For the past few seasons, the primary question on anyone’s mind was could anyone beat Mount Carmel?

The answer to that question over the last three seasons was no, but it’s no longer a valid question to have, at least in regards to the Class 7A field, as the Caravan have been moved up to Class 8A because of the IHSA’s success formula.

What that leaves is a potentially wide-open classification with many potential teams staking legitimate claims to their ability to potentially reach a state title game.

First-round matchups

Richards vs. Edwardsville: Richards elected to play up to Class 7A this season and after a surprising Week 2 loss to Sandburg that decision seemed questionable. But ever since then the Bulldogs have been on a tear scoring at least 49 points in their last five games as they’ve strung together a seven-game winning streak. Edwardsville started 1-3 and only managed to win four games all inside of the Southwestern Conference. The Tigers were 0-3 in out-of-state games and only got into the field because of the quality of its schedule.

Pick: Richards

Hersey vs. Payton: Hersey started the season with back-to-back losses to two teams (Barrington and Warren) that finished 8-1 on the season. But those setbacks only seemed to anger the Huskies as they went on an offensive tear over their remaining seven games (all wins) as they ended up scoring well more than 400 points on the season. Payton has a solid record but it has been laborious getting there. The Grizzlies have had three games this year where they’ve scored a touchdown or less.

Pick: Hersey

Guilford vs. St. Rita: Guilford continues to climb the ladder in the power structure of the NIC-10, having its only setback a close loss to Belvidere North (21-13) back in Week 1. They’ve won largely uncontested games the rest of the way during an eight-game winning streak. St. Rita hovered around not making the field, but there’s no questioning that the Mustangs are no one’s idea of an easily defeated No. 25 seed.

Pick: St. Rita

Lincoln-Way Central vs. Reavis: There’s nothing particularly flashy about Lincoln-Way Central, but whatever the Knights are doing sure is effective. Lincoln-Way Central has held five opponents to a touchdown or less and scored more than enough to couple with a defense that good. Reavis season has been rather uneven. They’ve recorded five shutouts but also experienced a loss to a non-playoff qualifier but also handed Oak Lawn a lopsided loss, one of just two games Oak Lawn would lose on the season.

Pick: Lincoln-Way Central

Glenbard East vs. West Chicago: Glenbard East had little difficulty collecting a 41-6 win over West Chicago back in Week 7 and remains the team to beat in the Upstate Eight Conference. That West Chicago game was one of four this season where the Rams held the opposition to six or fewer points. West Chicago lost three of its last five games and gave up 112 points over its final four contests.

Pick: Glenbard East

Batavia vs. Hoffman Estates: Batavia elected to play up into the Class 7A field and was remarkably close to putting together an undefeated season. The Bulldogs dropped a Week 1 clash with Glenbard West by three and dropped a wild 43-42 decision to St. Charles North. Batavia’s been better on defense since that setback, a trend that they’d like to continue into the postseason. Hoffman Estates has hit some bumps in the road in the second half of its season dropping three of its last four games.

Pick: Batavia

Moline vs. Andrew: Moline was clearly the best team in the Western Big Six, but it remains to be seen how that translates to the Class 7A playoff field. The Maroons lost one nonconference game to an out-of-state team and won the other against a Sycamore team that needed a Week 9 win to sneak into the playoff field. Andrew is exactly the kind of tricky 5-4 team higher seeds don’t relish playing. All four of those losses came to quality teams and Andrew was in all of those games minus a Week 1 loss to Sandburg.

Pick: Andrew

Yorkville vs. Glenbard North: Yorkville likes to grind out its wins and even when they have a game in hand it still appears to be somewhat close. That’s thanks to a very good defense that doesn’t often put much burden on the offense to pile up points. It’s been an excellent bounce-back season for Glenbard North after going 2-7 a year ago. The Panthers still don’t possess a win over a team that finished with a winning record, but to their credit, they’ve been at the very least competitive in every game this season but one.

Pick: Glenbard North

Glenbard West vs. Willowbrook: Glenbard West was one of the last teams out in piecing together last year’s 256-team bracket and the Hilltoppers made multiple early-season statements to ensure they didn’t have the same thing happen to them again this season. Glenbard West has five wins over playoff-bound teams and its lone loss to a sixth playoff bound team (York) was by just a point. Willowbrook started 1-3 but regrouped with a four-game winning streak in the second half of the season.

Pick: Glenbard West

Downers Grove North vs. Prospect: Downers Grove North looks like the kind of team that could make a run with QB Owen Lansu back under center, but they’ve entered a challenge bracket portion where they have to topple a high scoring Prospect team first and if they win that they run right into a second round matchup with a Glenbard West team that accounted for one of DGN’s two losses. Prospect’s mode of attack is simply to try to outscore the opposition and that’s worked most of the time and even its two losses still managed to post 34 points in each of the games.

Pick: Downers Grove North

Lincoln-Way West vs. Lincoln Park: Lincoln-Way West has consistently brought solid defensive play to the forefront and other than its lone loss to Bradley-Bourbonnais that unit has allowed the Warriors to post moderate offensive totals and still walk away with victories. Lincoln Park started the season 3-1, but things haven’t gone as smoothly over the second half of the season. The Lions have scored a touchdown or less in nearly half of their games and finished the season with a one-point win over a sub .500 team and a loss to another one to close out the year.

Pick: Lincoln-Way West

Kenwood vs. Prosser: Kenwood has a roster filled with talented players and if the Broncos can put it all together at the same time they’ve got the talent to play with almost anyone in this field. QB Kenyonte Lewis is an absolute menace for opposing defenses to try to contain as he’s a fearless runner with a rocket arm. Prosser was breezing through the CPL portion of its schedule but has dropped back-to-back games to close the regular season and might have a tough time pushing toward a win against their CPL brethren here.

Pick: Kenwood

St. Charles North vs. United Township: St. Charles North has had a number of close calls this season, but pulled wins out of the fire on multiple occasions. That’s certainly a good skill to have once the competition level amplifies and that will likely happen pretty quickly in a deep Class 7A draw. East Moline United is in the postseason chase for the first time since 1987 as the Panthers finally broke through after a number of close calls.

Pick: St. Charles North

Carmel vs. Normal Community: Carmel is one point away from being in the midst of a six-game winning streak, but even without that lone point wins over Loyola and Fenwick to close out the regular season are impressive enough. Normal Community has been steady this season, but has had some defensive letdowns against some of the higher quality teams on its schedule.

Pick: Carmel

Brother Rice vs. Jefferson: Brother Rice has done everything it can to position itself as the favorite to bring home the Class 7A trophy as the Crusaders have looked dominant at times in a schedule that rarely allows teams to look that way. This is a really rough opening draw for Jefferson a team making its first postseason appearance since 1993 as the J-Hawks have rarely strayed from near the bottom of the Northern Illinois 10 Conference.

Pick: Brother Rice

Addison Trail vs. Jacobs: Addison Trail was dominant in West Suburban Gold play this season and was a one-point decision away from turning in a clean regular season result card. But is the conference a good training ground for postseason success? That remains to be seen. The same argument can’t be made for Jacobs, whose rigorous Fox Valley Conference schedule certainly is good preparation.

Pick: Jacobs