Wheaton North, WW South face 6A quarterfinals Saturday

Wheaton has two football teams alive in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 6A quarterfinals for the first time in years.

Wheaton North (8-3) plays Oak Park Fenwick (8-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Triton College. Wheaton Warrenville South (8-3) hosts Normal Community West at 2 p.m. Saturday at home, according to WGN's playoff bracket.

Both teams earned their spots with dominant second-round performances. The Falcons stunned No. 2 seed Geneva 36-35 on a last-second touchdown, as we reported Nov. 7. The Tigers routed No. 3 Riverside-Brookfield 45-14 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.

Wheaton North vs. Fenwick

The Falcons face the defending Class 6A state champions. Fenwick beat Rockton Hononegah 38-13 in the second round, according to Shaw Local's CCL roundup. Friars quarterback Myles Hill threw for 340 yards on 18-of-23 passing with four touchdown passes in that game. Three of those went to Iowa commit Jake Thies, who made 9-yard, 34-yard and 54-yard touchdown receptions.

Wheaton North will counter with sophomore quarterback Grant Neibch, who threw for 309 yards and orchestrated an 80-yard go-ahead drive in the final 90 seconds against Geneva, according to coverage published Nov. 7 in Shaw Local. Neibch found wideout Johnny Clayton on a 17-yard scoring pass with 7.8 seconds left.

Running back Mac Murray ran for 101 yards on 20 carries in that game.

"We had a chance to come over here and right a wrong," Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said in Shaw Local's Nov. 7 coverage, referring to a 42-14 regular-season loss to Geneva.

The Falcons started the season 5-0, lost three straight to WW South, Batavia and Geneva, then won their last three, according to Shaw Local's second-round preview. Fenwick, meanwhile, has won four straight since a Week 7 loss at Brother Rice.

WW South vs. Normal Community West

The Tigers' quarterfinal is a homecoming of sorts. WW South hosts the No. 2 seed Wildcats after dismantling Riverside-Brookfield on the road.

Quarterback A.J. Rogers completed 18 of 26 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns against the Bulldogs, according to the Daily Herald. Six different Tigers scored touchdowns: Trent Simpson, Malachi Thomas and Clark Jensen on the ground, and Steven Harvey, Blake Ittersagen and Kennan Yarbrough through the air. Sophomore kicker Drew Maletich drilled a 52-yard field goal.

"I'm really proud of these seniors for this accomplishment. I know this is a good mark for them to get back to the quarterfinals, and it's good for our program, it's really good for our program," Tigers coach Sean Norris said in the Daily Herald's Nov. 6 coverage.

Normal Community West enters as the No. 2 seed after beating Pekin 33-21 in the second round. The Wildcats beat Chatham Glenwood 51-34 in the first round.

Rogers has thrown for 2,570 yards and 22 touchdowns this season, according to Shaw Local's second-round preview. Ittersagen leads the receiving corps with 49 catches for 739 yards and eight touchdowns. Harvey has caught seven touchdowns. Defensively, lineman Zach Turner and linebacker Clark Jensen anchor the unit.