Every Monday, I bracket the 256 playoff teams using the IHSA Playoff Outlook. This is NOT a prediction. These are NOT my opinions. It is simply the most logical way the playoffs would be bracketed, using the IHSA's specific system, if today's standings were the final standings.
Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion falling below the cutoff. I take care of that before proceeding.
My adjustments.....
Every conference leaders/winner was above the designated cutoff. The Outlook is otherwise wrong again, of course. Congrats to the IHSA for a perfectly imperfect 2018 season of Outlooks... 0-6.
First, I need to adjust the records of Wood River-East Alton, and Walther Christian. Each team will receive forfeit victories in Week 9, but the Outlook already gave them credit. WR-EA become 5-3, and WC becomes 4-4.
I started with a field comprised of every team with a 4-4 record or better. This gave us 303 teams.
I need to eliminate 47 teams. Starting at the bottom, I begin crossing out the 4-4 teams with the fewest playoff points, up to and including 36 playoff points.
I have 260 teams left. The bottom 8 teams are tied at 4-4/37. Only four of these teams can qualify. These teams are Harlan, Jacksonville-Routt, Alleman, Jersey, Granite City, Lincoln Park, Reavis, and B.I. Eisenhower. These next tie-breaker is total victories by defeated opponents. Would you believe that these 8 teams each have a different total for this tie-breaker? Crazy. Anyways, the tie-break winners are Granite City (13), Lincoln Park (12), Reavis (11), and Harlan (10). Alleman (9) is the first team out of the field. Eisenhower (8), Jersey (7), and Jax-Routt (6) were the other totals.
The classes I'm left with, per the Outlook, are 33-35-32-27-34-34-23-38 from biggest to smallest. Scoot some teams up and down until we're balanced, plug 'em in, and post 'em!
Edwards County, Fulton, and Georgetown-Ridge Farm each have an enrollment of 289. One team at the size was the smallest in 2A, while two others were the largest in 1A. I'm not sure how the IHSA deals with this. I moved up the team with the best IHSA seed of the three, which was Edwards Co.
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Downers Grove South Mustangs at #1 Lincoln-Way East Griffins
#17 Conant Cougars at #16 Bartlett Hawks
#25 Barrington Broncos at #8 Bolingbrook Raiders
#24 Loyola Ramblers at #9 West Aurora Blackhawks
#29 Huntley Red Raiders at #4 Oswego Panthers
#20 Oak Park Huskies at #13 Naperville Central Redhawks
#28 Neuqua Valley Wildcats at #5 Homewood-Flossmoor Vikings
#21 New Trier Trevians at #12 Warren Blue Devils
Lower Bracket
#31 Fremd Vikings at #2 Brother Rice Crusaders
#18 South Elgin Storm at #15 Evanston Wildkits
#26 Waubonsie Valley Warriors at #7 Maine South Hawks
#23 Stevenson Patriots at #10 Oswego East Wolves
#30 Taft Eagles at #3 Glenbard East Rams* (2263)
#19 Minooka Indians at #14 Hinsdale Central Red Devils
#27 Edwardsville Tigers at #6 Marist RedHawks
#22 Glenbard West Hilltoppers at #11 Plainfield South Cougars
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Lincoln Park Lions at #1 Simeon Wolverines^ (2202.75)
#17 St. Charles North Northstars at #16 Benet Academy Redwings
#25 Alton Redbirds at #8 Hersey Huskies
#24 Belleville West Maroons at #9 DeKalb Barbs
#29 Wheaton North Falcons at #4 Willowbrook Warriors
#20 Andrew Thunderbolts at #13 Moline Maroons
#28 Rockford East E-Rabs at #5 Rolling Meadows Mustangs
#21 Hoffman Estates Hawks at #12 Maine West Warriors
Lower Bracket
#31 Granite City Warriors* (1806) at #2 Batavia Bulldogs
#18 Lincoln-Way West Warriors at #15 East St. Louis Flyers
#26 Lake Zurich Bears at #7 Nazareth Academy Roadrunners
#23 Glenbrook North Spartans at #10 Harlem Huskies
#30 Argo Argonauts at #3 Hononegah Indians
