The boys basketball playoffs tip off Monday in Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A. Here are some key storylines to watch in McHenry County.

Can Cary-Grove continue its dominance?

Cary-Grove has been the best team in McHenry County all season. The Trojans captured the Fox Valley Conference championship outright with a 75-53 win over host McHenry on Tuesday night and head into their regular-season finale Friday at home against Prairie Ridge with a 26-4 record (16-1 FVC).

Led by Adam Bauer, Carthage-recruit AJ Berndt and Dylan Dumele – all of whom will be honored Friday night along with the team’s other seniors – the Trojans are having their best season since winning 31 games and a Class 4A regional title in 2020.

Winning their first regional title since then won’t be easy, however. The Trojans, a No. 2 seed in the Woodstock North Sectional, open the state tournament in a loaded Class 3A Crystal Lake South Regional at 6 p.m. Tuesday against No. 7 Marmion (19-12).

The winner faces either No. 3 Crystal Lake South (23-7) or No. 6 Crystal Lake Central (18-12) for the title.

C-G swept both Crystal Lake South and Crystal Lake Central during the regular season. South boasts one of the area’s best guards in high-scoring Carson Trivellini (two 32-point efforts). Central, led by 6-foot-7 forward Danny Spychala, has had a resurgence under first-year coach Brian Seaver after winning only six games each of the past two seasons.

C-G is averaging 70 points in its past three games (all wins).

“We’ve had a terrific season,” Trojans coach Adam McCloud said. “We’ve got a gauntlet of a regional, but I’ll take my guys any day of the week.”

Can Woodstock keep winning?

Red-hot Woodstock celebrated its first conference championship in 42 years Wednesday night by beating visiting Woodstock North 47-28.

Woodstock (21-9) and Johnsburg finished tied for first place in the Kishwaukee River Conference with 12-2 records, but the Blue Streaks won the title because they swept the regular-season series from the Skyhawks.

Since a 1-5 stretch in the first two weeks of January, Woodstock has turned it around. The Streaks have won 10 of 11 games and will take a six-game winning streak into the playoffs.

“We’re playing our best basketball, for sure,” coach Ryan Starnes said Wednesday night as his players cut down the nets on their home court.

Woodstock, which has won 20 games for the third season in a row under fourth-year coach Starnes, is a No. 4 seed in the Class 3A Woodstock North Sectional. The Streaks open the postseason Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against No. 5 Belvidere (14-17) in the Rockford Boylan Regional.

Woodstock will be looking to avenge a 55-53 loss at Belvidere on Jan. 31. That was the last time the Streaks lost.

The winner would likely play No. 1 Sycamore (24-5) for the title.

Holy jumpin’, Johnsburg

After a disappointing home loss to Woodstock on senior night Feb. 13, in which it led by 10 points after one quarter, Johnsburg took out its frustration Wednesday. The Skyhawks tied the IHSA single-game record with 25 3-pointers in an 89-50 rout of host Harvard in the teams’ KRC finale.

Junior guard Trey Toussaint scored a career-high 32 points and made a school-record 10 3s, sending the Skyhawks into the postseason on a high note.

And now they get to play on their home court, as they will host a Class 2A regional.

“We’re ready to host our regional,” senior guard Jayce Schmitt said after the Skyhawks’ loss to Woodstock. “We’re just glad we get to play here again.”

Johnsburg (20-11), which last won 20 games and a regional championship in 2019, is one of two No. 1 seeds in the Mendota Sectional. The Skyhawks play at 6 p.m. Wednesday against the winner of Monday’s play-in game between No. 10 Rockford Christian (4-24) and No. 8 North Boone (14-14).

Johnsburg started January by beating Rockford Christian and North Boone by scores of 60-46 and 74-60, respectively. If the Skyhawks win, they will play either No. 4 Richmond-Burton (19-9) or No. 5 Timothy Christian (19-11) for the title.

The Skyhawks beat R-B soundly during KRC play, 71-46 at Johnsburg and 78-50 at Richmond.

Jacobs-McHenry rematch

Jacobs will host a Class 4A regional and will play McHenry for the third time this season at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, after Waukegan takes on Mundelein at 6 p.m.

McHenry (19-11), which hosts Crystal Lake South on Friday in its regular-season finale, is a No. 3 seed. The Warriors beat Jacobs twice during FVC play, 68-56 at home and 61-50 on the road.

While McHenry isn’t having the season it did a year ago, when it won 26 games for the second year in a row and shared the FVC title with Crystal Lake South, the Warriors are still in position to win 20 games under third-year coach Corky Card.

They also boast one of the best players in the area in Adam Anwar and fellow forward Nathan Ottaway, who’s had a breakout season in his second year on varsity. Anwar and Ottaway average about 20 and 14 points a game, respectively.

Jacobs, which is led by guard Elijah Bell (15 ppg), is a No. 5 seed. The Golden Eagles took a 17-12 record into their regular-season finale against Crystal Lake Central on Thursday.

The Jacobs Regional feeds into the Rockton Hononegah Sectional. The Jacobs-McHenry winner will play either No. 2 Waukegan (22-7) or No. 7 Mundelein (6-25) for the championship.