Football playoffs week 2: This weekend's top high school games
Class 8A: No. 2 Loyola at No. 15 Marist, 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Loyola’s regular season featured some speed bumps, including early losses to East St. Louis and St. Francis along with an injury to Iowa-bound quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald. But the Ramblers (8-2) have won eight in a row and look to have their mojo back. Fitzgerald has scaled back his running but remains an elite passer with 1,144 yards, 17 touchdown passes and only one interception. Drew MacPherson, another Iowa commit, is Loyola’s leading rusher and receiver with 1,150 total yards (8.1 per touch) and 14 TDs. Marist, 9-1 under first-year coach Mike Fitzgerald after missing the playoffs last season, has a well-balanced offense led by quarterback Jake Ritter and Cornell-bound running back John McAuliffe.
Class 8A: No. 20 Fremd at No. 10Naperville Central, 7:30 p.m. Friday
In the year of the quarterback in the Chicago area, few have been better than Fremd junior Johnny O’Brien. Playing in a conference that had five playoff qualifiers, the Northwestern commit has completed 71% of his passes for 2,978 yards and 35 touchdowns for the 9-1 Vikings. Naperville Central (9-1), whose only loss was to No. 1 Lincoln-Way East, has lots of talent on offense. Quarterback Sebastian Hayes is the comeback player of the year after missing two seasons because of two ACL tears. Running back Aiden Clark and receiver DeShaun Williams also have big-play ability.
Class 8A: York at No. 9 Oswego,6:30 p.m. Friday
Oswego (10-0) always has been known for stingy defense, and this year the Panthers are exceptional even by their own high standards. Led by Iowa-bound linebacker Carson Cooney, Oswego is allowing seven points a game. The Panthers also have a proven kicker in Kaleb Stumpenhorst, who booted a 47-yard field goal in the win last week over Waubonsie Valley. York (8-2) has a productive dual-threat quarterback in Bruno Massel, who ran 16 times for 173 yards and four touchdowns and was 11-for-11 passing for 75 yards and a TD in the win last week over Edwardsville.
Class 7A: St. Charles North at No. 3 Mount Carmel, 5 p.m. Saturday
Two of the state’s top QBs will square off here. St. Charles North’s Ethan Plumb tied the IHSA playoff record with seven TD passes in the 49-14 win last week against Rolling Meadows. He passed for 379 yards and ran for 45 more as the North Stars (9-1) won their sixth in a row. Vanderbilt commit Jack Elliott has cut back on his running to avoid reaggravating an injury but remains one of the state’s top passers. In the win last week over Harlem, he threw three TD passes to Quentin Burrell.
Class 7A: No. 17 Fenwick at No. 7 Downers Grove North, 1 p.m. Saturday
Fenwick (8-2) keeps finding new and creative ways to use Nate Marshall, the state’s No. 2 senior and an Auburn commit as a defensive lineman. He has been used as a receiver and as a Wildcat quarterback, scoring the Friars’ only touchdown in the 12-7 win last week over Brother Rice. Minnesota commit Owen Lansu, one of several elite quarterbacks to deal with a midseason injury, is back and completed 18 of 21 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns last week against Wheaton-Warrenville South.