Previewing the top IHSA football playoff quarterfinals

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun Times SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard Class 8A: No. 4 Mount Carmel at No. 1 Lincoln-Way East, 1 p.m. Saturday Based on the teams’ talent and resumes, this matchup feels more like a semifinal or even state final. But losses to East St. Louis and Brother Rice dropped Mount Carmel (9-2) to a No. 8 seed and here we are. Brady Cloherty, who started the season as the Caravan’s No. 2 quarterback, already has set the program’s single-season record for touchdown passes, aided by the state’s deepest receiving corps. That group includes Michigan commit Quentin Burrell, Marshaun Thornton and Ty Kennedy. Mount Carmel’s defense has stars at all three levels with lineman Caleb Tucker, linebacker Roman Igwebuike (Notre Dame) and defensive back Tavares Harrington (Michigan). All Lincoln-Way East (11-0) has done is win, with signature victories against Brother Rice, Kankakee, Homewood-Flossmoor and more. The Griffins beat Oak Park and Hinsdale Central the past two weeks with backup quarterback Tyler Sychalski filling in for Evan LeFevour. Class 8A: No. 7 Bolingbrook at No. 8 Oswego, 5 p.m. Saturday This is a rematch of Bolingbrook’s 21-7 win in Week 4. A season-opening shutout loss to Homewood-Flossmoor is just a distant memory for Bolingbrook (10-1), which is led by two of the state’s top players in running back TJ Lewis (Oklahoma State) and edge Darreion Prescott (Notre Dame). Lewis had one of the plays of the year in last week’s 22-14 win against Lyons, a zigging and zagging 73-yard run that took him from one sideline to the other. Oswego (10-1), last year’s Class 8A runner-up, is succeeding thanks to its usual mix of swarming defense and effective running by Ammar Banire, quarterback Drew Kleinhans and fullback Luke Hernandez. Class 6A: No. 23 Wheaton North vs. No. 21 Fenwick, 1 p.m. Saturday at Triton Wheaton North (8-3) is coming off the biggest upset in the playoffs, a down-to-the-wire 36-35 win against Geneva that avenged a 42-14 loss in Week 7. Sophomore quarterback Grant Neibch, who was promoted to the varsity in Week 6 after his older brother Burke went out with a hand injury, threw the game-winning TD pass to Johnny Clayton with 7.8 seconds left. Iowa recruit Jake Thies, arguably the best two-way player in the state as a running back and defensive back, has a program-record 44 career touchdowns and counting for defending Class 6A champ Fenwick (8-3). Class 5A: St. Francis at No. 25 Cary-Grove, 1 p.m. Saturday Defending 5A champion St. Francis (7-5) is one of two five-loss teams still alive (Nazareth is the other). Since losing to Montini in Week 9, the Spartans have averaged just over 50 points in three lopsided playoff wins. Running back Tivias Caldwell Jr., quarterback Jadon Wilson, receiver Greg Bess-Henning and two-way star James McGrath (Western Illinois) are among St. Francis’ playmakers. Despite coming into the season with one of coach Brad Seaburg’s least experienced teams, Cary-Grove (9-2) is in the quarterfinals for the seventh time since 2018. Quarterback Jackson Berndt has the Trojans’ trademark triple-option offense humming along. Class 3A: No. 6 IC Catholic at Byron, 2:30 p.m . Saturday This could wind up being the de facto Class 3A title game. IC Catholic (10-1) has lost only to 8A power Loyola in a game the Knights led at halftime. Running back Jakobe Baldwin has rushed for more than 1,500 yards with 17 touchdowns and Grant Bowen, a top-40 player nationally in the junior class, has more than 800 receiving yards with 11 TDs. Byron (11-0) won last year’s meeting between these two teams 28-6 en route to its third state title since 2021. The Tigers have an average winning margin of 45 points this season. SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard Mike Clark Chicago Sun-Times High school sports contributor Next Up In High School Football 2026 IHSA state football quarterfinal playoff scores Morgan Park students walk out of school in support of fired football coach Chris James Morgan Park fires football coach Chris James Michael O'Brien's Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 13 Providence flashes a multidimensional offense in 5A win against Morgan Park Marion Persich runs for 183 yards as Morris dominates Montini in long-awaited 4A playoff showdown