Here are previews of the first-round matchups for each Record Newspapers area playoff team.

Class 8A

No. 31 Oswego East (5-4) at No. 2 York (9-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About Oswego East: The Wolves are making their seventh consecutive playoff appearance under head coach Tyson LeBlanc, and will be looking for the program’s first postseason win since 2016. Oswego East dropped three of its last four games, and struggled to generate offense in all three of those losses. The Wolves will need to reverse that trend against a tough York defense. Senior QB Tre Jones, a Navy recruit, has thrown for 578 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions through eight games, and is also the team’s leading rusher with 792 yards rushing at an 8.8 yard per carry average with 10 TDs. Jones ran for a school record 253 yards and four TDs in a Week 8 win over rival Oswego that all but sealed a playoff bid. The Wolves received a big boost in that Week 8 game with the return of 244-pound running back Oshobi Odior, who missed six games with an ankle injury. LB Juny Almeida and DB Mike Polubinski are among the leaders of a fairly stout Wolves’ defense.

“We have to establish the run,” LeBlanc said. “That’s been our thing this year is we’ve been a little more heavy on the run side. We have to take what the defense gives us, be patient and not one dimensional.”

About York: The Dukes, after making the playoffs for the first time in a decade in 2021, proved they were no one-hit wonder with a historic season. York won the West Suburban Silver championship outright for the first time since 2006 and posted the first perfect regular season in the 102-year history of the program. Senior Matt Vezza is one of the better dual-threat QBs around and pilots a balanced attack that features RB Kelly Watson and WRs Charlie Specht and Luke Mailander. LBs Cole Ostendorf and Evan Grazzini are among the leaders of a York defense that has allowed just 7.3 points per game, tied with Plainfield North for the stingiest defense in the Class 8A bracket. Next on the to-do list? Collecting York’s first playoff win since 2010. This is the second consecutive season the Dukes have drawn a Southwest Prairie West team in the first round, having lost to Minooka last year.

“They’re long, athletic, very well-coached, they don’t do a lot of stuff offensively but what they do they do well,” LeBlanc said. “They are physical on defense, their quarterback is very nice, and they have a nice complement of skill positions to go with him. They are what you’d expect a 9-0 team to be.”

Up next: The winner advances to the second round against the winner between No. 18 Marist (6-3) and No. 15 Naperville North (7-2).

Friday Night Drive pick: York

Class 7A

No. 26 Libertyville (5-4) at Yorkville (8-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About Libertyville: The Wildcats took second in the North Suburban Conference behind Stevenson, to whom they lost 43-8 in Week 9. Libertyville’s losses are to quality programs: unbeaten Lemont, Warren, Lake Zurich and Stevenson. On the other hand, the Wildcats have not beaten a team with a winning record. Trenton VanBoening, a 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive tackle, is committed to Eastern Michigan. Sophomore QB Quinn Schambow threw three TD passes in a Week 8 win over Zion-Benton and 223 yards a week before that against Mundelein. Kristian Gavric, a 6-foot-3 senior, is one of his top targets. Libertyville is making its third straight playoff appearance. Libertyville was the 2015 Class 7A state runner-up.

“They try to attack opponents defensively and try to get them out of their comfort zone. We have to handle that pressure,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “Offensively they’re pretty similar to us in their philosophy, they’ll look to take some shots, they’ll try to run the ball.”

About Yorkville: The Foxes are making their fourth straight playoff appearance for only the second time in school history; they reached the postseason’s second round in their last three appearances. Yorkville won eight regular-season games for the first time since 1999, its lone loss to unbeaten Plainfield North. The Foxes have leaned heavily on a fierce front seven and one of the best defensive lines around led by Colorado State recruit Andrew Laurich (36 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 14 hurries) and Wyoming commit Jake Davies (36 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 7 hurries). Senior LB Blake Kersting (47 tackles), like Laurich a three-year varsity starter, has emerged as a pass-catching threat with six TD catches. Senior Gio Zeman is the bellcow running back with 748 rushing yards and five touchdowns of a Yorkville offense that is at its best as a ball control complement of the team’s defense.

Up next: The winner advances to the second round against the winner between No. 23 DeKalb (6-3) and No. 10 Moline (8-1).

FND pick: Yorkville