23-game unbeaten streak on the line for defending 8A champ Hawks as state football playoffs begin.
Combined, the football teams at Maine South High School and Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin have won 45 consecutive games. They are both defending state champs, Maine South in Class 8A and Sacred Heart-Griffin in 5A. 
Matt Perez, Maine South
File photo by John Rowland
They've both piled up lots of points in unbeaten seasons; Maine South averages 45.3 points per game and Sacred Heart-Griffin 41.3.
"I am so excited. We have been waiting for this since summer," Maine South senior punter Sean Zingsheim told the Sun-Times News Group.
When the Illinois football playoffs begin Friday night for these No. 1-seeded teams, both of them MaxPreps Preseason Top 5 teams in Illinois, expect those streaks to continue. There is little doubt about that. But will there be a bump on the road on the way to Championship Saturday on Nov. 28 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign? Only time can answer that.
Here's a closer look at the Illinois football playoffs, which consist of 256 schools divided into eight classes.
5 big favorites:
** Maine South (9-0): The Hawks clinched the Central Suburban South championship two weeks ago with a 45-34 victory over Glenbrook South; they haven't lost a league game in nine years. Despite losing the majority of its starters from a year ago, including quarterback Charlie Goro to graduation and Vanderbilt University, the Hawks remain Chicago's most dominant team. None of the starters on this team has ever lost a game, varsity or junior varsity. Give much of the credit for this year's success to senior running back Matt Perez, an Indiana recruit. South hasn't lost a game since the 2007 playoffs.
** Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (9-0): Greg Wilson is averaging 150 rushing yards per game for the Cyclones, who haven't lost a game since the first week of the 2008 season. This is a truly dominant team in Class 5A, especially since it moved down from the bigger 6A, where it won a state title. Wilson has scored 15 touchdowns, and quarterback Eric Williamson has thrown for 15 touchdowns with just two interceptions.
** Carthage Illini West (9-0): The Chargers have also won 23 consecutive games, dating back to 2007. The rest of Class 3A will have its hands full with an Illini West offense that has scored more than 500 points in nine games, and hit 70 points once.
** Glenbard West (9-0): In the last two seasons, Glenbard West's only hiccup was a 27-20 loss to powerful East St. Louis in the Class 7A semifinals last year. East St. Louis isn't quite as powerful this year, and Glenbard West won the West Suburban Silver title in the Chicago suburbs for the second consecutive year.
** Casey-Westfield (9-0): The Warriors are 22-1 the last two seasons, their only loss coming in the Class 2A title game last year. They'll be a tough team to beat in the playoffs. The Warriors shut out four teams during the regular season and never gave up more than a touchdown in any game. Their closest margin of victory was 21 points.
5 contenders:
** Hinsdale Central (7-2): The Red Devils are in the same exact position as a year ago, when they were 7-2 and rode the arm of junior quarterback John Whitelaw to the Class 8A finals. Whitelaw is a senior now, the Devils are hungry and they've won six straight.
** Mount Carmel (6-3): The fact that the powerful Caravan lost three games in five league games tells so much more about the power of the Chicago Catholic Blue Conference than it does any weaknesses about Mount Carmel. The Caravan still scored a league-high 316 points in nine games overall and has an explosive offense that poses a threat to any team in the 8A playoffs.
** Providence Catholic (8-1): The Celtics won the Chicago Catholic Blue with a strong defense, and great offensive play from the Hanrihan brothers, quarterback Joey and running back Tim. They are a No. 2 seed in Class 6A.
** Wheaton Warrenville South (8-1): The Tigers' only loss came to 8A defending champion Maine South in Week 2. WW South won the tough DuPage Valley with an unbeaten 7-0 record, including a 38-7 pounding of defending league champ Naperville North. The Tigers, a first-round playoff loser a year ago, could go far in 7A.
** Illinois Valley Central (9-0): How can you bet against a team with the nickname Grey Ghosts? These Ghosts count three shutouts among those nine wins, and they've lost just twice over the last two years.
