Playoff Roundup

    The first week of the IHSA football playoffs had some interesting upsets, undefeated teams moving on, and plenty of close games.
    Round one has shown us that it is tough being in the seventh seed, as nine of the 16 seventh seed teams from 1A to 8A were upset by the 10th seed. In fact, over the first week, there were 26 upsets in total, leaving plenty of confidence for those lower seeds.
    Let’s take a look at each division, and see how they stacked up through round one.
Class 1A
    In the smallest division for the IHSA, Class 1A has three undefeated teams left.
    Lena-Winslow (1), Tuscola (1) and Bridgeport (Red Hill) (2) have yet to be beatened.
    Class 1A also saw both of the seven seeds get upset by the 10th, as Princeton defeated Dakota (27-24) and Toledo defeated Decatur (26-21). Another upset in the class came from Fulton (11) defeating Ottawa Marquette (6) in a 34-16 contest.
Class 2A
    The 2A Division is tied with Class 3A in terms of the most undefeated teams left in their bracket: Four.
    A perennial favorite, Sterling Newman Central Catholic is in the number one spot, while other undefeated teams include Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, Hamilton (West Hancock Coop.) and Westville.
    In 2A, they also saw two more upsets at the 7/10 spots, with Savanna (10) defeating Minonk (7) in a shutout win, 40-0. Tenth-seed Carlyle also defeated Sciota (7) in another big win, 32-14.
    The biggest upset in the class came from El Paso-Gridley though, as they entered in the 14th spot, defeating Rockridge (3), 29-26.
Class 3A
    There remains four undefeated teams. Three of the four are in the north bracket - Farmington, Williamsville and Byron. One team is undefeated in the south, Anna Jonesboro.
    Two I-8 teams that entered the playoffs, Wilmington and Peotone, won during week 1.
    The Blue Devils host IC Catholic Friday at 7 p.m., while the Wildcats travel to Farmington on Saturday at 2 p.m.
    While Class 3A is tied with the most undefeated teams, they also saw a couple teams receive their first loss this past week.
    The biggest upset was Pleasant Plains (16) defeating Trenton (first seed, undefeated). Pleasant Plains ran away with the game, 51-20.
    Fairfield (2) was another undefeated team to fall this past week, as Vandalia (15) beat them 41-14.
    In the 7/10 spot, Greenville (10) defeated Sesser (7)  39-20.
Class 4A
    Two I-8 Conference members who fell in week one were Coal City losing to Taylorville (42-7), and Manteno falling to Effingham (48-21).
    Herscher (3) and Morris (5) remain alive in the bracket, as the Tigers advance to face Taylorville in a quarterback shootout in Herscher. The Redskins will take on Ridgewood (13) at Ridgewood.
    As far as upsets, 4A had the least amount with two. Ridgewood (13) defeated Chicago Sullivan (4), 49-14, while Richmond Burton (10) beat Chicago Bronzeville (7), 21-6.
    Class 4A also saw the largest margin win, as well as the highest points scored by one team in week one, as Rochelle (8) beat Chicago Ag. (9), 69-0.
Class 5A
    Class 5A saw six teams get upset in the opening round, with several being complete shutouts.
    Chicago Solorlo Academy (9) beat Chicago Back of the Yards (8) 62-0, Maple Park (10) beat Chicago Lindblom (7) 47-0, Woodstock (14) defeated Antioch (3) 31-9, Glenbard South (11) beat Chicago Payton (6) 49-31, Peoria Richwoods (15) beat Troy (2) 15-13, and Morton (10) defeated Centralia (7) 41-33.
    The Class still boasts three undefeated teams though, Chicago Phillips, Sterling High School and Dunlap.
    Dunlap defeated an I-8 team in the opening round, as Streator’s season came to an end, 64-20.
Class 6A
    It was a tough week for 6A in round one, as only one undefeated team remains, and there were the most upsets of the whole playoffs: Seven.
    Crystal Lake was the only 9-0 team in 6A and remains undefeated after week one.
    As far as upsets, well, there were just too many to list. Among them were: Hinsdale South (16) over Crete-Monee (1) 28-20, Belvidere North (14) defeated Rockford Auburn (3) 20-7, and Marmion Academy (14) beat Palos Heights Shepard (3) 34-7.
Class 7A
    The second largest class was a little bland this past week, as three teams remain undefeated, and there were only three upsets in the first round.
    Rockton (Hononegah) (1), Normal Community (2) and Lake Zurich (3) remain undefeated heading into round two.
    Lincoln Way-West and Lincoln Way-Central are both still alive in 7A, while Lincoln-Way East remains in the bracket for 8A.
    Upsets in the bracket included Lisle Benet Academy (17) defeating Maine West (16)35-13, Alton (28) beat Lincoln Park (5) 32-12, and Mt. Carmel (18) won against Moline (15) 52-7.
Class 8A
    The top three seeds for 8A remained alive through round one, and are the only undefeated teams left in the largest bracket.
    Lincoln-Way East (1), Barrington (2) and Marist (3)  all advanced with complete blowouts. Barrington was the only team to let the opposition score, and it was only a field goal.
    However, in the bracket there were a total of five upsets.
    St. Charles East (17) beat Oswego East (16) 24-14, Gurnee Warren (21) won against Bolingbrook (12) 28-14, Edwardsville (26) beat Huntley (7) 42-38, Palatine defeated South Elgin 24-3, and Chicago Curie (19) won over LaGrange Lyons (14) 46-28.
    Minooka (15) is also still alive in the bracket after defeating Niles Notre Dame (18) in the opening round, 22-19.