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The opening round of Class 4A went almost completely to script.
The North bracket held completely to seed form other than an expected win by 15th-seeded Johnsburg over a Chicago Public League squad, setting up a number of huge second-round encounters.
The lone lower-seeded team to advance into Round 2 was Waterloo, who put up an eye-popping 76 points in its playoff opener.
First-round predictions: 15-1
Second-round matchups
Richmond-Burton vs. Urban-Prep Bronzeville: An extremely rare rematch is about to be undertaken here as these two squads kicked off the season in August with Richmond-Burton claiming a 49-0 victory. It would be surprising if the result was even remotely different this time around and the Rockets seem destined to breeze into another quarterfinal appearance.
Pick: Richmond-Burton
Providence vs. Joliet Catholic: Yet another regular season rematch as Joliet Catholic claimed a 49-41 victory over Providence in the first meeting between the two teams back in Week 4. Joliet Catholic remains the favorite to get the season sweep here as its offensive attack continues to develop layers. But Providence has proven plucky and had the Hilltoppers on the ropes until a fourth quarter rally spared them.
Pick: Joliet Catholic
Johnsburg vs. Rochelle: Yet another rematch from the regular season, one where Rochelle had its way with Johnsburg putting up 60 points in a comfortable victory. Johnsburg has won five of six since that outcome and possibly has figured out a way to bridge some of that gap, but the Hubs only blemishes this season come at the hands of a pair of undefeated teams in Richmond-Burton and Sycamore.
Pick: Rochelle
St. Francis vs. Evergreen Park: Both of these two teams tossed shutouts in their opening round playoff encounters winning by wide margins in the process. St. Francis has been slowed a bit by some injury issues but might be on the mend at the right time. Evergreen Park could see the benefits of playing opponents almost exclusively from Class 5A and 6A, but still have a pretty big mountain to try to scale here.
Pick: St. Francis
Carterville vs. Coal City: Carterville looked like it might be vulnerable as a No. 1 seed playing a No. 16 seed with a more heavily pedigreed schedule under its belt. They dismissed those concerns rather easily, winning comfortable and now faces another program in Coal City that has its own playoff pedigree. Carterville definitely looks like the more explosive offensive attack and Coal City has to adjust to a very long ride.
Pick: Carterville
Rochester vs. Breese Central: Rochester and Breese Central each locked horns with members of the Apollo Conference in the opening round of the playoffs and Rochester had a much easier time of it. Some have argued that this might be a down Rochester squad, but if that’s true the Rockets are still averaging 45 points per game and have suffered just one loss on the year.
Pick: Rochester
Sacred Heart Griffin vs. Waterloo: Did we get a preview last week of a potential high-scoring shootout? If we did it appears both teams are comfortable with that. Sacred Heart Griffin remains a heavy favorite in veteran coach Ken Leonard’s last attempt at state title, but Waterloo’s outburst last weekend shows that it is capable of doing serious work on offense.
Pick: Sacred Heart Griffin
Macomb vs. Murphysboro: Questions remain about whether Macomb, who plays primarily Class 2A and Class 3A caliber competition during the season is prepped properly for the better teams in Class 4A. The Bombers did dispatch the teams they did play rather easily though and might still have enough to move past Murphysboro who still aren’t that far removed from a championship game appearance in 2019.
Pick: Murphysboro