Wheaton Area Teams Open IHSA Football Playoffs With Four Home and Road Tests

The Illinois High School Association has released its football playoff pairings for all eight classes, with 48 teams in each. First-round games are set for Friday and Saturday, and the state championship games will be played Nov. 27 and 28 at Hancock Stadium in Normal.

Four Wheaton-area programs are in the bracket, and all of them play Friday night. In Class 6A, Wheaton North (6-3) hosts Rolling Meadows (3-7) at 6:30 p.m. Rolling Meadows reached this round by beating Addison Trail 34-26 in the opening round.

Also in 6A, Wheaton Warrenville South (6-3) welcomes Joliet Catholic (6-4) at 7 p.m. Joliet Catholic arrives after a 44-3 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais.

In Class 5A, Wheaton Academy (7-2) hosts Belvidere North (6-4) at 7 p.m. Belvidere North advanced with a 42-29 victory over Freeport. Wheaton St. Francis (5-5) has a tougher assignment, traveling to face Kaneland (8-1) at 7 p.m. St. Francis earned its spot with a 61-6 win over Grayslake North.

Elsewhere in the largest classification, Class 8A, undefeated Lincoln-Way East (9-0) hosts Oak Park-River Forest (5-5) at 6:15 p.m. Friday. Huntley, also 9-0, plays host to Oswego East at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Hinsdale Central (7-3) meets Von Steuben (7-1) at Winnemac Stadium at noon, and Maine South (8-1) hosts O'Fallon (6-4) at 2:30 p.m.

In Class 7A, Normal Community (9-0) hosts Edwardsville (5-5) on Saturday at 2 p.m., and Hersey (9-0) welcomes Yorkville (5-5) on Friday at 7 p.m. Class 6A top team Harlem (9-0) hosts St. Charles East (4-6) Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Several other unbeaten teams begin their runs at home. In Class 5A, Antioch (9-0) faces Glenbard South (6-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. In Class 4A, Morris (9-0) hosts Tinley Park (5-5) Friday at 7 p.m., and Carterville (9-0) hosts Salem (6-4) Saturday at 1 p.m.

The smaller classes follow a similar pattern. In Class 3A, Richmond-Burton (9-0) hosts Princeton (5-5) on Saturday at 1 p.m. In Class 2A, Riverdale (9-0) hosts Lanark-Eastland (5-5) on Saturday at 1 p.m. In Class 1A, Heyworth (9-0) hosts Galena (6-4) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Some games will be played at neutral sites rather than on a team's home field. They include Glenbard East against Kenwood in Class 7A at Lane Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m., and Quincy against Goode in Class 6A at Rockne Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.