IHSA State Championship Preview (Part II)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5A Nazareth Academy vs Joliet Catholic (10AM)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nazareth returns to the state championship game looking to go back-to-back as they took home the 5A title home last year. Starting off 0-4, things did not start off promising for the Roadrunners. Since the slow start Nazareth has found their stride, being led by their junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='118787' first='Logan' last='Malachuk']</strong>. Malachuk's ability to run the offense at a high level and distribute the ball to his playmakers has been a big reason for Nazareth's deep playoff run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joliet Catholic enter the championship game 10-3 on the year. In true Hilltoppers fashion, JCA has been running the ball with authority all season long. They want to get their running backs down hill in their gap scheme run style offense. The go to guy this season has been senior running back <strong>HJ Grigsby</strong>. He had a big workload last week, rushing the ball 29 times for 149 yards. I expect Grigsby to get plenty of touches this Saturday morning. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: <em>Joliet Catholic</em> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6A Cary-Grove vs East St Louis (1PM)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2 years ago Cary-Grove had a big upset over East St Louis in the 6A championship game. The Flyers struggled slowing down Cary-Grove's triple option attack allowing big plays in the run game. Cary-Grove will be coming in this game with the same offense as well as the same confidence as the 2021 team that got the job done. Senior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='354272' first='Andrew' last='Prio'] </strong>will be the guy to watch for the Trojans in this rushing attack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East St Louis has yet to be tested in the playoffs this year. No surprise here, the Flyers are loaded on both sides of the ball and know how to put teams away. They will be looking to to shut down this rushing attack like they did last year against Prairie Ride in the 6A title game. Look for senior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='271286' first='Robert' last='Battle'] </strong>to use his arm and his legs to hurt this Cary-Grove defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: <em>East St Louis </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>7A Downers Grove North vs Mount Carmel (4PM)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the 13th seed, Downers Grove North was one of the most unlikely teams to get to state. However, they sent a message to the rest of the state last week taking down the #1 seed Normal Community 42-0. The Trojans are for real. Iowa State commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='326053' first='Cael' last='Brezina']</strong> has been leading this strong defense for Downers Grove North all season long. They will have to hitting on cylinders this weekend to take down a tough Mount Carmel team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mount Carmel has proven they are one of the best teams in the state. They are another team playing this weekend that is looking for a repeat championship. They have a deep, impressive roster that is battle tested. They are a well coached team on both sides of the ball that are in the right spots. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='131488' first='Jack' last='Elliott']</strong> is the man behind center, leading this high powered offense all year long. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: <em>Mount Carmel </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8A Loyola vs Lincoln-Way East (7PM)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Get your popcorn ready for this game. 13-0 vs 13-0 facing off for the 8A state championship. A rematch from last year that we all wanted to see. This will be the game of the year in Illinois and how fitting that it will be last. Loyola got the best of LWE in 2022 winning the game 13-3. I expect a higher scoring game this year as they both bring in some serious offensive fire power. For LWE look no further than <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='161316' first='Braden' last='Tischer']</strong>, a dual-threat quarterback that has been shredding defenses with his big play ability. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1292076' first='Ryan' last='Fitzgerald']</strong> has been the guy for Loyola playing mistake free football for most of the year throwing for 18 touchdowns with only 1 interception. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction:<em> Lincoln-Way East </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->