#19 Lincoln-Way Central Knights at #14 Wheaton-Warrenville South Tigers
#27 Buffalo Grove Bison at #6 Mount Carmel Caravan
#22 T.F. South Rebels at #11 Normal Ironmen
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lake Forest Scouts at #1 Cary-Grove Trojans
#9 Lakes Eagles #8 Hinsdale South Hornets
#13 St. Ignatius Wolfpack at #4 Notre Dame Dons
#12 Belvidere North Blue Thunder at #5 Kaneland Knights
#15 Deerfield Warriors at #2 Antioch Sequoits
#10 Von Steuben Panthers at #7 Prairie Ridge Wolves
#14 Hubbard Greyhounds at #3 Kenwood Broncos
#11 Crystal Lake South Gators at #6 Phillips Wildcats
Lower Bracket
#16 Reavis Rams^ (1792) at #1 Richards Bulldogs
#9 Dunlap Eagles* (1304) at #8 Yorkville Foxes
#13 Springfield Senators at #4 Normal West Wildcats
#12 Crete-Monee Warriors at #5 Shepard Astros
#15 Peoria Lions at #2 Glenwood Titans
#10 Quincy Blue Devils at #7 Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclones
#14 Lemont Indians at #3 Washington Panthers
#11 Providence Celtics at #6 Bloomington Purple Raiders
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Rochelle Hubs at #1 Sterling Golden Warriors
#9 Hyde Park Thunderbirds #8 Back of the Yards Bobcats
#13 Solorio Academy Sun Warriors at #4 Boylan Catholic Titans
#12 C.V.S. Cavaliers at #5 Elmwood Park Tigers
#15 De La Salle Meteors at #2 Payton Grizzlies
#10 Amundsen Vikings at #7 St. Francis Spartans
#14 Brooks Eagles at #3 Montini Broncos
#11 St. Patrick Shamrocks at #6 Sycamore Spartans
Lower Bracket
#16 Geneseo Maple Leafs at #1 Hillcrest Hawks
#9 Mattoon Green Wave #8 Carbondale Terriers
#13 Rich East Rockets at #4 Cahokia Comanches
#12 Notre Dame Irish^ (1280) at #5 Marion Wildcats
#15 Joliet Catholic Hilltoppers at #2 Highland Bulldogs
#10 Mascoutah Indians at #7 Morton Potters
#14 Mount Zion Braves* (775) at #3 Metamora Redbirds
#11 Champaign Central Maroons at #6 MacArthur Generals
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 St. Edward Green Wave at #1 Immaculate Conception Knights
#9 Stillman Valley Cardinals at #8 Genoa-Kingston Cogs
#13 Raby Raiders at #4 Urban Prep/Bronzeville Lions
#12 Plano Reapers at #5 Ag Science Cyclones
#15 Sullivan Tigers at #2 Coal City Coalers
#10 Johnsburg Skyhawks at #7 Dixon Dukes
#14 Clemente Wildcats at #3 Richmond-Burton Rockets
#11 Wheaton Academy Warriors at #6 Marengo Indians
Lower Bracket
#16 Salem Wildcats at #1 Paris Tigers
#9 Mater Dei Knights #8 Murphysboro Red Devils
#13 Herrin Tigers at #4 Pontiac Indians
#12 Effingham Flaming Hearts at #5 Rochester Rockets^ (766)
#15 Clinton Maroons at #2 Taylorville Tornadoes
#10 Prairie Central Hawks*(563) at #7 Breese Central Cougars
#14 Richland County Tigers at #3 Bishop McNamara Fightin' Irish
#11 Freeburg Midgets at #6 Columbia Eagles
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Urban Prep/Englewood Lions at #1 Byron Tigers
#9 Hall Red Devils #8 Clark Eagles
#13 Westmont Sentinels at #4 Eureka Hornets
#12 Dwight Trojans at #5 Elmwood-Brimfield Trojans
#15 Herscher Tigers at #2 Lisle Lions
#10 Princeton Tigers at #7 Monmouth-Roseville Titans
#14 Seneca Fighting Irish at #3 Dunbar Mightymen
#11 Wilmington Wildcats at #6 North Boone Vikings
Lower Bracket
#16 Wood River-East Alton Oilers^ (561) at #1 Monticello Sages
#9 Frankfort Redbirds at #8 Pana Indians
#13 Greenville Comets at #4 Farmington Farmers
#12 DuQuoin Indians at #5 Beardstown Tigers
#15 Newton Eagles at #2 Carlinville Cavaliers
#10 Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers at #7 Vandalia Vandals
#14 St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans at #3 Fairfield Mules* (426)
#11 Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats at #6 Williamsville Bullets
~~~ 2A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Harlan Falcons at #1 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Falcons
