Wheaton Warrenville South sent tremors throughout the Class 7A playoff field when the undefeated Tigers edged Naperville North in triple overtime Friday night.
If Wheaton South (9-0) can knock off one of the best in 8A, what chance do the 7A teams stand?
“With only three returning starters, nobody thought we’d be 9-0,” said Tigers quarterback Mike Piatkowski, whose two-point dive into the end zone gave his team a 42-41 victory. “We sent out a really big message to the rest of the state by beating one of the top 8A teams.”
It seemed like the Illinois High School Association, which announced the state playoff pairings Saturday night, wanted to make sure Wheaton’s current 8A champion was challenged despite dropping down in class.
The Tigers could run into formidable St. Rita (6-3) in the second round and Public League power Morgan Park (8-1) in the quarterfinals.
“We’re focusing right now on our first opponent, St. Laurence (5-4),” Piatkowski said. “If we get to St. Rita, that’s a great team we’d be facing from the Catholic League.
“If we have to, we can always look back on the last time we played a Catholic League team — Mt. Carmel (in last year’s title game). Everyone thought Mt. Carmel was going to beat us, and we stepped up and beat them.”
Mt. Carmel (9-0) is once again the team to beat in 8A and hoping to take the final step after finishing second the last two years. The Caravan could be headed for a quarterfinal showdown with Maine South (8-1) or Glenbrook South (8-1).
In the bottom bracket of 8A, Naperville North (8-1) could be headed for a second-round collision with dangerous Bolingbrook (7-2) and a quarterfinal clash with Lincoln-Way East. Downers Grove South (9-0) may run into Andrew (7-2) and Brother Rice (7-2).
Just as Wheaton South put 7A teams on notice, six-time champion Driscoll did the same in 4A. The Highlanders knocked off the Associated Press’ top-ranked 5A team, Montini, 13-7 on Saturday.
“Montini was bigger than us, with three of their players headed to Big Ten schools,” Driscoll quarterback David Schwabe said. “Nobody thought we could beat them, but we didn’t back away from the best team in 5A. We respect everyone — and fear no one.
“Even though I started on two state champions as a sophomore and junior, if we don’t win state my senior year, I’ll think of my years at Driscoll as a failure. That’s why you go to Driscoll, to win a state championship as a senior.
“We don’t count the state titles before us. This is our year, our team. If we don’t win a title this year, I’ll be remembered as the quarterback who lost. That’s not a bad thing, and I’m not nervous about it.”
Class 6A favorite Joliet Catholic (8-1) was placed in the lower bracket with Downstate teams, and there could be an all-Chicago area title game if Richards (9-0) runs the table in the upper bracket. Oak Forest (8-1), Prairie Ridge (9-0) and Lemont (7-2) would be the biggest stumbling blocks for the Bulldogs and standout quarterback Tommie Thomas.
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bsakamoto@tribune.com
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