Plainfield North hoping schedule will be good prep for postseason

Playing a tough schedule is nothing new for Plainfield North.

In fact, the schedule the Tigers played last year helped them qualify for the Class 8A playoffs despite finishing the regular season with a 4-5 record due to the high amount of playoff points [opponents’ wins] they had.

The Tigers didn’t lighten up the schedule this season, either, as they visit Lockport in the season opener before hosting York in Week 2. They then square off against Plainfield South and Joliet West in Southwest Prairie Conference crossovers before beginning their grueling SPC West schedule against Oswego, Oswego East, Minooka, Bolingbrook and Yorkville.

“Our schedule will definitely show us where we are at in the first two weeks,” Plainfield North coach Anthony Imbordino said. “We scheduled two playoff teams – Lockport and York – in the first two weeks, and the addition of Bolingbrook into our division of the conference makes it that much tougher.

“We would rather play teams that give us a good challenge. Last year, after we lost the Yorkville game in Week 9, we said our goodbyes that Friday night. Then, when Saturday rolled around, we saw that our playoff points were enough to get us into the playoffs at 4-5, we called all our players to say we had practice Monday. That wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t play the tough schedule that we did.”

Of course, the goal for the Tigers this season will be to collect at least five regular season wins, thus negating the need for good fortune come playoff selection time.

Going a long way toward that goal will be how quarterback Justice Byrd, a transfer from LaSalle-Peru, adjusts to the Class 8A competition. Byrd is excited to get the chance.

“We’ve had a good summer,” Byrd said. “We have a lot of good receivers, and I feel very comfortable here. The team is better now than we were at the start of summer, and I feel good about that.

“I was a backup last year at LaSalle-Peru, but I can already tell that level of competition here is going be much higher. It takes some getting used to, but I feel like I am ready for it.”

The Tigers return four offensive linemen from last season to protect Byrd and to block for running backs Malik Jassim, a transfer from Plainfield Central, and returning senior Jack Tota. Returning for North up front are senior tackle Jayden Brown, junior tackle Finn Fuller, senior guard Rome Marsaglia and senior guard Dominic Fasano, while Omar Coleman, an all-SPC selection last season, returns at wide receiver.

Plainfield North returns 15 starters from last year’s playoff team that dropped a 45-9 first-round game to eventual state champion Loyola.

“Last year, we took a 3-0 lead on Loyola early in the game,” Imbordino said. “We recovered an onside kick and had a couple of fourth-down stops on them early in the game. We were able to compete with them for a while and they were the best team in the state.

“Now, those 15 guys who started last year and are coming back know that they can compete with the best in the state, and that should give us a huge confidence boost heading into the season. Like I said, our schedule will give us a good indication of where we are are and what we need to fix in the first couple of weeks. Lockport is always a strong program and so is York. Joliet West won the other side of the conference last year, and outside of the conference is always a tough schedule.”