#9 Clifton Central Comets #8 Chester Yellow Jackets
#13 ROWVA-Mid County Tigers^ (424) at #4 Newman Central Catholic Comets
#12 Mercer County Golden Eagles at #5 Collins Warriors
#15 Rockford Christian Royal Lions at #2 Eastland-Pearl City Wolves
#10 Hope Academy Eagles at #7 Rockridge Rockets
#14 Chicago Christian Knights at #3 Orion Chargers
#11 Annawan-Wethersfield Titans at #6 Knoxville Blue Bullets
Lower Bracket
#16 Oakwood Comets at #1 Illini West Chargers
#9 Eldorado Eagles at #8 Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals
#13 Edwards County Lions* (289) at #4 Tuscola Warriors
#12 Pleasant Plains Cardinals at #5 Sesser-Valier Red Devils
#15 Villa Grove-Heritage Blue Devils at #2 St. Teresa Bulldogs
#10 Athens Warriors at #7 Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin Blue Devils
#14 Hamilton-West Hancock Titans at #3 Maroa-Forsyth Trojans
#11 Tri-Valley Vikings at #6 Nashville Hornets
~~~ 1A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 LeRoy Panthers at #1 Ottawa Marquette Crusaders
#9 Aurora Christian Eagles #8 Stockton Blackhawks
#13 Aquin Bulldogs at #4 Lena-Winslow Panthers
#12 Cambridge-Ridgewood Spartans at #5 Orr Spartans
#15 Lewistown Indians at #2 Princeville Princes
#10 Polo Marcos at #7 Dakota Indians
#14 Fulton Steamers^ (289) at #3 Milledgeville Missiles
#11 Orangeville Broncos at #6 Forreston Cardinals
Lower Bracket
#16 Casey-Westfield Warriors at #1 Argenta-Oreana Bombers
#9 Salt Fork Storm at #8 Carrollton Hawks
#13 Cerro Gordo-Bement Broncos at #4 Concord-Triopia Trojans
#12 Cumberland Pirates at #5 Fisher Bunnies
#15 Georgetown-Ridge Farm Buffaloes^ (289) at #2 Camp Point Central Panther
#10 Greenfield-Northwestern Tigers at #7 Arcola Purple Riders
#14 Central A & M Raiders at #3 Red Hill Salukis
#11 Hiawatha Hawks at #6 Madison Trojans
Each week I usually have to add/subtract teams to get a true 256. The Outlook doesn't adjust for a conference champion falling below the cutoff. I take care of that before proceeding.
My adjustments.....
Every conference leaders/winner was above the designated cutoff. The Outlook is otherwise wrong again, of course. Congrats to the IHSA for a perfectly imperfect 2018 season of Outlooks... 0-6.
First, I need to adjust the records of Wood River-East Alton, and Walther Christian. Each team will receive forfeit victories in Week 9, but the Outlook already gave them credit. WR-EA become 5-3, and WC becomes 4-4.
I started with a field comprised of every team with a 4-4 record or better. This gave us 303 teams.
I need to eliminate 47 teams. Starting at the bottom, I begin crossing out the 4-4 teams with the fewest playoff points, up to and including 36 playoff points.
I have 260 teams left. The bottom 8 teams are tied at 4-4/37. Only four of these teams can qualify. These teams are Harlan, Jacksonville-Routt, Alleman, Jersey, Granite City, Lincoln Park, Reavis, and B.I. Eisenhower. These next tie-breaker is total victories by defeated opponents. Would you believe that these 8 teams each have a different total for this tie-breaker? Crazy. Anyways, the tie-break winners are Granite City (13), Lincoln Park (12), Reavis (11), and Harlan (10). Alleman (9) is the first team out of the field. Eisenhower (8), Jersey (7), and Jax-Routt (6) were the other totals.
The classes I'm left with, per the Outlook, are 33-35-32-27-34-34-23-38 from biggest to smallest. Scoot some teams up and down until we're balanced, plug 'em in, and post 'em!
Edwards County, Fulton, and Georgetown-Ridge Farm each have an enrollment of 289. One team at the size was the smallest in 2A, while two others were the largest in 1A. I'm not sure how the IHSA deals with this. I moved up the team with the best IHSA seed of the three, which was Edwards Co.
