December 17, 2023
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2023 IHSA playoffs: Steve Soucie’s Class 4A quarterfinal-round analysis

By Steve Soucie
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com Wheaton Academy's Brandon Kiebles, right, celebrates his second-quarter tocudown with treammate Jay Krueger during Friday’s Class 4A football playoff game against St. Viator in Arlington Heights Friday.

Wheaton Academy's Brandon Kiebles, right, celebrates his second-quarter touchdown with teammate Jay Krueger during Friday’s Class 4A football playoff game against St. Viator. Wheaton Academy earned the school's first-ever quarterfinal appearance with the win. (Joe Lewnard)

Class 4A is an interesting blend as we head into the quarterfinals.

The two favorites on each side of the bracket are still there(IC Catholic and Rochester), but the remainder of the bracket is filled with intriguing teams that haven’t spent much time at this stage of the postseason.

First-round picks: 14-2

Second-round picks: 5-3

Quarterfinal-round matchups

Sandwich vs. Wheaton Academy: Sandwich’s unlikely postseason run continues after not even fielding a varsity team last season. Sandwich has received a bit of a break from the favorable bracketing, but it has handled what has been put in front of it rather well. Wheaton Academy is also enjoying a historic ride with its first quarterfinals trip in program history. The Warriors have really jelled nicely this season an its near complete shutdown of St. Viator in Round 2 speaks to how well the defense is playing.

Pick: Wheaton Academy

IC Catholic vs. St. Laurence: This is where most people expected last year’s Class 3A champs to be and the Knights haven’t had much trouble in the first two rounds. St. Laurence was one of the bigger surprises of the CCL/ESCC season, bouncing back from a 3-6 season as it started the season with a 6-1 record. Although it dropped back-to-back games to close the regular season, the Vikings have looked sound in the first two rounds. Still, this will be a high hurdle for the Vikings to clear.

Pick: IC Catholic

Rochester vs. Breese Central: Rochester is doing the things it typically does on offense but the difference maker for the Rockets is their defense, which is allowing less than 10 points per game in a schedule full of teams that don’t have scoring problems. Breese Central has now run into Rochester three times in the last five postseasons and the Cougars were beaten soundly in the first two meetings.

Pick: Rochester

Murphysboro vs. Harrisburg: Murphysboro took apart Harrisburg in their regular-season meeting, claiming a 40-0 victory in what what was the sixth time in the first seven games where Murphysboro had held an opponent to 10 points or less. But there’s hope for Harrisburg as the Bulldogs have played better since, and Murphysboro’s defense has started to allow points on a more regular basis.

Pick: Murphysboro