Glenbard South will open the IHSA Class 5A football playoffs Friday, Oct. 23, at Chicago's Rockne Stadium against the Payton Grizzlies. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

The Raiders enter as the No. 17 seed with a 5-4 record. Payton, the No. 16 seed, is also 5-4, according to Shaw Local's playoff pairings. The higher seed hosts in the opening round.

The matchup marks Glenbard South's 15th straight playoff appearance. The Raiders have struggled to advance once they get there, though. They have just two playoff wins since 2017, in 2021 and 2023, and have not reached the third round since 2009.

Glenbard South closed the regular season with a loss Friday, Oct. 16, when Riverside-Brookfield beat the Raiders 25-7 in Glen Ellyn to clinch the Upstate Eight Conference East Division title. The Raiders trailed just 12-7 at halftime but were shut out in the second half.

Quarterback Tommy Bauman connected with junior receiver Anthony Baldauf on a 45-yard touchdown to pull within 12-7. But Bauman's end-zone pass intended for Baldauf was intercepted by R-B's Jayden Lee with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter, Shaw Local reported.

A win in that game would have forced a three-way tie for the division title with R-B and two-time defending champion Glenbard East.

"For us to be competing for a conference championship in Week 9 against a great opponent you can't ask for more as a high school coach," Glenbard South coach Ryan Crissey said after the R-B loss.

Crissey pointed to the line of scrimmage as the difference. The Raiders went 0-3 against teams with winning records this season, including losses to West Aurora and Riverside-Brookfield in their final two regular-season games.

Bauman and Baldauf will need to find that connection again Friday. Elijah Donahue, a two-way standout, gives the Raiders a playmaker who can change a game with the ball in his hands.

Payton finished fourth in the Chicago Public League's Red Star Division. The Grizzlies are also on a 15th straight playoff streak, though their last postseason victory came in 2022.

The winner faces a steep climb: a second-round trip to No. 1 Antioch, which finished the regular season 9-0.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday at Rockne Stadium, 1117 South Central Ave. in Chicago.