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Get all the scores here.
Mike Helfgot breaks down this week's top games here.
Want to know where your team is ranked? Check it out here.
Catch up with last week's action here.
HALFTIME
8A: Homewood-Flossmoor 14, Simeon 7
Homewood-Flossmoor junior running back Deante Harley-Hampton broke loose for a 58-yard run on the first play from scrimmage to set up the Vikings' first touchdown. Three plays later, quarterback Bryce Gray also scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.
The VIkings extended their lead to 14-0 following a 1-yard touchdown by Devonte Harley-Hampton to end a two-play drive following a bad snap on a punt by Simeon.
Simeon's offense came to life midway through the second quarter after it recovered a fumble to stop an H-F scoring threat. Simeon quarterback Timon Watkins tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Matt Fleming. The Wolverines were knocking on the door late in the second but Watkins threw an interception near the goal line.
Deante Harley-Hampton leads all rushers with eight carries for 123 yards.
-Bob Narang @bobnarang
4A: Phillips 26, Coal City 6
Phillips running back Corey Warren has rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Dewayne Collins has 110 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats.
Collins scored on TD runs of 2 and 6 yards and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Amani Jones.
Phillips' defense intercepted two passes and allowed just 11 passing yards to remain on track to become the second Public League team to earn a trip to the state finals. Simeon also has a shot at accomplishing the feat in Class 8A later tonight.
Coal City running back Jack Dibble has been the workhorse for the Coalers with 26 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown. Dibble had 70 yards rushing on his first 10 carries, but has been held to 46 yards in his final 16 carries of the half.
The Wildcats tallied 164 yards rushing in the first quarter.
-Bob Narang @bobnarang
7A: Cary-Grove 20, Libertyville 7
In a rematch of the 2004 state title game, Cary-Grove had 161 first-half yards, including 113 on the ground in building the halftime lead. Following a three-and-out by the Libertyville offense to start the game, Cary marched 76 yards in nine plays with quarterback Jason Gregoire hitting Larkin Hanselmann for a 29-yard score.
Zach McQuade intercepted Libertyville quarterback Riley Lees on the next series, returned it 15 yards before a personal foul gave Cary-Grove the ball at the Wildcats' 22. Seven plays later, Gregoire went untouched 2 yards for a score and a 13-0 lead.
Libertyville had its best drive of the game on the next series, moving 90 yards in 18 plays, and Lees scored from the 3 with 3 minutes, 12 seconds left to bring the Wildcats within 13-7. But Cary-Grove drove 68 yards in the final three minutes, with Tyler Pennington scoring from the 3 with 16.5 seconds remaining in the half.
-Phil English @PhillipEnglish
8A: Glenbard West 3, Stevenson 0
Offense is at a premium Saturday in Glen Ellyn.
Kyle Kramer's 34-yard field goal was the only scoring play in a penalty-filled first half.
Glenbard West (12-0) threw a new wrinkle at Stevenson (12-0), starting off in Wildcat formation with junior running back Sam Brodner at QB.
Three Brodner runs and the first of five Stevenson personal fouls had Glenbard West in the red zone on the opening possession, but Stevenson's Jason Vavrick stripped Brodner and recovered the fumble.
Two personal fouls helped Glenbard West get in position for Kramer's field goal, and Stevenson committed two more after an interception by Michael Darnall thwarted a Stevenson threat.
That helped Glenbard West get down to the Stevenson 12, but the Patriots stopped the Hilltoppers on downs to stay within three at the half.
Brodner rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries. He came into the game 160 yards shy of 2,000. Stevenson was limited to 74 yards of offense.
-Mike Helfgot @mhelfgot
5A: Montini 31, Geneseo 7
Montini quarterback Charles Norgle III has thrown four touchdown passes, and Mason Weissenhofer kicked a 31-yard field goal as the Broncos have taken the lead against unbeaten Geneseo.
Norgle connected with Tyler Millikan on a pair of 5-yard slants for scores before hitting Millikan on an 84-yard touchdown. The Broncos ended the half with a 29-yard TD pass from Norgle to Indiana-bound Leon Thornton III, who was wide-open in the right corner of the end zone.
