256 battling for Champaign

All the preparing, scouting and previewing is almost over. Now it's time for one of the most exciting times of the high school year - the football playoffs.
As usual there are so many interesting storylines - including the fact it appears we're going to get nailed with an incredible sixth straight Friday night of bad weather. Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel might be doing live spots around the state the way things are going.
In Class 8A, can a dangerous Naperville North team extend the career of retiring coach Larry McKeon against an unbeaten Fremd team hoping this is the year it breaks through beyond the quarterfinals?
Does Schaumburg have another run in it similar to last year's to the quarterfinals when it opens against Marist and dangerous QB Mike Perish?
Who will emerge as one of the semifinalists from the bottom half of the upper bracket - Hinsdale Central and QB John Whitelaw, Glenbard North's stingy defense, Downers Grove South QB Chandler Whitmer or 8-1 Bolingbrook?
Does Maine South have what it takes for a repeat title performance in Champaign with Indiana-bound star Matt Perez?
Can Palatine keep Leyden's Angel Maldonado (1,995 yards rushing) from going too far beyond 2,000 for the season - and can Leyden slow down the Pirates' multi-threat QB Cody Bobbit?
Will ground-heavy teams such as Fremd with Evan Wright and Notre Dame-bound OL Christian Lombard and unbeaten Stevenson and Air Force-bound RB Mark Weisman have an edge as the weather gets worse (which doesn't seem possible listening to the monsoon going on outside right now)?

In 7A, is this unbeaten Glenbard West's year after falling to eventual champ East St. Louis in last year's semis? East St. Louis lost a lot of talent but reloaded and rebounded from two tough opening losses to national powers.
Wheaton South, St. Rita, Lincon-Way East and Geneva are all part of a rugged upper bracket with East St. Louis while Glenbard West appears to be on track to reach Champaign from the lower bracket.
But Rolling Meadows and QB Jimmy Garoppolo seem to have something special going with a team that has quietly gotten better and better all year. Will Lake Zurich be able to move the ball at all Saturday night in what figures to be a swamp/mosh pit at Meadows?
Will Prospect and Carmel approach last year's record-setting 70-63 Huntley-Batavia shootout if the weather cooperates? Prospect and QB Miles Osei have a state-title caliber offense but will it be slowed by the weather and Carmel's tough defense? Can the Knights' defense get just enough stops against Carmel's tricky triple option offense?
Who takes the rematch of South Elgin's 10-7 overtime win over St. Charles North? The Storm is in the playoffs for the first time under veteran coach Dale Schabert, who had tremendous success at Larkin.
Can Elk Grove and QB Nick Meyer, part of a tremendous junior class, get the Brian Doll coaching era off to a rousing start in its playoff trip to Machesney Park Harlem? It seems eerily similar to a 2000 Prospect team which ended a long playoff drought with a triple overtime loss at Bloomington to kick start the program's renaissance.

In 6A, can St. Viator put it all together to make a playoff run behind tough QB Julian Sipiora at unbeaten Cary-Grove? The winner could be playing for a while and both teams had preseason expectations of landing in Champaign.
Can Marmion also make a deep run in a side of the bracket with three top-seeded Public League teams? Who will emerge from a power-packed top half of the bracket with unbeaten Danville and 8-1 Providence and Lemont. There are eight 8-1 teams with what seems to be an unfair opener between two of them - Richards and Rock Island.

So, here we go. Now we're just hoping most of this lousy weather clears out by game time.