‘Best team that we’ve played:’ Sterling bracing for toughest opponent yet in top-seeded Sycamore as Class 5A quarterfinals near

STERLING – The Sterling Golden Warriors have been in this position before. Since the team’s inception in 1898, it’s reached the IHSA football state quarterfinals nine times.

From 2016-2018, the Warriors made three straight trips to the elusive third-round playoff game, reaching the state semifinals in the second and third year of that historic stretch.

Now, after a 50-8 road win over Goode in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs last Friday, they’re back in the quarterfinals for the first time in four years – and only two wins away from a state championship.

But, as always, it won’t be an easy journey to the title game.

No. 5 seed Sterling’s next opponent, undefeated No. 1 seed Sycamore, could be its toughest of the season.

Throughout the year the Warriors have faced their share of quality teams – 8-1 St. Francis, 7-2 Quincy, 8-1 Moline and 9-1 Goode, most notably – but of all those, Sycamore may be the best, Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said.

“We’ve played some pretty darn good teams, and I think they’re the best team that we’ve played. That speaks very highly of them because we think we’ve played some good teams,” Schlemmer said. “They’re disciplined, their defense has been absolutely lights out – the last couple weeks, especially. ... They play with a little bit of a swag to them, which is super important at this time of the year.

“They’re a complete team and 11-0 for a reason.”

Offensively, the Spartans boast a balanced attack and a plethora of playmakers. Senior quarterback Eli Meier runs the show and forms a deadly combination with 6-foot-2, 190-pound sophomore receiver Burke Gautcher, and the three-headed rushing attack of Joe Puleo, Tyler Curtis and Zack Crawford.

Sycamore is averaging 39.4 points per game this season.

“We know their quarterback’s really good, and we know they have one really good receiver – No. 11 [Burke Gautcher]. We need to know where he is at all times,” Sterling senior running back/defensive back AJ Kested said. “We need to stop their run, but also at the same time, their passing game, because we know they have some deep threats, and we know they can really hurt us there, too.”

“I think their running backs as a whole [stand out] – they run so hard. 11 on the perimeter – he’s as good of a single receiver that we’ve seen,” Schlemmer said. “And I think the quarterback makes it all tick. He kind of controls that offense. They do a lot of different stuff on offense, but he’s the one who makes it tick and allows them to really go from tight personnel to spread things out.”

Defensively, the Spartans might be even more impressive. Two-way senior lineman Lincoln Cooley is a force to be reckoned with at defensive tackle, and senior outside linebacker Kiefer Tarnoki can make plays all over the field for a disciplined and stingy defensive unit.

So far this season, Sycamore has yielded a measly 6.2 points per game, while pitching five shutouts.

“I think you can say a lot about a lot of kids. 72 [Cooley] at left guard and defensive tackle is as good of a high school linemen [as we’ve seen], and we’ve seen some darn good ones.” Schlemmer said. “14 [Tarnoki], the outside linebacker, I don’t know if he’s been blocked all year. It looks like you got him on film, and guys got him blocked, and he just sheds tackles and makes plays all over the place.”

With how difficult it’s been for opposing offenses to score on Sycamore all season, Sterling knows it can’t afford to give the ball away or leave any yards on the field.

In what could be a tight game, the turnover margin could be a deciding factor.

“On offense, not turning the ball over. Trying to control the tempo of the game,” Sterling senior quarterback/safety JP Schilling said. “And on defense, just stop the run. Maybe force some turnovers.”

“Push, get our yards, try not to dance around as much. We need to get the yards that we can get,” Kested added. “We know they have a really good outside linebacker. They like to set the edge, so we need to not bounce so much stuff outside this week.”

Forcing three-and-outs and holding Sycamore to field goals will be imperative in a week where points may be hard to come by.

“Defensively, we’ve gotta get off the field because they can do so many things. But when they have their tight end wing package rolling, they don’t get out of it if they don’t have to,” Schlemmer said. “They know who they are, and they execute at a super high level. This is what you get in the quarterfinals, and we’ve been here before, and we know what we’re going to get from them as a program.”

As seniors, Schilling and Kested have helped make Sterling football history. On Saturday, they hope to make even more with a win, joining the 2017 and 2018 teams that reached the state semifinals, hopefully surpassing them with another win the following week.

“It feels really great, knowing how many great teams we’ve had in the past,” Kested said. “Knowing that we’ve been able to succeed past them, and hopefully we can get past them in the next round.”

“It’s great. It’s something you’ve always wanted to do as a kid,” Schilling said. “Seeing the teams that were successful in past years, and to do it with your best friends, that just makes it even that much better.”

Kickoff for the Class 5A quarterfinal game in Sycamore is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.