(11-15-26) The quarterfinals are done, and 32 teams are left standing in the IHSA playoffs. The biggest news of the weekend: Byron’s 25-game winning streak is over, and the losing-record run that started with 41 teams in the opening round is down to one survivor.
No. 3 Elmhurst IC Catholic beat No. 2 Byron 33-14 at Byron on Saturday, ending the Tigers’ 25-game winning streak and Jeff Boyer’s bid for a fourth state title. Byron ends the season 11-1. IC Catholic, which got 239 yards and four touchdowns from Jakobe Baldwin, advances to host No. 1 Richmond-Burton in the Class 3A semifinal.
And in Class 6A, No. 20 Nazareth Academy routed No. 9 Quincy 62-21 on Saturday, so the losing-record series lives on into the semifinals — Nazareth, which entered the playoffs below .500, is now 8-5 and the lowest seed left in the whole tournament. The other survivor fell: No. 18 Wheaton St. Francis lost 55-36 at No. 6 Cary-Grove in Class 5A, ending its season 7-6.
Eight unbeaten teams remain: Heyworth and Brown County in 1A, Richmond-Burton and St. Joseph-Ogden in 3A, Morris in 4A, Mahomet-Seymour in 5A, Harlem in 6A and Hersey in 7A. Class 2A and Class 8A have no unbeatens left.
Semifinals are set for next weekend, Nov. 20-21, at the home of the better seed. The state finals are Nov. 27-28 at Hancock Stadium in Normal — Classes 1A-4A on Friday, Nov. 27, and Classes 5A-8A on Saturday, Nov. 28.
Class 1A
No. 2 Stockton (11-1) at No. 1 Heyworth (12-0), Saturday 2 p.m. — Heyworth blanked No. 4 Clifton Central 47-0 in the quarterfinals; Stockton beat No. 11 Fulton 28-21.
No. 3 Hardin Calhoun (11-1) at No. 1 Brown County (12-0), Saturday 1 p.m. — Brown County beat No. 5 Camp Point Central 28-6; Calhoun beat No. 2 Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 38-16.
Class 2A
No. 5 Wilmington (11-1) at No. 3 Aurora Christian (11-1), Saturday 6 p.m. — Aurora Christian rallied past No. 2 El Paso-Gridley 28-24; Wilmington beat No. 8 Peotone 49-27.
No. 4 Nashville (10-2) at No. 2 West Frankfort (11-1), TBA — Nashville upset No. 1 Johnston City 18-12; West Frankfort beat No. 3 Flora 38-14.
Class 3A
No. 1 Richmond-Burton (12-0) at No. 3 IC Catholic (11-1), TBA — Richmond-Burton beat No. 12 Chicago Hope Academy 38-6; IC Catholic ended Byron’s 25-game streak 33-14.
No. 4 Williamsville (11-1) at No. 2 St. Joseph-Ogden (12-0), Saturday 1 p.m. — Williamsville beat No. 8 Monticello 37-23; St. Joseph-Ogden beat No. 3 Mt. Carmel 49-22.
Class 4A
No. 1 Morris (12-0) at No. 2 Coal City (11-1), Saturday 3 p.m. — Morris beat No. 4 Sterling 56-14; Coal City beat No. 14 Rochelle 42-14.
No. 4 Sacred Heart-Griffin (11-1) at No. 3 Rochester (11-1), Saturday 4 p.m. — Rochester beat No. 10 Highland 68-42; Sacred Heart-Griffin upset No. 1 Centralia 42-14. It’s a rematch of the Oct. 9 regular-season meeting, which Sacred Heart-Griffin won 29-28 on a late two-point conversion.
Class 5A
No. 9 Sycamore (9-4) at No. 6 Cary-Grove (10-2), Saturday 1 p.m. — Cary-Grove beat No. 18 Wheaton St. Francis 55-36, ending the Spartans’ losing-record run; Sycamore beat No. 4 Wauconda 42-7.
No. 1 Mahomet-Seymour (12-0) at No. 11 Providence Catholic (10-3), TBA — Mahomet-Seymour beat No. 4 Morton 45-26; Providence Catholic beat No. 10 Carbondale 42-8.
Class 6A
No. 6 Fenwick (9-3) at No. 1 Harlem (12-0), Saturday 1 p.m. — Harlem, in its first state semifinal, rallied past No. 12 Niles Notre Dame 45-41; Fenwick beat No. 7 Wheaton North 14-7.
No. 20 Nazareth Academy (8-5) at No. 6 Wheaton Warrenville South (9-3), Saturday 1 p.m. — Nazareth, the last losing-record survivor, routed No. 9 Quincy 62-21; Wheaton Warrenville South beat No. 2 Normal West 45-20. Quincy ends its season 9-4.
Class 7A
No. 4 East St. Louis (11-1) at No. 8 Brother Rice (10-2), TBD — Brother Rice upset No. 1 Normal Community 41-10; East St. Louis beat No. 5 Mt. Prospect 65-35.
No. 3 Downers Grove North (11-1) at No. 2 Hersey (12-0), TBD — Hersey beat No. 23 Lincoln-Way West 33-14; Downers Grove North beat No. 11 Oak Lawn Richards 38-29.
Class 8A
No. 4 Oswego (11-1) at No. 8 Chicago Mt. Carmel (10-2), TBD — Mt. Carmel, chasing a fifth straight state title, upset No. 1 Lincoln-Way East 21-16; Oswego beat No. 5 Bolingbrook 31-7.
No. 11 Chicago St. Ignatius (10-2) at No. 7 Winnetka New Trier (11-1), TBA — St. Ignatius beat No. 3 Loyola Academy 21-18; New Trier beat No. 2 Huntley 42-28 on Friday.
Muse AI assisted
