There were more than 80 people over at Libertyville quarterback Ryan Kennedy’s house Saturday night to watch the state football playoff pairings show.
“It was great,” said Kennedy, the Miami of Ohio-bound athlete who has led Libertyville to a 9-0 record and a No. 1 seed in Class 7A with close to 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns. “Everyone is pretty excited.
“We got our wish–to be in the same bracket as Prospect, who knocked us out of the playoffs last year. And we wouldn’t face either Lake Zurich or Carmel until the semifinals. But first we have to focus on Notre Dame in our playoff opener.”
Most years it’s 8A that has been the glamorous class with the big-name schools and highly anticipated matchups.
This year 7A has taken center stage. In addition to the tantalizing possibility of 2004 7A champion Libertyville confronting 2005 7A champ Prospect in the quarterfinals, you could also see Lake Zurich (8-1) and Carmel (7-2) in the other northern-bracket quarterfinal.
The Illinois High School Association changed its format, dividing each 32-team field into northern and southern brackets in six of the eight classes and seeding each bracket Nos. 1-16.
In the southern bracket of 7A, powerful East St. Louis (9-0) is expected to advance to the quarterfinals, where a surprising Addison Trail (8-1) could be waiting.
However, Addison Trail must first get by a dangerous first-round opponent in Providence (5-4), which has played five teams (St. Rita, Mt. Carmel, Fenwick, Loyola, Brother Rice) arguably as good or better than the Blazers.
The blockbuster showdown in 7A would be East St. Louis versus St. Rita in the semifinals. St. Rita has been grouped with South Side rival Mt. Carmel in recent playoff pairings, but this time Mt. Carmel has been bumped up to 8A.
Another intriguing 7A qualifier is Plainfield South (9-0) which has been winning big all season in the Southwest Prairie.
The Cougars should have little trouble with Chicago Vocational (5-4) in the opener but could encounter a talented Thornton ballclub in the second round.
Unbeaten Wheaton Warrenville South with Purdue-bound running back Dan Dierking and a defense that has 22 interceptions is the team to beat in the northern bracket of 8A. Maine South, New Trier, Fremd, Glenbrook South and York are other teams to watch.
The southern half of 8A seems to be a two-team race between top-ranked Lincoln-Way East (9-0) and sixth-ranked Mt. Carmel (8-1). Fortunately for football fans everywhere, these two powerhouses were correctly seeded and wouldn’t clash until the semifinals.
The northern half of 6A is loaded with Cary-Grove (9-0), St. Viator (8-1), Batavia (8-1) and Geneva (8-1). In the southern bracket, top-seeded Normal (9-0) could face dangerous Joliet Catholic in the second round.
———-
bsakamoto@tribune.com
