MORRIS – For the second straight season and 13th time in school history, the Morris football team will play in the semifinals of the state playoffs Saturday when it travels to Chicago’s Hanson Stadium to take on Chicago Raby.

Morris, the fifth seed in Class 4A’s northern bracket, enters the game with a 10-2 record, while Raby, the second seed, is 11-1.

In the Redskins’ previous 12 semifinals, they have a record of 10-2, with the only losses coming in 1983 and 2016. Morris is looking to add to that win total Saturday.

They know it won’t come easy, as Raby has put together an impressive run this season.

The only loss for the Raiders is a 42-28 decision to Class 5A top-ranked Chicago Phillips, and they have outscored their three playoff opponents, 132-37.

Morris, meanwhile, has a point differential of 126-46 in the playoffs.

Raby has a potent offense, led by running back DQ Smith (209 attempts, 1,864 yards, 21 TD) and quarterback Tyshun Turnipseed (72 of 140, 1,306 yards, 16 TD, 4 INT passing, 86 attempts, 524 yards, 8 TD rushing). Throw running back Trayshawn Toliver (71 attempts, 645 yards, 7 TD rushing) into the mix and the Raiders have more than 3,000 rushing yards between just three players.

Through the air, Turnipseed spreads the wealth between receivers Monte Tillman (26 catches, 538 yards 9 TD), Sirshaun Gardner (24 catches, 406 yards, 6 TD), and Marshawn Foster (19 catches, 390 yards, 3 TDs).

“They are very athletic in the skill positions,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “Smith is very fast. If he gets a seam, he can take it all the way. The quarterback throws a real good ball, but he is also a big running threat. They are pretty similar to Peoria that we played last year in the semis.

“They are big on the offensive line, too. We have seen them the last few years at different 7 on 7s and at the Lineman Challenge in Bolingbrook. They have been building their program for a while. It’s a good program, their kids play hard and play to the whistle. They are in the semis for a reason. They are a good football team.”

Morris, meanwhile, will answer with a ground-based attack of its own. Kameron Dransfeldt leads the way with 1,484 yards and 15 touchdowns on 193 carries, while Chatten Dryfhout has carried 50 times for 340 yards and eight touchdowns. Tyler Petty had five rushing TDs among his 48 carries for 181 yards.

Through the air, quarterback Mitchell Mayberry has completed 71 of 107 passes for 929 yards and 11 touchdowns against four interceptions.

In the playoffs, he is 17 of 23 for 272 yards and six touchdowns with only one interception. Five of the touchdowns have gone to Tyler Spiezio, who has 30 catches for 371 yards and seven TDs on the season.

The Morris offense – behind the starting offensive line of Nathan Korte, Brennan Goff, Nolan Feeney, Dylan Swartz and Noah McCorkhill, along with tight ends Spiezio and Kyle Little – will have to contend with a fast aggressive Raby defense, Thorson said.

“They fly to the ball,” he said. “They are very aggressive on defense, and their linebacker [6-0, 210 Donovan Baldwin] is very good and makes a lot of tackles.

“Raby is a good team, but I love the way we are playing right now. We are playing the best we have all season and that’s all you can ask for at this point of the playoffs. That, and we are healthy.”

Thorson and the players know that there is no tomorrow in the playoffs.

“We are going to what we have to do,” Thorson said. “We always want to limit how much guys are on the field, but we will put anyone at any position at any time if it means we can win. We also still have some things we haven’t used yet on both sides of the ball that we might bring out if we need them.”