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Preview capsules on 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A IHSA football championship games

S.Martinez3 months ago

The second day of the IHSA Football championship games is Saturday, with many of the usual big names taking the field at Illinois State's Hancock Stadium.

Here's a look at Saturday's games, Class 5A-8A.

CLASS 5A

LaGrange Park Nazareth vs. Joliet Catholic

When: Saturday, 10 a.m.

Where: Hancock Stadium, Normal

Season records: Nazareth 8-5, Joliet Catholic 10-3

FYI: Unranked Nazareth was among six 4-5 teams to earn a playoff berth thanks to its murderous early season schedule. The Roadrunners began their season with four losses to playoff teams ... Defending 5A champion Nazareth lost to Wheaton St. Francis 35-17 in week nine before downing the same foe 38-31 in the semifinals and could become the first five-loss team to win a championship in state history ... Logan Malachuk has passed for 3,062 yards and 29 TDs for Nazareth with three over 700 yards receiving. Highly recruited junior defensive end Gabe Kaminski has 15 sacks and 37 tackles for loss ... No. 10-ranked Joliet Catholic has received 1,490 yards rushing from HJ Grigsby. Quarterback Andy Hunoz has throws for 1,366 yards. Top receiver Adrian Washington has 35 catches for 700 yards and 10 TDs.

Prediction: Nazareth.

CLASS 6A

Cary-Grove vs. East St. Louis

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

Where: Hancock Stadium, Normal

Season records: Cary-Grove 11-2, East St. Louis 11-2

FYI: No. 1-ranked East St. Louis won the 6A state title in 2020 and ’22, while No. 5 Cary-Grove took the crown in ’18 and ’21 (beating East St. Louis in the championship game) ... East St. Louis played at Hancock Stadium in the Flyers’ season opener, losing to 7A finalist Mount Carmel 36-33. Its other loss came to a team from Texas ... The Flyers are led by quarterback Robert Battle, a Lindenwood recruit ... The Trojans are a run-first team that relies on Logan Abrams (1,493 yards rushing, 24 TDs) and Andrew Prio (1,228, 14 TDs, 15.4 per carry). Cary-Grove quarterback Peyton Seaburg has passed for 336 yards and run for 683.

Prediction: East St. Louis

CLASS 7A

Downers Grove North vs. Chicago Mount Carmel

When: Saturday, 4 p.m.

Where: Hancock Stadium, Normal

Season records: Downers Grove North 11-2, Mount Carmel 12-1

FYI: Top-ranked Mount Carmel boasts a Power Five tailback recruit in junior Darrion Dupree, who was 1,056 yards on the ground and 704 receiving ... Caravan quarterback Jack Elliott has thrown for 2,861 yards and 32 TDs ... Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch played quarterback for the Caravan and at Northern Illinois ... DGN coach Joe Horeni played on the 2001 8A state champion Downers Grove South team ... The Trojans, who ousted Normal Community in the semifinals, have a power back in Noah Battle (1,098 yards, 17 TDs). Sophomore quarterback Owen Lansu has 1,929 yards passing and throws to the Thulin brothers. Owen Thulin has 44 receptions for 574 yards and Oliver owns 35 catches for 492 ... DGN linebacker Cael Brezina is headed to Iowa State.

Prediction: Mount Carmel

CLASS 8A

Wilmette Loyola vs. Lincoln-Way East

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Hancock Stadium, Normal

Season records: Loyola 13-0, Lincoln-Way East 13-0

FYI: It’s another No. 1 (Loyola) vs. No. 2 (Lincoln-Way East) showdown. Loyola has won the past two matchups by a combined 16-3 score, including a 13-3 victory in last season’s 8A title game. Beau Desherow is Loyola’s first-year coach and took over after the retirement of John Holecek, who won three state crowns and finished second four times with the Ramblers ... Former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is a Loyola assistant and his son Ryan has passed for 1,853 yards and rushed for 545 as the Ramblers quarterback ... Lincoln-Way coach Rob Zvonar is a former Illinois Wesleyan linebacker who has guided the Griffins to three state championships and two seconds in 23 years ... Lincoln-Way’s offense relies on Nuri Muhammad (1,307 yards rushing), Zion Gist (807 rushing) and Braden Tischer (1,672 passing). Center Josh Janowski is an Iowa recruit ... The Griffins have outscored their four playoff opponents 157-6.

Prediction: Lincoln-Way East.

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