Geneseo picked up its running game in the second quarter on a seven-play, 66-yard drive, ending on Ryan Pitra's 5-yard run to trim the Maple Leafs deficit to 17-7.
Norgle has thrown for more than 260 yards, while Geneseo has gained 133 yards on the ground.
- Bob Hurst @HurstSports
6A: Nazareth 42, St. Francis 14
No. 5 Nazareth is flexing its muscles, scoring twice in the first 6-plus minutes of the game on Nolan Dean's 22-yard scamper and Julian Love's 29-yard scoring reception from Jonah Beauduy. Love pushed the margin to 21-0 on the second play of the subsequent drive when he returned a Clint Bobowski interception 22 yards for a touchdown, and the lead swelled to 28-0 on Dean's 6-yard run with 1 minute, 49 seconds left in the first.
The Spartans (10-2) finally got on the board on Bobowski's 5-yard keeper with just under four minutes left in the half. They had taken over that drive at the Roadrunners' 26 after Dean fumbled an option pitch. Love returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a score. Love added a second TD catch in the final minute of the half to push his scoring total to four.
Dean finished the half with 15 carries for 80 yards and the two scores and Beauduy is 6-of-10 for 134 yards and two scores. The Spartans have had to completely abandon the run (16 carries for 29 yards). Bobowski finishes the half 5-of-19 for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
-Steve Reaven @ReavenTrib
7A: Providence 28, Mount Carmel 7
Big plays were the difference in the half. Providence scored a touchdown on all three of its first-half drives and forced two fumbles.
Providence senior receiver Miles Boykin, a Notre Dame recruit, tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Matt MacNab on the first drive of the game. Justin Hunniford tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Richie Warfield on the second possession. Warfield added a 2-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, while Erik Carroll recovered a fumble and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff for a 28-7 lead.
Mount Carmel's lone touchdown came on a 2-yard scoring run by Jaquan Buntyn in the second quarter. The Celtics tallied 162 yards passing and 24 rushing in the first half. Mount Carmel has 92 yards rushing and 90 passing.
The Caravan have converted four of their seven third-down attempts and their lone fourth-down try.
-Bob Narang @bobnarang
PREGAME
8A: Stevenson (12-0) at Glenbard West (12-0), 1 p.m. Saturday
The north half of the Class 8A bracket was as loaded as any in recent memory.
The two that remain are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 by the Tribune.
Stevenson would gladly trade its No. 1 ranking to play at home, but No. 2 Glenbard West will play host when the teams collide Saturday afternoon in a Class 8A semifinal at Duchon Field in Glen Ellyn.
Both teams have survived close calls to get there.
Glenbard West, the Class 7A champion in 2012 and a semifinalist five times since 2008, overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit to defeat Barrington 28-21 last week.
Junior running back Sam Brodner is powerful and deceptively fast. He broke a pair of long runs to draw West even last week and is 160 yards shy of 2,000.
In search of its second title game appearance and first state championship, Stevenson has a more diverse attack.
Cameron Green and Jack Sorenson have combined for more than 1,500 yards receiving, Jack Joseph is over 1,000 yards rushing and Willie Bourbon has thrown for 2,248 yards and rushed for another 303.
The Patriots rallied to beat Lyons 21-17 in the first round and held off a late charge by Loyola to record a 24-21 second-round victory before rolling New Trier 38-10 last weekend.
Glenbard West dominated its first two playoff games, beating Fremd 34-14 and Palatine 41-7.
The survivor will face either Homewood-Flossmoor or Simeon for the championship next weekend in Champaign.
-Mike Helfgot @mhelfgot
8A: Simeon (11-1) vs. Homewood-Flossmoor (10-2), 7:15 p.m. at Gately Stadium
The Wolverines are riding an 11-game winning streak, while the Vikings have won seven straight since a 43-40 loss at Lincoln-Way East.
H-F defeated Simeon 27-13 in Week 1 of the 2013 season in the teams' last meeting.
Simeon is looking to make school history by reaching state for the first time. The Wolverines already set a standard for the program by defeating Class 8A defending champ Naperville Central on its home field to land its first semifinal berth.
