Breaking down the Illinois football playoffs

The football favorites are obvious.

Wheaton-Warrenville South, led by University of Illinois quarterback recruit Reilly O'Toole, and Stillman Valley are exactly where they were last year: Unbeaten and No. 1 seeds as the Illinois state playoffs begin Friday.

However, the real buzz around the state came earlier this week when Illinois High School Association officials tossed East St. Louis out of the playoffs because the school used at least one ineligible player in games this season and also in 2009. The Flyers, who won the 2008 7A championship and were unbeaten this year, forfeited five of their nine wins this year and all 10 last year.

The IHSA‘s decision followed an investigation regarding residency by-laws concerning Charles Tigue, an Eastern Illinois recruit who faced armed robbery charges and was ruled ineligible in October, and Anthony Pierson, who has scholarship offers from Missouri and four other major-conference schools. IHSA officials are still investigating the residency issues of Pierson, said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman.

East St. Louis had been awarded a No. 1 seed in Class 7A and was to play Belleville West. The five forfeitures, games in which Tigue played, reduced the Flyers' win total to four, which didn't meet the required minimum for the playoffs.

"Certainly, the timing of this matter is less than ideal," Hickman said, "but as much as some would have liked for us to move faster with this investigation, to do so would have been unfair to both the student-athletes and East St. Louis High School."

As a result, O'Fallon (8-1) was made a No. 1 sectional seed and drew a first-round bye. It is the only school in any class that won‘t play a first-round game.

The departure of East St. Louis could work to the advantage of defending 7A champion Wheaton-Warrenville South, which has won 20 consecutive games and plays host to Lisle Benet Academy at 7 p.m. Friday.

The other unbeaten defending state champ, Stillman Valley in Class 3A, plays host to Peru St. Bede at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Cardinals have won 23 straight.

Breaking down the football playoffs:
CLASS 1A
The Unbeaten: Stark County (Toulon), Lewistown, Brown County (Mt. Sterling).
Top seeds: Stark County (9-0), Brown County (9-0), East Dubuque (8-1).
Defending champion: Tuscola.
Streaking: Tuscola, with a school enrollment of 282, is in the playoffs for the 17th consecutive time. The Warriors have won two state titles in the last four years.
Player to watch: Running back Zach Duncan has led Lewistown to an average of 48.7 points per game, the most among Class 1A teams.
Key first-round game: United (Alexis) (5-4) at Lewistown (9-0), 7 p.m. Friday. Despite scoring the most points in Class 1A and yielding the least points (3.8 per game), Lewistown managed only a No. 2 seed.

CLASS 2A
The Unbeaten: Newman Central Catholic (Sterling), Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Westville, Auburn, Johnston City, Casey-Westfield.
Top seeds: Newman Central Catholic (9-0), Deer Creek (9-0), Westville (9-0), Johnston City (9-0).
Defending champion: Morrison.
Streaking: Auburn is in the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year.
Player to watch: Running back Brandon Evans leads a rushing attack in an offense that produces 49 points per game. The Chiefs had 500 rushing yards in their 63-21 win last week over Champaign St. Thomas More.
Key first-round game: Amboy-LaMoille (5-4) at Newman Central Catholic (9-0), 1:30 p.m. Saturday. This is a rematch of a Big Rivers Conference game won by Newman Central Catholic, 44-0. The Comets are a team to watch. Among their nine wins was a 16-6 win over defending state champ Morrison.

CLASS 3A
The Unbeaten: Stillman Valley, Wilmington, Illini West (Carthage).
Top seeds: Stillman Valley (9-0), Unity (Tolono) (8-1), Illini West (9-0), Mt. Carmel (8-1).
Defending champion: Stillman Valley.
Streaking: Stillman Valley has won 23 consecutive games, its last loss coming in the second round of the 2008 playoffs.
Player to watch: Running back Nate Bond is one of several Stillman Valley players back from last year‘s state championship team. He scored three touchdowns in the Cardinals‘ final regular-season game, a 49-14 romp over Genoa-Kingston.
Key first-round game: Fairfield (5-4) at Mt. Carmel (8-1), 1 p.m. Saturday. Mt. Carmel is in the playoffs for the 32nd time, and the Golden Aces, whose only loss was to an out-of-state team this season, won‘t meet up with a 3A unbeaten until at least the state quarterfinals.

CLASS 4A
The Unbeaten: Rockford Christian, Richmond-Burton, Alleman (Rock Island), Pontiac, Rochester.
Top seeds: Rockford Christian (9-0), Pontiac (9-0), Rochester (9-0).
Defending champion: Metamora.
Streaking: Geneseo (8-1) is in the playoffs for the 15th straight year, and 35th time overall, the most appearances of any 2010 playoff team.
Player to watch: Rockford Christian broke a state record by averaging 54.4 points per game, and among the Royals‘ offensive stars is running back Arthur Ford, who ran for 227 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries in a 55-12 win over Chicago Hope Academy.
Key first-round game: Mahomet-Seymour (6-3) at Metamora (8-1), 1 p.m. Saturday. The defending champs have won seven straight games and a Mid-Illini Conference title since losing to South Elgin, a Class 7A team.

