Glenbard West, North face Round 2 playoff tests

Glenbard West travels to unbeaten Hersey for a Class 7A second-round playoff game after rolling past Moline 56-0 in Round 1.

Glenbard North meets Richards after beating Jacobs 35-13. Both Glenbard teams are two wins from the state semifinals.

West faces Hersey's high-powered offense

The Hilltoppers drew a tough road assignment. Hersey entered the playoffs at 9-0 as the No. 2 seed and Mid-Suburban East champion for two consecutive years, according to a Shaw Local preview published before Round 1. The Huskies then routed Yorkville 49-7 in their opener.

The headliner is Hersey quarterback Jake Nawrot, a four-star Kentucky commit. Through the regular season, Nawrot threw for 2,201 yards and 31 touchdowns with zero interceptions, per Shaw Local. Junior running back Jackson Travis added 1,308 yards and 17 touchdowns in eight games. Senior linebackers Nick Jelaca and Ryan Haefke anchor the Hersey defense with 52 and 48 tackles, respectively.

Hersey's only loss in its past 19 games was a 56-42 defeat to St. Rita in last year's Class 7A quarterfinals.

Daily Herald columnist Mike McGraw ranked the matchup seventh among Round 2 games. McGraw noted that a storyline all season has been Glenbard West lacking its usual hard-hitting defense because of injuries. He questioned whether the Hilltoppers can slow Hersey's offense.

McGraw pointed to a potential equalizer. Hersey did not play a particularly tough schedule, while Glenbard West faced the West Suburban Silver and St. Rita in nonconference play. The 15th-seeded Hilltoppers went 6-3 in the regular season.

North rides playoff momentum against Richards

McGraw wrote that Glenbard North "should be the biggest fan of playoff expansion." The Panthers went 3-6 in the regular season, according to the Daily Herald, but have won twice in the expanded playoff format to reach Round 2.

Their 35-13 win over Jacobs set up a meeting with Richards, which beat Niles North 50-8 in the opening round.

McGraw predicted Glenbard North would advance.

The quarterfinal stakes add weight to the matchup. The Daily Herald noted the winner of the St. Rita-Downers Grove North second-round game "will certainly be favored in the quarterfinals against Richards or Glenbard North."