Of the eight classes, Class 5A is widely perceived to be the most wide open.

Still, it was a fairly stable week for the classification with most of the high seeds advancing and the perceived favorite group all doing what they needed to do to advance on in the draw.

This week, however, is full of potential matchups that might break from the normal form. If anything, there’s a number of games that one could honestly see a myriad of potential outcomes.

First round predictions: 15-1

Second-round matchups

Prairie Ridge vs. St. Francis: Prairie Ridge‘s 46-30 win over Vernon Hills has a deceptive score as the Wolves rolled to a 40-point first-half lead and Vernon Hills scored all of its points against reserves and with the running clock going. St. Francis, on the other hand, didn’t have things so easy, finally shaking free from Morgan Park in the second half of its playoff opener.

Pick: Prairie Ridge

King vs. Corliss: A rare second-round playoff game pitting a pair of Chicago Public League teams. King looks like the better of these two teams, competing well against a pair of non-CPL opponents early in the season while Corliss is already in rarified air having won the first playoff game in school history with a win over another CPL school, Lake View, in the first round.

Pick: King

Belvidere North vs. Kaneland: Belvidere North remains something of a wildcard despite its 10-0 record. It is often hard to tell how good teams are from the NIC-10, a locked conference, are in the postseason and its less than impressive performance against a mid-level CPL team in the opening round didn’t provide much clarity. Kaneland seems to be firing on all cylinders offensively as of late, scoring 55 and 68 points the last two weeks.

Pick: Kaneland

St. Patrick vs. Cary-Grove: St. Patrick’s first season under former NFL player Tom Zbikowski is already a success story with the school’s first playoff win since 2021 after beating previously undefeated Wauconda in Round 1. But the Shamrocks face a much sterner second-round challenge with a playoff power in Cary-Grove that seems to be playing its best football at the right time.

Pick: Cary-Grove

Washington vs. Mahomet-Seymour: Washington continues to power its way through the season making its lone loss back in Week 2 to Niles Notre Dame seem like a distant memory. Mahomet-Seymour was once 0-2, but the Bulldogs look a different, and frankly better, team than they were to start the season.

Pick: Washington

Kankakee vs. Providence: Both of these two teams bounced back from unexpected losses in Week 9. Kankakee still may have to overcome the obstacle of playing without its starting quarterback Phillip Turner, who was injured in the Week 9 loss to Crete-Monee. Providence seems to be gaining momentum again with a big offensive effort against Springfield in Round 1 of the playoffs.

Pick: Providence

Oak Forest vs. Bloomington: Thanks to a first-round opponent for Oak Forest in the playoffs these two teams now have a common opponent in Champaign Centennial. Oak Forest ousted Centennial from the postseason with a 38-12 win, while Bloomington collected a 37-6 win over Centennial in Week 9.

Pick: Bloomington

Peoria vs. Morton: Peoria hung another big offensive number on MacArthur in Round 1 of the playoffs marking the fifth time this season that the Lions have scored more than 50 points. Morton has also scored a healthy amount of points this season, but not so many that it would likely feel comfortable getting into a shootout with a team like Peoria.

Pick: Peoria