Breaking it down:
** Class 8A defending champion: Maine South
2009 unbeatens: Maine South, Palatine Fremd, Lincolnshire Stevenson.
First-rounder to watch: No. 11 Sandburg (6-3) vs. No. 6 Hinsdale Central (7-2) at Benedictine University, 7 p.m. Friday.
The bottom line: Can anybody match Maine South's offense?
** Class 7A defending champion: East St. Louis
2009 unbeatens: Chicago Bogan, Glenbard West, Rockford Boyland.
First-rounder to watch: No. 5 Plainfield North (7-2) at No. 4 St. Rita (7-2)
The bottom line: Wide-open title race that may fall to Chicago suburban powers WW South or Glenbard West.
** Class 6A defending champion: Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin
2009 unbeatens: Danville, Cary-Grove.
First-rounder to watch: No. 12 Quincy (7-2) at No. 5 Chicago Morgan Park (8-1)
The bottom line: Now that Sacred Heart-Griffin has moved down in class, who rules?
** Class 5A defending champion: Wheaton St. Francis
2009 unbeatens: Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, Washington.
First-rounder to watch: No. 16 Wheaton Academy (5-4) at No. 1 Hillcrest (8-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Park District Field
The bottom line: Um, make that 27 wins in a row for Sacred Heart-Griffin.
** Class 4A defending champion: Aurora Christian
2009 unbeatens: Rochester, Quincy Notre Dame, Champaign St. Thomas More, Mt. Zion, Illinois Valley Central.
First-rounder to watch: No. 13 Harrisburg (6-3) at No. 4 Quincy Notre Dame (9-0), 2 p.m. Saturday
The bottom line: Rochester, a No. 1 seed in the upper half of the 4A bracket, has defeated its opponents by an average of 33 points.
** Class 3A defending champion: Carthage Illini West
2009 unbeatens: Greenville, Sesser-Valier, Tolono Unity, Illini West, Stillman Valley, Wilmington.
First-rounder to watch: No. 7 Braidwood Reed-Custer (6-3) at No. 2 Wilmington (9-0), 7 p.m. Friday
The bottom line: Strong 3A field features six unbeaten teams. Illini West may be the best of those.
** Class 2A defending champion: Elmhurst Immaculate Conception
2009 unbeatens: Morrison, Casey-Westfield.
First-rounder to watch: No. 12 Stark County (7-2) at No. 5 Orion (8-1), 1 p.m. Saturday
The bottom line: In its last five games, Casey-Westfield has given up a total of six points. The Warriors are 22-1 over the last two seasons.
** Class 1A defending champion: Concord Triopia Coop
2009 unbeatens: Brown County, Lexington, Dakota.
First-rounder to watch: No. 14 Mt. Olive (6-3) at No. 3 Concord Triopia (8-1), 1 p.m. Saturday
The bottom line: No. 1 seed and unbeaten Lexington has made a remarkable turnaround. One year ago, the Minutemen were 3-6; this year, they shut out five opponents and topped 50 points three times.
Soccer: Oswego grad returns to Chicago
Julianne Sitch, a 2002 Oswego High School graduate, is coming home. A former soccer star at Oswego HS and DePaul University, Sitch signed a free-agent contract this week with the Chicago Red Stars of the Women's Professional Soccer league. Sitch scored 18 goals and had 14 assists her senior season at Oswego, then moved on to DePaul, where her 32 career goals and 26 assists broke school records.
"I love Chicago. I love Toyota Park and the energy it brings to the game," Sitch told ChicagoRedStars.com.
** 1A boys final four: Despite finishing the regular season with an 8-12 record, Timothy Christian High School (Elmhurst) advanced to the boys soccer final four with five consecutive playoff victories, giving up just one goal in each of the games. The Trojans, runners-up one year ago, will play Peoria Christian (20-2-2) in a Class 1A semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Friday at North Central College in Naperville. Keith Country Day of Rockford (22-2) will play Waterloo Gibault Catholic (10-14) in the other semifinal. The title game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Paul Bowker, a sports journalist for 25 years who has worked at newspapers nationwide, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.