The Wolverines shocked Naperville Central with a solid running attack, converting key third downs and forcing turnovers. The Wolverines have allowed just 44 points in playoff wins over Downers Grove South, Hinsdale Central and Naperville Central.
The Wolverines are averaging 39.4 points per game, led by quarterback Timon Watkins and running back Dion Earls Jr.
Vikings defeated Bolingbrook for the second time this season to earn their semifinal berth. H-F has relied on a big-play offense with multiple weapons. The Vikings are averaging 44 points per game. Deante and Devonte Harley-Hampton have combined to rush for 2,301 yards and 35 touchdowns, while junior quarterback Bryce Gray has thrown for 2,608 yards and 22 touchdowns.
The Vikings, who won a state title in 1994, haven't played in the semifinal round since losing 28-21 to Mount Carmel in 2010, current coach Craig Buzea's first season.
-Bob Narang @bobnarang
7A: Providence (11-1) at Mount Carmel (8-4), noon at Gately Stadium
Mount Carmel took a different path to the semifinals than in years past.
The defending Class 7A state champions started 2-4, including a 33-14 loss to Providence in Week 3. The Caravan have won their last six to be in position to play for another state title.
Under coach Frank Lenti, the Caravan have won 11 state championships and placed second five times in 31 seasons.
Mount Carmel's option attack has run like a well-oiled machine since running back Anthony Ries received his first start in a 23-21 loss to St. Rita. Ries went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season in last week's 20-7 victory against Lincoln-Way East.
Mount Carmel has not allowed more than 16 points in a game since a 63-20 win over Leo in Week 7. The Caravan racked up eight sacks last week.
Providence has won six in a row, including a 23-6 triumph over Wheaton Warrenville South last weekend. The biggest concern for the Celtics is the status of Notre Dame-bound receiver Miles Boykin, who sat out last week's game with a dislocated left pinkie finger. Boykin, who has caught 55 passes for 866 yards and 18 touchdowns this season, had a pair of touchdown catches during the regular-season victory against Mount Carmel.
Providence senior quarterback Justin Hunniford has completed 216 of 318 pass attempts for 2,964 yards and 30 touchdowns with just three interceptions.
Mount Carmel has history on its side in the playoff matchup of Catholic League Blue rivals. The Caravan defeated the Celtics in the playoffs in 1999 and 2000 en route to winning the state title in each of those seasons. The Celtics defeated the Caravan in the Class 6A playoffs in 2004 on the way to the school's most recent state championship.
-Bob Narang @bobnarang
7A: Cary-Grove (12-0) at Libertyville (9-3), 3 p.m. Saturday
It's been 10 years since these teams met in the Class 7A final, which Libertyville won 13-3.
The Trojans have won at least one playoff game every year in the last decade and played in two state title games, winning 6A in 2009.
Methodical, mistake-free, clock-eating offenses that rely heavily on talented line play, and an aggressive and punishing defense have been Cary-Grove's calling cards. This year is no different, with Notre Dame commit Trevor Ruhland and Michael Gomez, amongst others, opening holes for sophomore Tyler Pennington, who has rushed for 1,533 yards and 29 TDs.
Libertyville, which has allowed 17 points in the playoffs, is playing its best ball thanks in large part to Aleks Dragin and Ben Kimpler. If the Wildcats can somehow bottle up a Cary-Grove offense that averages 360 rushing yards and 43.7 points per game in the playoffs, the rest may be up to Libertyville junior quarterback Riley Lees, who has combined for nearly 3,200 yards of offense and 44 touchdowns this season.
-Phil English @PhillipEnglish
6A: St. Francis (10-2) at Nazareth (12-0), 1 p.m. Saturday
Nazareth thus far has lived up to its high preseason expectations, as the unbeaten Roadrunners are averaging more than 46 points per game and have had only one game decided by less than two touchdowns.
The next step for the program's state title takes place in this afternoon's Class 6A semifinal matchup in LaGrange Park against St. Francis.
The Spartans put it all together in last week's 41-14 quarterfinal victory over Hinsdale South after winning their first two playoff games by a combined five points. They received a big boost with the return of starting running back Steven Fassnacht for the postseason after he suffered a broken ankle in Week 3.