* is the smallest team in the class
^ is the biggest team in the class
~~~ 8A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Downers Grove South Mustangs at #1 Lincoln-Way East Griffins
#17 Conant Cougars at #16 Bartlett Hawks
#25 Barrington Broncos at #8 Bolingbrook Raiders
#24 Loyola Ramblers at #9 West Aurora Blackhawks
#29 Huntley Red Raiders at #4 Oswego Panthers
#20 Oak Park Huskies at #13 Naperville Central Redhawks
#28 Neuqua Valley Wildcats at #5 Homewood-Flossmoor Vikings
#21 New Trier Trevians at #12 Warren Blue Devils
Lower Bracket
#31 Fremd Vikings at #2 Brother Rice Crusaders
#18 South Elgin Storm at #15 Evanston Wildkits
#26 Waubonsie Valley Warriors at #7 Maine South Hawks
#23 Stevenson Patriots at #10 Oswego East Wolves
#30 Taft Eagles at #3 Glenbard East Rams* (2263)
#19 Minooka Indians at #14 Hinsdale Central Red Devils
#27 Edwardsville Tigers at #6 Marist RedHawks
#22 Glenbard West Hilltoppers at #11 Plainfield South Cougars
~~~ 7A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#32 Lincoln Park Lions at #1 Simeon Wolverines^ (2202.75)
#17 St. Charles North Northstars at #16 Benet Academy Redwings
#25 Alton Redbirds at #8 Hersey Huskies
#24 Belleville West Maroons at #9 DeKalb Barbs
#29 Wheaton North Falcons at #4 Willowbrook Warriors
#20 Andrew Thunderbolts at #13 Moline Maroons
#28 Rockford East E-Rabs at #5 Rolling Meadows Mustangs
#21 Hoffman Estates Hawks at #12 Maine West Warriors
Lower Bracket
#31 Granite City Warriors* (1806) at #2 Batavia Bulldogs
#18 Lincoln-Way West Warriors at #15 East St. Louis Flyers
#26 Lake Zurich Bears at #7 Nazareth Academy Roadrunners
#23 Glenbrook North Spartans at #10 Harlem Huskies
#30 Argo Argonauts at #3 Hononegah Indians
#19 Lincoln-Way Central Knights at #14 Wheaton-Warrenville South Tigers
#27 Buffalo Grove Bison at #6 Mount Carmel Caravan
#22 T.F. South Rebels at #11 Normal Ironmen
~~~ 6A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Lake Forest Scouts at #1 Cary-Grove Trojans
#9 Lakes Eagles #8 Hinsdale South Hornets
#13 St. Ignatius Wolfpack at #4 Notre Dame Dons
#12 Belvidere North Blue Thunder at #5 Kaneland Knights
#15 Deerfield Warriors at #2 Antioch Sequoits
#10 Von Steuben Panthers at #7 Prairie Ridge Wolves
#14 Hubbard Greyhounds at #3 Kenwood Broncos
#11 Crystal Lake South Gators at #6 Phillips Wildcats
Lower Bracket
#16 Reavis Rams^ (1792) at #1 Richards Bulldogs
#9 Dunlap Eagles* (1304) at #8 Yorkville Foxes
#13 Springfield Senators at #4 Normal West Wildcats
#12 Crete-Monee Warriors at #5 Shepard Astros
#15 Peoria Lions at #2 Glenwood Titans
#10 Quincy Blue Devils at #7 Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclones
#14 Lemont Indians at #3 Washington Panthers
#11 Providence Celtics at #6 Bloomington Purple Raiders
~~~ 5A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Rochelle Hubs at #1 Sterling Golden Warriors
#9 Hyde Park Thunderbirds #8 Back of the Yards Bobcats
#13 Solorio Academy Sun Warriors at #4 Boylan Catholic Titans
#12 C.V.S. Cavaliers at #5 Elmwood Park Tigers
#15 De La Salle Meteors at #2 Payton Grizzlies
#10 Amundsen Vikings at #7 St. Francis Spartans
#14 Brooks Eagles at #3 Montini Broncos
#11 St. Patrick Shamrocks at #6 Sycamore Spartans
Lower Bracket
#16 Geneseo Maple Leafs at #1 Hillcrest Hawks
#9 Mattoon Green Wave #8 Carbondale Terriers
#13 Rich East Rockets at #4 Cahokia Comanches
#12 Notre Dame Irish^ (1280) at #5 Marion Wildcats
#15 Joliet Catholic Hilltoppers at #2 Highland Bulldogs
#10 Mascoutah Indians at #7 Morton Potters
#14 Mount Zion Braves* (775) at #3 Metamora Redbirds
#11 Champaign Central Maroons at #6 MacArthur Generals
~~~ 4A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 St. Edward Green Wave at #1 Immaculate Conception Knights
