The north bracket quarterfinals are set, and it's played out exactly how I think most people predicted.
#4 Elmhurst (IC Catholic) (10-1) at #1 Princeton (11-0), Sat., Nov. 12, 1:00 pm [Calpreps projection: Immaculate Conception (Elmhurst, IL) 31-28]
IC turned a one point halftime lead into a convincing win over Stillman Valley, dominating the second half. Princeton's defense didn't give up a point in a 26-2 win over G-K. Princeton is arguably a better team than Stillman and gets IC at home on natural grass. Princeton has had a high octane offense all year, but was "held" to 26. IC is the 3A favorite pretty much every year, and has an excellent team featuring a D1 kid at WR and another kid that might be getting looks at the RB spot.
#2 Braidwood (Reed-Custer) (11-0) at #6 Byron (10-1), Sat., Nov. 12, 1:00 pm [Calpreps projection: Reed-Custer (Braidwood, IL) 35-31]
R-C looking to avenge last year's heartbreaking last second loss in this exact same round and location. Another turf team playing on the road on grass. R-C's state leading offense was bottled up to an extent for the first time this year, although their defense was very good, allowing a single score and just over 100 yards of offense to Du-Pec. Byron gave up a couple big play scores to Seneca, but was able to steamroll the much smaller Irish on offense, never needing to punt and averaging what seemed like 8-9 yards per carry once the game was over.
Thoughts?