He's "getting back to his old self", according to coach Mike Fitzgerald, and had his best game since before his injury last week's win, rushing for 72 yards and a TD.
Quarterback Clint Bobowski, whose brother played fullback and linebacker on the Spartans' 2008 Class 5A state championship team, has a deep receiving corps, featuring Michael Shaw (60 catches, 806 yards) and Matt Hanson, who caught five balls for 148 yards and two scores last week. With rain a distinct possibility and the desire to keep Nazareth's offense on the sideline as much as possible, expect the Spartans to devote plenty of energy establishing the run.
As if the Roadrunners needed more weapons, they were bolstered recently when running back Ivory Kelly-Martin, a starter as a freshman in 2013, returned from a preseason knee injury. He adds another dimension to a unit that has seen Nolan Dean and Julian Love combine for 2,464 yards rushing and 36 touchdowns.
Nazareth is the rare successful team that has a true quarterback rotation with coach Tim Racki having confidence in both junior Carson Bartels and senior Jonah Beauduy.
Something to keep an eye on will be whether St. Francis can stay within range early, as Nazareth has outscored its opponents 256-27 in the first quarter this season.
-Steve Reaven @ReavenTrib
5A: Geneseo (12-0) at Montini (9-3), 1 p.m. Saturday
Two programs with a lengthy history of state championships meet in a Class 5A semifinal Saturday afternoon in Lombard.
No. 1 seed Geneseo has won four state championships along with six runner-up finishes, including last season. No. 6 seed Montini has won five state titles and finished second last year.
Geneseo, which is 74-33 all-time in postseason play, beat Belvidere, Rich East and Sycamore to reach the semifinals. The Maple Leafs have combined a powerful offense with a stingy defense this season, outscoring opponents 392-106, including four shutouts. Running back Ryan Pitra has gained more than 1,100 yards, while Lane Akre contributes to the ground attack.
Montini, which is 56-21 all-time in the playoffs, defeated DuSable, Joliet Catholic and Marian Central to advance. Since a 31-7 loss to St. Francis on Oct. 10, the Broncos have won five straight, outscoring opponents 157-55. Montini quarterback Chuck Norgle has thrown for more than 2,400 yards with 20 touchdowns. His favorite targets are Tyler Millikan, Patrick Maloney, Stephen Dennis and Indiana-bound Leon Thornton III.
Geneseo beat Montini in the schools' only playoff meeting, 46-15 in a 1982 semifinal.
- Bob Hurst @HurstSports
4A: Coal City (10-2) vs. Phillips (11-1), 3:45 at Gately Stadium
Like Simeon, Phillips is attempting to make school and Public League history. Only one Public League team -- -- the 1982 Robeson team that finished second -- -- has made a state final. The Wildcats squeezed out a 14-13 victory last week when Rockford Lutheran missed a point-after-attempt.
The Wildcats have won 10 in a row after losing 20-13 to Carmel in Week. 2.
Phillips senior quarterback Dewayne Collins is the driving force for the Wildcats' offense. The Illinois State recruit has rushed for 1,721 yards and 18 touchdowns and passed for 1,326 yards and 21 touchdowns. The Wildcats are averaging 38.6 points per game.
Junior receiver Quayvon Skanes tops the team with 40 catches for 977 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Despite Collins receiving the bulk of the attention, Phillips' defense has been one of the key reasons for the program's march to the semifinals. The Wildcats are allowing 4.3 points per game and have seven shutouts. Sophomore defensive tackle Chris Elmore tops the team with 12 sacks and junior linebacker Amani Jones has a team-high 90 tackles.
The Coalers enter Saturday on a five-game winning streak, including beating a pair of 10-win teams -- St. Edward and Manteno -- in their last two games. Coal City relies on senior running back Jack Dibble to carry the offense. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder has 332 carries for 2,528 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Quarterback Nick Micetich has 34 completions in 74 attempts for 457 yards, with three touchdowns and four interceptions.
Coal City will be playing in the semifinals for the sixth time in school history.
-Bob Narang @bobnarang
