Three CS8 teams advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. One Friday night and two Saturday afternoon games. Weather looks to be much better than last week. Friday's high is expected to be around 61 and should still be in the mid 50's at kickoff. On Saturday, the projected temperature in Springfield is now expected to be 65, while in Oak Lawn it's supposed to be 60.
Friday
#8 Coal City (8-2) at #1 Rochester (10-0)
Last week, Coal City ended the Cinderella season of the CS8's 2nd place team U High with an impressive 44-0 victory in poor conditions, while Rochester beat fellow CS8 school Lincoln 59-14. Coal City has lost to two excellent teams, 5A Morris 43-3 in Week 1 and 2A Wilmington 28-0 in Week 7. Along with their win over U High, they have defeated one other playoff team, 3A Peotone 48-7. Haven't seen a ton of video on Max Preps but it appears that the Coalers have a solid running attack. The Rockets continue to work WR-QB Parker Gillespie back into the offense after he missed the first seven weeks of the season. He scored on the game's first play against Lincoln on a 50-yard run and ended up with three rushing and one passing TD. Other than giving up a TD on a well-executed trick play, the Rocket defense was solid again and forced three turnovers. Rochester 42 Coal City 14
Saturday
#1 Morris (10-0) at #9 SHG (7-3)
Morris beat Tinley Park 56-6 last week, while SHG went on the road and beat TF North 23-0. Morris was highly rated in 4A most of the season before ending up as the smallest school in 5A. I'm sure they differ somewhat from the 2017 team which battled Rochester to the game's final play in the 4A championship. I would be shocked, however, if Morris doesn't have a powerful offensive line and a 1,000+ yard running back. After winning the 4A state title last season, the Cyclones had to replace almost all of their starters while also moving from Ken Leonard to John Allison as head coach. There have been ups and downs throughout the season, but SHG played well against Rochester in Week 9 and got a road playoff win last week. Ken Leonard Stadium is a tough place for a road team to get a win. Only 5 teams have done so since it opened in 2012. This should be a hard-fought contest and there is a scenario for an upset. I do think Morris is more likely to get the win. Morris 35 SHG 24
#6 Chatham (7-3) at #3 Oak Lawn Richards (8-2)
Chatham won at home over Bloomington 63-28 last week, while Richards beat Chicago Hubbard 55-7 also at home. Richards opened the season with back-to-back losses to playoff qualifiers Chicago Morgan Park and Libertyville and then has won 8 straight. They own 5 victories over playoff teams but only one of those teams advanced to the 2nd round. I admit knowing very little about the Bulldogs, as they have no stats posted on Max Preps. Chatham won four in a row to start the season, then lost three of their next four, before winning their last two. The Titans start Sophomore Colton Knoedler at QB. Having seen him play 4 times, he has really progressed. Against Bloomington, Knoedler threw 6 TD's, 3 to fellow Sophomore WR Blake Lehnen (brother of North Central College QB Luke). Injuries also have Chatham using a Sophomore RB, who had a 75-yard TD run last week. The Bloomington game should be a wakeup call for the CS8 defenses for '24 and '25. Chatham's vulnerability is on defense, where they are undersized and dealing with a key injury at DB. I think this is a winnable game for the Titans, unless Richards is able to shut down their passing attack. Chatham 34 Richards 30