#9 Stillman Valley Cardinals at #8 Genoa-Kingston Cogs
#13 Raby Raiders at #4 Urban Prep/Bronzeville Lions
#12 Plano Reapers at #5 Ag Science Cyclones
#15 Sullivan Tigers at #2 Coal City Coalers
#10 Johnsburg Skyhawks at #7 Dixon Dukes
#14 Clemente Wildcats at #3 Richmond-Burton Rockets
#11 Wheaton Academy Warriors at #6 Marengo Indians
Lower Bracket
#16 Salem Wildcats at #1 Paris Tigers
#9 Mater Dei Knights #8 Murphysboro Red Devils
#13 Herrin Tigers at #4 Pontiac Indians
#12 Effingham Flaming Hearts at #5 Rochester Rockets^ (766)
#15 Clinton Maroons at #2 Taylorville Tornadoes
#10 Prairie Central Hawks*(563) at #7 Breese Central Cougars
#14 Richland County Tigers at #3 Bishop McNamara Fightin' Irish
#11 Freeburg Midgets at #6 Columbia Eagles
~~~ 3A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Urban Prep/Englewood Lions at #1 Byron Tigers
#9 Hall Red Devils #8 Clark Eagles
#13 Westmont Sentinels at #4 Eureka Hornets
#12 Dwight Trojans at #5 Elmwood-Brimfield Trojans
#15 Herscher Tigers at #2 Lisle Lions
#10 Princeton Tigers at #7 Monmouth-Roseville Titans
#14 Seneca Fighting Irish at #3 Dunbar Mightymen
#11 Wilmington Wildcats at #6 North Boone Vikings
Lower Bracket
#16 Wood River-East Alton Oilers^ (561) at #1 Monticello Sages
#9 Frankfort Redbirds at #8 Pana Indians
#13 Greenville Comets at #4 Farmington Farmers
#12 DuQuoin Indians at #5 Beardstown Tigers
#15 Newton Eagles at #2 Carlinville Cavaliers
#10 Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers at #7 Vandalia Vandals
#14 St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans at #3 Fairfield Mules* (426)
#11 Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats at #6 Williamsville Bullets
~~~ 2A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 Harlan Falcons at #1 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Falcons
#9 Clifton Central Comets #8 Chester Yellow Jackets
#13 ROWVA-Mid County Tigers^ (424) at #4 Newman Central Catholic Comets
#12 Mercer County Golden Eagles at #5 Collins Warriors
#15 Rockford Christian Royal Lions at #2 Eastland-Pearl City Wolves
#10 Hope Academy Eagles at #7 Rockridge Rockets
#14 Chicago Christian Knights at #3 Orion Chargers
#11 Annawan-Wethersfield Titans at #6 Knoxville Blue Bullets
Lower Bracket
#16 Oakwood Comets at #1 Illini West Chargers
#9 Eldorado Eagles at #8 Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals
#13 Edwards County Lions* (289) at #4 Tuscola Warriors
#12 Pleasant Plains Cardinals at #5 Sesser-Valier Red Devils
#15 Villa Grove-Heritage Blue Devils at #2 St. Teresa Bulldogs
#10 Athens Warriors at #7 Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin Blue Devils
#14 Hamilton-West Hancock Titans at #3 Maroa-Forsyth Trojans
#11 Tri-Valley Vikings at #6 Nashville Hornets
~~~ 1A ~~~
Upper Bracket
#16 LeRoy Panthers at #1 Ottawa Marquette Crusaders
#9 Aurora Christian Eagles #8 Stockton Blackhawks
#13 Aquin Bulldogs at #4 Lena-Winslow Panthers
#12 Cambridge-Ridgewood Spartans at #5 Orr Spartans
#15 Lewistown Indians at #2 Princeville Princes
#10 Polo Marcos at #7 Dakota Indians
#14 Fulton Steamers^ (289) at #3 Milledgeville Missiles
#11 Orangeville Broncos at #6 Forreston Cardinals
Lower Bracket
#16 Casey-Westfield Warriors at #1 Argenta-Oreana Bombers
#9 Salt Fork Storm at #8 Carrollton Hawks
#13 Cerro Gordo-Bement Broncos at #4 Concord-Triopia Trojans
#12 Cumberland Pirates at #5 Fisher Bunnies
#15 Georgetown-Ridge Farm Buffaloes^ (289) at #2 Camp Point Central Panther
#10 Greenfield-Northwestern Tigers at #7 Arcola Purple Riders
#14 Central A & M Raiders at #3 Red Hill Salukis
#11 Hiawatha Hawks at #6 Madison Trojans
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