IHSA playoff second-round rewind: Sycamore blowout leads to battle with St. Francis

Sycamore reached the Class 5A quarterfinals for the first time since 2022 when it beat Sterling, reached a semifinal and fell to Nazareth.

This year, the top-seeded Spartans will face No. 4 St. Francis at 1 p.m. Saturday in Sycamore, with the winner facing either No. 2 Rochelle or No. 3 Nazareth in a semifinal the following week, also potentially at Sycamore.

Here’s a look back at Sycamore’s second-round pounding of Chicago Westinghouse and how St. Francis took care of Prairie Ridge to reach the quarters.

Sycamore 69, Westinghouse 12: At Knute Rockne Stadium in Chicago, Sycamore (11-0) dominated from the start, forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff and starting on the Westinghouse 15.

The Spartans’ first six drives were all on fields of 46 yards or shorter and were all touchdowns. They closed the first half on a sustained 91-yard drive in less than four minutes to take a 49-0 lead into the break.

Dylan Hodges had 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Burke Gautcher was 4-for-5 passing a four touchdown passes, all 35 yards or longer. Sycamore had 333 yards of total offense in the first half, holding the Warriors to 66.

“He threw a really nice ball, but obviously to do that the offensive line has to give him protection,” Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said. “The only one he didn’t have great protection on was the last one he got, but the other ones he could step up and feel comfortable in the pocket.”

Then the backups got their time to shine, starting with the second-half kickoff. Crewe Bartelt picked up a line-drive kickoff at the 23, followed his blockers and pushed the lead to 56-0.

“Once he kicked and it was going past, I’m like, ‘I’m going to pick this up,’ ” Bartelt said. “I saw black [Westinghouse’s jersey colors], so I just kind of shimmied my way through the hole, and I was off.”

Sycamore outgained the Warriors 431-137

St. Francis 30, Prairie Ridge 21: At Wheaton, St. Francis – also the Spartans – trailed 7-0, but Zach Washington returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. The Spartans added an Evan Kolinski field goal and a 63-yard touchdown from Tanner Glock to build a 10-point advantage.

“We knew today was going to be a grind,” said Glock, who also intercepted quarterback Luke Vanderwiel’s only pass attempt of the day late in the fourth quarter. “[Prairie Ridge] is a good team, but I think we just did a good job of staying with the game plan and being physical.”

St. Francis scored on each of its first two offensive possessions to begin the second half. Quarterback Brady Palmer found Dario Milivojevic (68-yard touchdown) and Glock (10 yards) for scores to pad the Spartans’ lead.

Palmer finished the day completing 9 of 16 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns, while Glock led St. Francis with 92 yards receiving.