CLASS 5A
The Unbeaten: Kaneland (Maple Park), Senn (Chicago), Richwoods (Peoria).
Top seeds: Maple Park Kaneland (9-0), Peoria Richwoods (9-0), Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield) (8-1).
Defending champion: Montini (Lombard).
Streaking: Catholic Academy (Joliet) has posted a winning record in 13 consecutive seasons and is in the playoffs for the 34th time.
Player to watch: Joliet Catholic Academy running back Josh Ferguson, a University of Illinois recruit, has rushed for nearly 3,000 yards in two seasons.
Key first-round game: Grayslake Central (5-4) vs. Chicago Senn at Lane Stadium, 7 p.m. Friday. Now we find out how good Senn is. The Bulldogs are 17-2 over their last two seasons and they could meet defending 5A champion Montini in the third round of the playoffs.

CLASS 6A
The Unbeaten: South (Crystal Lake), Boylan (Rockford), Robeson (Chicago), Lemont, Danville.
Top seeds: Crystal Lake South (9-0), Lemont (9-0), Danville (9-0).
Defending champion: Cary-Grove.
Streaking: Hubbard (Chicago), whose only loss was to Chicago Public Illini Prairie State champion Morgan Park, is in the playoffs for the 16th consecutive year.
Player to watch: Lemont‘s Clayton Fejedelem is a game-breaker. He returned a punt 67 yards for a game-winning touchdown with 11 seconds left against Tinley Park. He has scored multiple touchdowns on kickoff returns and interceptions.
Key first-round game: Cary-Grove (6-3) vs. Chicago Hubbard at Gately Stadium, 7 p.m. Saturday: The defending champs are just an 11th seed, but if Cary-Grove can survive two rounds against Chicago Public League teams, the Trojans could end up meeting unbeaten Rockford Boylan in the quarterfinals.

CLASS 7A
The Unbeaten: Simeon (Chicago), Wheaton Warrenville South.
Top seeds: WW South (9-0), Chicago Simeon (9-0), O‘Fallon (8-1).
Defending champion: WW South.
Streaking: WW South has won 20 consecutive games since a 27-9 loss to two-time Class 8A champion Maine South in Week 2 of the 2009 season.
Player to watch: WW South quarterback Reilly O'Toole, a University of Illinois recruit, has burned opponents week after week with his precise passing. The Tigers have been held to less than 40 points just twice.
Key first-round game: Plainfield North (7-2) at Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn), 1 p.m. Saturday: North features running back Kapri Bibbs, a Colorado State recruit whose 520-yard, seven-touchdown created national attention.

CLASS 8A
The Unbeaten: Stevenson (Lincolnshire).
Top seeds: Lincolnshire Stevenson (9-0), York (Elmhurst) (8-1).
Defending champion: Maine South (Park Ridge).
Streaking: Mount Carmel (Chicago), which won a piece of the Chicago Catholic Blue championship, is in the playoffs for the 25th consecutive year under head coach Frank Lenti.
Player to watch: York senior running back Ryan Kent has run for more than 1,000 yards during a season in which the Dukes were 6-0 for the first time in school history.
Key first-round game: Notre Dame (Niles) (5-4) at Maine South (7-2), 1 p.m. Saturday. The two-time 8A champion Hawks have won seven straight and a 10th consecutive league title after an 0-2 start. Two playoff wins would likely carry them into a showdown with top seed Lincolnshire Stevenson.

RECRUITING: BOATRIGHT ON OPEN MARKET AGAIN
Ryan Boatright, a 5-foot-10 senior point guard who averaged more than 26 points a game last season for East (Aurora), is back on the market after de-committing from West Virginia less than a week after he verbaled to Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins.

Boatright informed West Virginia of his de-committal after Jabarie Hinds, a point guard from Mount Vernon, N.Y., verbaled to Huggins. Boatright’s mother, Tanesha, confirmed to Chicago-area newspapers that her son had de-committed.

The story turns complicated because Providence College was Boatright’s second choice, but when Boatright chose West Virginia, Providence then received a verbal from another point guard, Kyan Anderson of North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Previously, Boatright had de-committed from Southern Cal after verbaling to the Trojans as an eighth-grader when former Bulls coach Tim Floyd was USC head coach.

Perhaps rising to the top in the Boatright stakes now is Connecticut. Oklahoma and UNLV also have offered scholarships. He has visited none of those schools. Rumors have also surfaced of DePaul wanting to get Boatright.

* Malin Jones, a running back at Joliet Catholic, verbaled his commitment to Northwestern University. Jones, 6 feet and 200 pounds, rushed for more than 800 yards in the regular season.

* Kiana Johnson and Bryesha Blair, both guards for the 2010 Illinois Class 4A runner-up Whitney Young (Chicago) girls basketball team, announced their college choices. Johnson verbaled to Michigan State and Blair verbaled to Central Florida, where 2009 Whitney Young graduate Marcus Jordan is a sophomore on the men’s basketball team.

Paul Bowker, an online and newspaper sports journalist for 25 years and the author of two Major League Baseball books, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.