Does tradition matter? Storied Rockford-area football programs seek quarterfinal spots

Five local teams will battle it out for quarterfinal slots in the Class 1A and 3A playoffs this weekend, and four of them have tradition on their side.

And two of those are the most dominant teams on the football fields of Illinois this year.

Lena-Winslow, which has had one game decided by less than three touchdowns the entire season, is playing in its 76th playoff game, and the three-time defending Class 1A state champs have six state titles since 2010.

Byron, which has scored more points than any team in the state this year (609), and given up the fewest (45), will be playing in its 77th playoff game and the Tigers have made it to the Class 3A state championship game in three out of the past five years.

Stillman Valley will tee it up in its 78th playoff game in program history on Saturday against Durand/Pecatonica, and while the Cardinals have not been as successful of late (and the Rivermen have), they still have five state championships under their belt, the last one coming in 2013.

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And Forreston, which goes up against powerhouse Le-Win for the second time this year on Saturday, is playing in its 62nd postseason game, and it has three state titles to boast about, all fairly recent: 2014, 2016 and 2018.

So let's take a closer peek at the five Rockford-area football teams that will battle it out for quarterfinal slots in Class 1A and 3A this Saturday, and see if tradition really matters:

CLASS 1A

Forreston (8-2) at Lena-Winslow (10-0)

Forreston head coach Keynon Janicke has been telling his team all season long to prepare to face Le-Win in the playoffs. It happened in 2006, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022, so why not this year, too.

He was right.

"It's a pretty big thing for the fans, and for the players," Janicke said. "And it just always feels like it could happen... When the time comes, we just have to come ready to battle."

Forreston won in 2016 and 2018, but it's been Le-Win the rest of the time. That means the Panthers are 6-2 in the postseason against the Cardinals, and they've been charging through every opponent they've faced this season, too. Even Forreston, which Le-Win just knocked off 36-8. That did happen to be Le-Win's closest game of the year. And following a 6-0 loss in the rain to Durand/Pecatonica, it also happened to be Forreston's second loss in a row.

The Cardinals righted the ship last week with a 20-7 win over Ottawa Marquette. Now it's time to see how far they've come in two weeks.

Le-Win is averaging 47.8 points on offense and has allowed nine points per game on defense. Forreston is averaging 22.0 points on offense and 14.0 on defense.

CLASS 3A

Durand/Pectonica (8-2) at Stillman Valley (6-4)

Stillman Valley has tradition on its side in this matchup, but it's been Du/Pec that has had more success of late.

Stillman Valley is 214-77 under 26th-year head coach Mike Lalor, and they won those five state titles from 1999-2013 during the Cardinals' heyday. But they failed to win more than four games from 2014-2017, and while they've made the postseason in four straight years, they've gone 1-1 in three of those years, and bowed out in the first round another time.

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This Stillman Valley team is looking to break that mold and make it back to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2013.

"Hey, this time of year, it's just about getting one more point than the other team, and moving on," Lalor said. "The playoffs really started in Week 7 for us, so we're just going at every week the same. We have to win to keep it going."

Du/Pec won nine game in 2021 and eight last year, but the Rivermen have yet to win a second-round playoff game. And before this stretch of three straight playoff appearances, their last postseason berth was back in 2005.

This team, led by QB Cooper Hoffman, who leads the NUIC in passing with 1,777 yards throwing and 22 touchdown passes, appears poised to make a run at it, however.

"We want this. This team really wants to go out and be the first to get that win in the second round," Hoffman said last week after throwing for 174 yards and two TDs, and rushing for another TD. "It's time."

Byron (10-0) at Peotone (7-3)

It may be tough to find anyone outside the town of Peotone who would be picking against Byron this weekend. (Or any weekend?)

The Tigers are the most dominant team in the state, hands down, and in any class. They have scored the most points (609) and given up the fewest (45), and that's from Class 1A-8A, and includes the 8-man football teams that air it out weekly.

And, Byron has been so far out in front of every team on its schedule that many of its starters get two series, maybe three, before it's time for the backups and third-stringers to get their time in.

"It's nice to be winning like this, but it doesn't mean a thing if you don't finish the job," Byron head coach Jeff Boyer said. "These are focused in on doing that. We're used to having a target on our back every week, and we know we're going to get everybody's toughest game. But we're ready. We're ready."

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Byron, Lena-Winslow, Stillman Valley and Du/Pec in football 2nd round