Rare is the week where things pretty much go to script.
We were very close to having that happen this past weekend, but all it takes is a little ripple, and those sometimes turn into a wave if you get more than a few.
Fortunately for your frazzled neighborhood playoff analyst, there wasn’t a wave. But, interestingly, the ripples came from very different places.
One of those ripples came from a qualification clarification. The Chicago Public League clarified which teams will be eligible to qualify from its White Division teams, which meant a few more spots will likely be available to non-CPL teams. Several newcomers to the projection were happy to oblige.
A few results in the SouthWest Prairie Conference also caused another ripple. West Aurora, a new entrant in the projection, locked up its spot with a win over Yorkville, which then led to another ripple involving the Foxes, who were already a very tenuous entrant in the projection as a high-point potential four-win team.
Plainfield North’s narrow win over Oswego helped the Tigers immensely as last week they were also one of three high-point four-win teams. North’s position is still shaky but a little bit precarious. Conversely, Oswego slipped down several seed lines in Class 8A with the loss.
Finally, Plainfield East’s win bumped Plainfield Central from the projection, which opened up a spot for another four-win team with high playoff points. Oddly enough, that turned out to be yet another school from the SPC, Oswego East.
There were a few other individual results that led to spots being created for Danville, West Chicago and Mendon Unity. But there were results that led to the departure of almost exactly the same number of teams headed in the other direction.
That doesn’t happen often. But it also meant that the exact same number of teams as last week are projected to make the field as four-win teams as three teams: Oswego East, Fieldcrest and Benet are the teams needed to field the field of 256 teams.
Here is the Week 5 playoff projection for all eight classes. (Included in Class 1A through 6A are north/south divisional maps and below each bracket is more context on what happened in Week 5 that changed the make-up of the brackets):
Class 1A
Class 1A Enrollment Range: Up to 296.5
Largest 1A teams by enrollment: Oakwood, Fieldcrest, Cumberland, Althoff, Morrison
Smallest 2A teams by enrollment: Arthur, Bloomington Central Catholic, Momence, Orion, Chicago Christian.
New teams in field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Fieldcrest | Strong schedule makes them candidate to make field with 4 wins |
Princeville | Claimed what could be pivotal win over Monmouth United |
Class 1A North/South Map
Class 2A
Class 2A Enrollment Range: 303 to 409.5
Largest 1A teams by enrollment: Oakwood, Fieldcrest, Cumberland, Althoff, Morrison
Smallest 2A teams by enrollment: Arthur, Bloomington Central Catholic, Momence, Orion, Chicago Christian
Largest 2A teams by enrollment: Wilmington, Nashville, Dwight, Piasa Southwestern, Seneca
New teams in the field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Illini West | Looks like playoff fate could hinge on Week 9 game with Moweaqua A&M |
Mendon Unity | Four remaining teams on schedule have combined for just four wins |
Chicago Christian | Path to five wins in Chicagoland Christian |
Class 2A North/South Map
Class 3A
Class 3A Enrollment Range: 412 to 542
Largest 2A teams by enrollment: Wilmington, Nashville, Dwight, Piasa Southwestern, Seneca
Smallest 3A teams by enrollment: Carlinville, Crane/Oregon (same enrollment), Fairfield, Beardstown
Largest 3A teams by enrollment: Greenville, Prairie Central, Paris, Roxana, Tolono Unity
New teams in field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Sherrard | Schedule finally begins to soften |
West Frankfort | Path to five wins is small, but there |
Carlinville | Was in 2A |
Class 3A North/South Map
Class 4A
Class 4A Enrollment Range: 547.5 to 868.5
Largest 3A teams by enrollment: Greenville, Prairie Central, Paris, Roxana, Tolono Unity
Smallest 4A teams by enrollment: Phillips, Harrisburg, Dyett, Phoenix, Peoria Notre Dame
Largest 4A teams by enrollment: Morris, St. Laurence, Noble/Comer, Geneseo, Ridgewood
New teams in field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Charleston | Narrow win over Effingham earns them a place |
Noble/Golder | CPL White/Central is jumbled, but Golder current leads pack |
Phillips | Was in Class 3A |
Harrisburg | Was in Class 3A |
Class 4A North/South Map
Class 5A
Class 5A Enrollment Range: 868.5 to 1326.5
Largest 4A teams by enrollment: Morris, St. Laurence, Noble/Comer, Geneseo, Ridgewood
Smallest 5A teams by enrollment: Rochelle, Jacksonville, Evergreen Park, Highland, Corliss
Largest 5A teams by enrollment: Kaneland, Danville, Providence, Antioch, T.F. North
New teams in field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Danville | Important win over Centennial, schedule very front-loaded |
Rochelle | Was in 4A |
St. Francis | Second-half rally over Joliet Catholic improves the path to five |
Lindblom | Yet another shake-up in the CPL |
Class 5A North/South Map
Class 6A
Class 6A Enrollment Range: 1340.5 to 1819.5
Largest 5A teams by enrollment: Kaneland, Danville, Providence, Antioch, T.F. North
Smallest 6A teams by enrollment: Dunlap, Centennial, Simeon, Lemont, Wauconda
Largest 6A teams by enrollment: Fenwick, Rockford Auburn, Libertyville, Grant, Lake Zurich
New teams in field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Simeon | Was in 5A |
Dunlap | Was in 5A |
Centennial | Was in 5A |
Class 6A North/South Map
Class 7A
Class 7A Enrollment Range: 1868 to 2351.5
Largest 6A teams by enrollment: Fenwick, Rockford Auburn, Libertyville, Grant, Lake Zurich
Smallest 7A teams by enrollment: Willowbrook, Quincy, Bradley-Bourbonnais, Batavia, Collinsville
Largest 7A teams by enrollment: Plainfield North, Glenbard West, Edwardsville, Glenbard East, Downers Grove North
New teams in field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Plainfield North | Was in 8A |
West Chicago | Still walking tightrope in Upstate Eight |
Willowbrook | Was in 6A |
Class 8A
Class 8A Enrollment Range: 2382.5 and up
Largest 7A teams by enrollment: Plainfield North, Glenbard West, Edwardsville, Glenbard East, Downers Grove North
Smallest 8A teams by enrollment: Maine South, St. Ignatius, Belleville East, Niles West, O’Fallon
New teams in field:
Team added | Reason for addition |
---|---|
Oswego East | Deep SPC West, helps with points but not wins |
West Aurora | Win over Yorkville locks up playoff berth |