Class 5A

No. 11 Sycamore (5-4) at No. 6 Cary-Grove (7-2)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

About the Spartans: They locked up their playoff spot with a 30-28 win in Week 9 at Cahokia, with a last-second field goal from Josh Puleo securing the comeback from 14-0 down. Coach Joe Ryan, who in July announced this was his last season coaching, said the team matured a lot in the victory. “A lot went into that day, and to fall behind 14-0 told us we could have hung it up. But we didn’t. We matured along the way and that’s what I got out of it the most.” The Spartans had more than 400 yards on the ground in the win. Ryan said he felt Cahokia presented the opportunity to have a strong ground attack, and the plan against the Trojans will be a little different. Liam Arhos ran for 212 yards in the win, Kevin Lee had 135 and Cooper Bode had 10 carries, 53 yards and three touchdowns. Dylan Curtis had 12 tackles and forced a fumble in the win. Senior quarterback Griffen Larsen wasn’t needed much to throw the ball, but the Spartans have had success at times this year through the air with Larsen hitting Ben Anderson and Josiah Mitchell as needed. Ryan said defensively, arm tackles aren’t going to cut it against Logan Abrams and the rest of the Cary-Grove ground game.

About the Trojans: They beat Jacobs 44-22 behind three 100-yard rushers in their Week 9 finale, giving C-G a seven-game winning streak headed into the playoffs. The team lost to FVC champion Prairie Ridge in Week 1 and FVC runner-up Burlington Central in Week 2. C-G’s turnaround coincided with the return of standout fullback Logan Abrams, who played only defense the first two games. In seven games playing fullback, Abrams has rushed for 1,036 yards (7.5 per carry) and 16 touchdowns. QB Jackson Berndt has 555 rushing yards and 232 passing yards in eight games. Freshmen Ty Tenopir (404 rushing yards) and Leo Zavala (397 rushing yards) add speed to the team’s triple-option attack. The Trojans are in the playoffs for the 20th time in the past 21 seasons. Last year’s team advanced to the 6A semifinals after winning the championship in 2023 by upsetting East St. Louis. C-G beat Chicago Senn (71-6), Antioch (41-8) and Belvidere North (42-7) in the 2024 playoffs before losing to Geneva (28-26) in the semifinals.

Friday Night Drive pick: Cary-Grove

No. 10 Lakes (6-3) at No. 7 Kaneland (7-2)

When: 5 p.m. Saturday

About the Eagles: They turned around a 2-7 season to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and now look for their first playoff win since 2018. Mason Crowley anchors the Lakes’ ground game, averaging almost 7 yards per carry through eight weeks. Ean Ankney is the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 36 in his career entering Week 9. Dillan Davis had eight sacks in the first eight games. After a 21-13 Week 1 loss to Glenbard North (2-7), the Eagles won three straight before falling 56-15 to Antioch (7-2). They won three more in a row before closing the regular season with a 31-14 loss to Wauconda (9-0).

About the Knights: They secured a home game with an emphatic 55-28 win against Althoff Catholic, keeping the defending 1A champs out of the playoffs and avenging a 14-10 loss in Belleville last year. Kaneland had struggled in Weeks 7 and 8, falling 21-20 to Rochelle then needing a last-second field goal to win at LaSalle-Peru, 22-21. “Weeks 7 and 8, you just couldn’t quite put your finger on it but it was just not us,” Kaneland coach Michael Thorgesen said. “We came out against Althoff and just executed. Outside of a special teams play it was pretty lopsided there.” The Knights had a huge day on the ground, with Carter Grabowski running 27 times for 238 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jalen Carter ran for 184 yards on 17 carries with four touchdowns while throwing for 180 yards and two more scores. Thorgesen said the offense runs through Carter, and he’s opened up a lot of things for not only receivers like Brady Brown and Evan Frieders, but also Grabowski - who Thorgesen said became the Knights’ first 1,000-yard running back in a while. “It’s hard to decide who helps whom. Does Carter set up Jalen, or is it Jalen that opens things up for Carter? I think it’s reciprocal, both build off one another. As a defensive guy, I’m not sure who I’d want to focus on. It’s a tough choice.”

Friday Night Drive pick: Kaneland

Eight-man

No. 14 Hiawatha (5-4) at No. 3 Polo (8-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

About the Hawks: They’ve lost two in a row heading into the postseason. They faced the Marcos in Week 8 in Kirkland, falling 54-14. Last week, they fell 43-26 to West Carroll. But coach Kenny McPeek said the loss to the Thunder was the Hawks’ best game of the year. He said the team has to play faster, think quickly and be physical this time around compared to the loss two weeks ago against Polo. And they showed that against West Carroll. “We talked about doing that against West Carroll, and we did. It was probably our best game of the year. I think we can play a much better game than two weeks ago.” Tim Pruitt has been solid at running back this year, but Aidan Cooper has been a force in all three phases for Hiawatha. The quarterback has done whatever he’s needed to, throwing or running, to power an offense that has scored 32 points per game. He’s also one of the team’s leading playmakers at linebacker, and has even blocked an extra point and a punt on special teams. “He’s come a long way from a year ago,” McPeek said. “He’s grown into a true leader and that’s been huge. Unfortunately it has to end at some point. But he’s a great leader and one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever had.”

About the Marcos: They have reached the 8-man semifinals the last two years and won I8FA state titles in 2019 and 2021. Polo fell to eventual state runner-up Milledgeville in last year’s final four. Polo’s lone loss this season was to the Missiles, 28-6. It scored a season high to finish the season in a 70-42 win over South Beloit. Polo also beat FCW, another playoff team, 40-20 in Week 2, and West Carroll 30-20 in Week 3. JT Stephenson has been a dual threat at QB while Mercer Mumford has led the backfield. Stephenson had four rushing scores and two passing scores in the regular season finale while Mumford ran for 212 yards and two scores.

Friday Night Drive pick: Polo

-Joe Aguilar, Drake Lansman contributed to this report.