The race to get to five wins is a very real one.

That race being the quest to get five victories and an almost certain place in the IHSA playoff field.

It seems almost silly to talk about games in Week 2 being pivotal, but for teams that have the opportunity to move to 2-0 with ominous conference schedules looming a wave of almost relief comes with a still spotless record.

Then there’s the opposite direction. Teams that leave Week 2 with an 0-2 mark face an extreme uphill climb in not only making the playoffs but in avoiding the bottom half of the draw even if they do make it in.

So while it is correct that there is a lot of season left, there’s no shame in emphasizing the importance of what happens in a week as early as this one. And there’s plenty of games out there should provide remarkable litmus tests for what it still to come.

Here’s a look at the top games of Week 2:

St. Rita (1-0) at Mount Carmel (1-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday: The hits just keep coming for these two and the brutal conference season hasn’t even officially started. St. Rita plays nothing but CCL/ESCC teams in the regular season which seems like a brutal task to subject one’s self to, while Mount Carmel is still likely riding a little bit of a high after collecting its win over national power Moeller on Saturday.

Joliet Catholic (0-1) at Glenbard West (1-0), 1:30 p.m. Saturday: Preseason this game looked intriguing, now it takes on a little more weight for both schools as Joliet Catholic tries to avoid a 2-0 start while Glenbard West tries to tack on another marquee win.

Dixon (1-0) at Byron (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday: This has become a rather fierce rivalry and both programs got off to very fast starts in Week 1. Last year’s clash was a barnburner and this is setting up to be another fine chapter in the series.

Geneva (1-0) at Oswego (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday: Both of these teams had excellent seasons last year and both lost a lot of big-time components to those rosters. Geneva rolled over a lesser opponent in Week 1, while Oswego seemed to indicate that it has no interest in slipping back after a win over Naperville Central.

Coal City (1-0) at Richmond-Burton (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday: You’d be hard pressed to find a more interesting middle classification nonconference matchup between two schools that almost always seem to find themselves deep in their respective postseason draws. Richmond-Burton got the best of Coal City the last time they met, a 2019 Class 4A semifinal game.

Other games of note: Normal Community at Normal Community West; Brother Rice at Marist; Prospect at Fremd; Stockton at Lena-Winslow; Kankakee at Lincoln-Way East; Homewood-Flossmoor at St. Charles North; Lincoln-Way West at Lockport; Wheaton Warrenville South at Lyons; Jacobs at Prairie Ridge; Providence at Lincoln-Way Central; Maine South at Warren; Morgan Park at Nazareth.