Unexpected should be expected with postseason

Expecting the unexpected is commonplace when it comes to the IHSA.

But Mount Carmel coming all the way from the Southeast side of Chicago into the upper bracket of 16 teams for the Class 8A playoffs?

"Totally unexpected," said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci after the first-round pairings were announced for the 256-team field. "Three 9-0s (Fremd, Mount Carmel, Whitney Young) in one bracket and one 9-0 (Downers Grove South) in the other?

"I guess you've got to play them all."

Donatucci and the Vikings did get wind of what was going to happen a few hours before the pairings came out.

It does leave the door open for people to wonder if the IHSA is playing gerrymandering-type games -- ironically involving Chicago -- when lower-bracket schools such as Lyons or Hinsdale Central would seem to be better upper-bracket fits.

So Fremd will start its 13th straight playoff trip at home at 7 p.m. Friday against a familiar foe in Stevenson (5-4). The Vikings won 20-14 in last year's second round.

"They're still a good team regardless of what their record is," Donatucci said of Fremd's fourth playoff game with the Patriots since 1996.

Palatine is going to Chicago for its first playoff game in 10 years at Lane Tech, which beat 1-8 Evanston 7-0 in Week 2 for its only win outside the Public League.

"We're excited just to be in and we're playing pretty well right now," said Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly. "Whenever we play our kids will be ready to go."

If the Pirates win they'd probably host Mount Carmel in the second round. That's unless Leyden can make its first playoff trip in nine years unforgettable against the 10-time state champions.

"I just talked to our quarterback (Tim O'Connell) and his words were, 'We're going to shock the world,'" said Leyden coach Tom Cerasani. "Honestly, Mt. Carmel might be the best team in the history of the state. It's kind of an honor to play them."

Wheeling also got a tough assignment for its first playoff game in 11 years. A trip to the turf in Lake Zurich next Friday night.

Last year's 7A state runner-up has allowed only 28 points in 8 straight wins since a 27-20 loss to Fremd.

But Wildcats plan to follow the "We're not done" motto defensive coordinator and alum Brian Hauck echoed after they clinched a share of the Mid-Suburban East title Friday night.

"They're good, but our guys are excited to be playing them," said Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar. "I'm excited for the guys. It's somebody different and they have a real good program over there."

Rolling Meadows dropped from a second to a fifth seed with its Week 8 loss to Buffalo Grove. It will open at home, probably on Saturday night, against a Notre Dame team quarterbacked by Mount Prospect resident Tom Abraham.

If Meadows wins it would get the Wheeling-Lake Zurich winner. The upper bracket also includes Carmel, Cary-Grove, Glenbrook North and Rockford Boylan with defending 8A champion Wheaton Warrenville South in the lower bracket.

"The whole bracket is good," said Meadows coach Doug Millsaps. "Everyone has been talking about how bad 7A is…"

Prospect is hoping to open Friday night at unbeaten top-seed Rockford Boylan.

The Titans have outscored their NIC-10 foes 370-30. But Prospect pounded a Belvidere team that came to the 2005 semifinals with similar scores and now has Pat Mack back in its running attack.

And in 2000, the Knights were a 32nd seed and took Bloomington to triple overtime before falling.

"It's fun to play someone brand new," said Prospect coach Brent Pearlman. "The experience of the playoffs is as much fun as the playoffs themselves."

Barrington wasn't as fortunate to join the party as the points it put on the scoreboard in Friday's 49-46 win over Schaumburg didn't translate to enough playoff points to make a sixth straight postseason trip.

The Broncos' 34 playoff points made them the eighth of 11 teams at 5-4 that failed to make the field. Rockford Christian Life was the last team to qualify and only one of five with 36 playoff points.

But winning the highest scoring game in MSL history did give Barrington its sixth straight winning season. It had 16 straight above-.500 finishes from 1962-77.