, Jr (174 receiving yards, TD) and Yorel Davis (153 receiving yards TD) have been Suggs’ favorite receivers.

The Raider defense has been led by DB Cameron Mitchell, DE Eiljah Armstrong and DT Brandon White.

DRAKE Bolingbrook 21 Waubonsie Valley 7

The visiting Redhawks from Naperville are making their 31st playoff appearance with a 54-28 record. The Redhawks have won two state championships and been state runner-ups twice. The Redhawks score at a 36.6 ppg and allow 24.1 bppg

Naperville Central is led by their senior QB Payton Thorne. Thorne, one of the top QBs in Illinois, has thrown for 2,649 yards with 30 touchdown passes. Senior WR Cade McDonald is Thorne’s favorite receiver, with 73 receptions for 1,093 yards and 13 touchdown catches. Sophomore WR  Sam Jackson has 45 receptions for 800 yards and 11TDs, Redhawk senior RB Danny Hughes, has rushed for over 1,000 yards with 12 TDs. 

The Redhawk defense has trouble stopping the run. In their 55-41 loss at Cary Grove, the host Trojans ran over, around and through the Redhawk defense for 429 rushing yards.

The host Cougars are making their sixth playoff appearance with a 2-5 mark in playoff action. The 2018 Cougars are scoring 20.7 ppg and allowing just 11.3 ppg.

Senior QB Cody Dieball has returned from a broken foot injury and scored two touchdowns in the Cougars’ heartbreaking 22-15 loss to mighty Oswego on Friday.

Dieball, has ran for 517 yards and has scored nine touchdowns, to lead the Cougars in scoring. Senior RB Tod Bell leads the Cougars with 552 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Bell is also the leading receiver, with six catches for 142 yards and two touchdown catches. The Cougars have only thrown the ball 40 times this year completing 22 for 374 yards.

The vaunted Cougar “D” is anchored by LB Connor, LB  Jake Kendall and DE Adriel Montemayor. DB Matt Fulller anchors the Cougs’ secondary. 

The Ramblers are making their 32nd playoff appearance, 16 in succession, with a 59-26 record. The Ramblers have won two state championships and have finished second the last two consecutive seasons and five times in their history. The Ramblers score at a 26.4 ppg and allow 14.2 ppg in 2018.

The Ramblers are led by their senior QB Jack Falon.

Falon, has completed 56 of his 97 passes for 701 yards and eight touchdowns. Falon also has rushed for 209 yards and four touchdowns. Trevor Callahan is the Ramblers’ leading ground-gainer with 373 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior WR Rory Boors, is Falon’s favorite receiver, hauling in 38 passes for 588 yards and 6TDs. WRs Artie Collins (26-329-4TD) and Jared Lombardi (23-276-3TD) add depth to the Rambler receiving corp.

The Rambler defense is led by LBs, Mike Kados (78 tackles) and Sam Schierloh (78 tackles). DL Ed Eastman (54 tackles) leadsthe Ramblers with five sacks.

The Indians are making their 17th playoff appearance with a 14-16 record. the 2018 Indians average 30.9 ppg and allow 13.2ppg.

The Indians are led, by their junior QB Seth Lehr. Lehr leads the area, with 1,294 yards passing and 11 touchdown tosses.

Senior WR Braden Vercler (283 receiving yards, 3TD) leads the Indians, in pass receiving yardage. Junior RB Marty Ellens, leads the Indians with 549 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Senior RB Davonte Welcher, has rushed for 462 yards and seven touchdowns. Ellens, also has 275 receiving yards and a two touchdown catches. Junior WR Steven Gonzales, chips in with 271 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Indian “Sack Master’s” junior LB Jake Shipla (11 sacks) and senior DE Alfred Vaughn (10 sacks) anchor the Indian defense.  

Benet is making its 22nd playoff appearance and seventh consecutive. The Redwings have a 25-21 playoff record with one second place finish. In 2016 and 2017 the Redwings have advanced to the Class 7A semifinals. Benet averages 25.7 ppg and allow 17.6.

The Redwings are led by junior QB Colin Gillespie who has thrown for 1,262 yard and 10 touchdowns. 6-foot-6 WR Niko Kasprzycki is Gillespie’s favorite receiver, with 434 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Senior RBs Ben Hickey (652 yards 8TD) and Mike Wymer (477 yards 7TD), handle the Redwing ground attack. Standout defensive end Jack Benish, is the anchor of the Redwing defense.

The hosts from Maine West are making their sixth playoff and appearance and our looking for their first playoff victory (0-5). The Warriors average 41.9 ppg and allow 11.7ppg.

