The 2019 IHSA state football playoff pairings have been released. Here are some quick thoughts on all classes 8A, 7A, 6A, and 5A:
Class 8A
Top four seeds:
1. Minooka
2. Glenbard West
3. Lincoln Way-East
4. Warren Township
Best first-round matchups:
(17) St. Charles East at (16) Edwardsville
(21) Hinsdale Central at (12) Bolingbrook
(18) Loyola at (15) Maine south
(19) Notre Dame at (14) Barrington
Sleeper Teams:
#18 Loyola Academy: Yes, the Ramblers did not look good on Saturday in the loss to Marist; however, no one —including Maine South— wanted to see Loyola this early in the bracket.
#23 Marist: The Redhawks have talent. Can they ride the ‘Loyola win’ momentum into the postseason?
Class 7A
Top four seeds
1. Mount Carmel
2. Nazareth Academy
3. Rolling Meadows
4. Hersey
Best first-round matchups:
(17) Benet Academy at (16) Glenbard North
(20) Lake Zurich at (13) Andrew
(19) Prospect at (14) DeKalb
Sleeper Team:
#22 Wheaton South: The Tigers are a battle-tested team from the always-tough DuKane conference.
#16 Glenbard North: The Panthers have gone from 0-9 in 2018 to a could-be bracket buster in the ‘19 playoffs. This is definitely a team to avoid this time of the year.
Class 6A
Top four seeds
North
1. Prairie Ridge
2. Deerfield
South
1. East St. Louis
2 Glenwood
Best first-round matchups:
(13) St. Ignatius at (4) Cary-Grove
(13) Washington at (4) Richards
(10) Springfield at (7) Lemont
(11) Providence Catholic at (6) Normal West
Sleeper Teams:
#14 Lake Forest: The Scouts have struggled to get to 5-4; that said, this is a team that plays 8A-7A competition all regular season. They will be prepared for 6A playoff football.
#11 Providence Catholic: The Celtics have also been up and down all season. But the line play and the overall talent level is more than capable of being a tough early draw in 6A.
Class 5A
Top four seeds
North
1. Sterling
2. Boylan Catholic
South
1. Mt. Zion
2. Rochester
Best first-round matchups:
(13) St. Laurence at (4) Hillcrest
(11) Sacred Heart-Griffin at (6) Morris
Sleeper teams:
#8 St. Rita: The Mustangs have won five straight games since hitting a mid-season skid. RB Kaleb Brown is a game-changing running back.
#13 St. Laurence: The Vikings also have some serious weapons on offense. Furthermore, they have played as tough of a regular-season schedule than anyone in 5A.
#16 Decatur MacArthur: The Generals have serious talent including T.J. Lawson. They are also battle-tested, as they reside in the fierce Central State Eight Conference.
#9 Joliet Catholic: Why? Well, why not? The Hilltoppers are just as dangerous this year as they were a season ago.