Senior RB Jake Bellizzi, has rushed for 1,407 yards and has scored 24 touchdowns, to lead a Warrior attack, that averages 40 points per game. Junior QB Matt Kentgen, has thrown for over 1.100 yard and has 18 touchdown passes. Senior WR Ellys Grimmer, is Kentgen’s favorite receiver, hauling in over 600 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

MARK  Maine West 35  Benet 27 

The visiting Wolves are in the playoffs for a third time in school history with an 0-2 record. The Wolves score at a 27.9 clip and allow 10.9 ppg.

The host Dons are in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year and 19th overall appearance with a 12-19 record and one second place finish. The Dons score at 32.3 ppg and allow just 12 ppg.

The Dons are led by the 2017 East Suburban Catholic Conference MVP, senior RB/DB Ty Gavin. Gavin has rushed for 958 yards and has scored 20 touchdowns on the season. Junior RB Julian Schurr has rambled for 641 yards with eight touchdowns, while sophomore QB Anthony Sayles has combined for almost 1.100 yards with nine TDs running and passing the football.

The Don defensive anchor, junior linebacker Anthony Ranallo, replaced the injured Gavin and moved to FB and scored the game-winning touchdowns, in the Dons’ 21-7 victory at Carmel, in Week 8.

The visiting Hilltoppers are in the playoffs, for the 40th time after a two-year hiatus. The Hilltoppers, have won 109 playoff games-26 losses and have won a state-record13 state football championships. Joliet Catholic, has finished second on four other occasions.

The 2018 Hilltoppers are averaging 31.4 ppg and allowing 27.7 ppg.

Hilltopper RB Keenan Hailey has rushed for an area-leading 1,692 yards and is tied with Notre Dame’s Ty Gavin, for the area’s scoring leadership with 120 points. Bruising Hilltopper FB Nick Iannantone, has rumbled for 707 yards and has scored seven touchdowns. Senior QB Jordan Alvarez has thrown for 501 yards and seven touchdown passes. Izaiah Murphy is Alvarez’s favorite receiver with 240 receiving yards and three touchdown catches.

The host Redbirds are playing in their 33rd playoff series with a 64-29 record. The Redbirds have won three state championships with seven runner-up finishes. In 1999 and again in 2000, Joliet Catholic defeated Metamora, to win Class 4A state championships.The 2018 Redbirds average 42.4 ppg and allow 15.7 ppg.

Redbird QB Thomas Hall, has thrown for 1,244 yards with 13 touchdown passes. Hall, has ran for over 200 yards and has 13 rushing touchdowns. RB Austin Ioergen leads the Redbird ground troops with 723 yards and 11 touchdowns. RB Logan McClure chips in with 338 rushing yards and four touchdowns. WR John Gatton has hauled in 24 Hall passes for 559 yards and four touchdowns. WR Jack Moore has three touchdown receptions, with 252 receiving yards.

The Redbird defense is led by MLB Connor Bernitt and DE  Dathan Reynold

The visiting Trojans are making their seventh playoff appearance with a 1-6 record. The 2018 Trojans average 26.9 ppg and allow 15.7 ppg.

The hosts from Lisle are making their 23rd playoff appearance with an 8-22 record. The Lions are scoring at a 24.3 ppg clip and allowing 16.4 ppg.

The Lions are led by their senior QB/DB/PK Jay McGrath. McGrath has thrown 1,095 yards and eight touchdowns. McGrath has ran for another 270 yards with seven rushing touchdowns. McGrath can kick, too. McGrath has scored 82 points on the season, which ranks fifth in the area.

Dylan Laue leads the Lion ground attack with 337 yards and seven touchdowns. 6-foot-5 Jake Kowal, is McGrath’s favorite receiver with 337 receiving yards and three touchdowns. 

MARK  Lisle 27 Dwight 17

WEEK 9 PICKS   Mark 12-3 .750    Drake 10-5 .667

  1.  Decatur St Teresa          9-0   56.2 ppg
2.  East St Louis                  7-2   53.4 ppg
  3.  Carlinville                        9-0  50.8 ppg

  4.  Quincy                            7-2  50.3 ppg
5.  Gibson City                     9-0  49.1 ppg

  6.  Bishop McNamara          8-1  48.2 ppg

  7.  Rolling Meadows            9-0  47.7 ppg
  8.  Monticello                       9-0  47.4 ppg

  9.  Carthage                        9-0  47.2 ppg

 10. SHG                               7-2  46.2 ppg

       Byron                             9-0   46.2 ppg

TOP DEFENSE
1.  Gibson City                    9-0     2.7 ppg
2.  Ottawa Marquette          9-0     3.8 ppg

  3.  Richards                        9-0     4.8 ppg
4.  Princeville                      9-0     5.0 ppg

  5.  Brother Rice                  9-0     5.8 ppg

  6.  Simeon                          9-0     6.0 ppg

       Warren                          8-1     6.0 ppg
8.  L-W East                       9-0     6.2 ppg
Hillcrest                         9-0     6.2 ppg

       Coal City                       8-1     6.2 ppg