SCOUTING WEEK 2 OF THE ILLINOIS FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

With Seeds and Records

Class 8A Lower Bracket

No. 2 Stevenson (10-0) vs. No. 10 Mt. Carmel (7-3)

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: Gately Stadium.

TV: Comcast (CN 100), tape delay at noon Saturday.

Breaking it down: The Caravan avoided an upset loss to Simeon in Round 1, thanks to a TD run by Milton Greer and some good, tough defense. This is the second straight week Mt. Carmel is an underdog. LB Chris Barcelona (75 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss) has stepped up big for the Caravan, and linemen Markell Brown (27 tackles, 8 TFL) and Nathan Ollie (16 tackles) played key roles in stopping Simeon on the last drive. LB Mike Butler (68 tackles, including 14 for loss) is another contributor on that side of the ball. The Mt. Carmel defense has played well the last four weeks, which has been instrumental in the Caravan's success. This is Mt. Carmel's second straight game at Gately, though it was the visitor against Simeon. Mt. Carmel is 40-for-97 (.412) on third-down conversions, while its opponents are 33-for-95 (.347). Greer has rushed for 883 yards and 12 TDs, QB Chris Sujka has rushed for 667 yards and 11 TDs, and RB Denzel Thompson has rushed for 602 yards and 10 TDs. As a team, Mt. Carmel has 3,445 yards of total offense and its opponents 2,727. Stevenson won the North Suburban Lake Conference title and has two shutouts. The Patriots beat New Trier 28-7 last week as RB Mark Weisman rushed for 165 yards and three TDs. He will be a challenge for the Caravan defense, as will QB Kevin Earl, who threw for 140 yards. WR Nathaniel Johnson can be a deep threat. The Patriots are averaging just under 37 points a game while allowing 14.7 points. Mt. Carmel is averaging 33.5 points to its opponents' 23.3. The Caravan have outscored foes 96-27 in the first quarter. -- Mike Nieto

Class 7A Upper Bracket

No. 4 St. Rita (8-2) at No. 8 Marian Catholic (7-3)

When: 7 p.m. today.

Breaking it down: Neither the Mustangs nor Spartans were challenged in their playoff openers last week. Even without high-octane RB Jahwon Akui in the lineup, St. Rita had too much firepower for first-time playoff qualifier Plainfield North, dropping the Tigers 40-14. While Akui rested an injured ankle, RB Travis Starks picked up the slack by registering some Akui-like rushing numbers: 250 yards on 32 carries and four touchdowns. With Akui expected back this week, Marian's defense will have its plate full, much more so than it was last Friday at Hanson Stadium. There, the Spartans crushed Chicago Public League Windy City champ Bogan 49-6, thanks to almost 400 rushing yards on offense and six interceptions by the defense. Since Marian established an early lead and the game was played in windy conditions, the Spartans' grand total of zero passing yards wasn't a problem. A repeat of that would mean trouble tonight, though, as Marian's attack will need to be both relentless and varied against a Mustangs squad that has scored 35 points or more in seven of 10 games. St. Rita's only struggles came when Akui was either a no-go or performing at less than full strength physically. However, the Spartans can't completely ignore Mustangs QB Rob Gallick, who offered a solid complement to Akui and Starks in a 54-18 win over Mt. Carmel in Week 6. In that contest, Gallick was 7-of-11 passing for 116 yards while hooking up with four different receivers. Marian uses a similar spread-the-wealth philosophy when running the ball, so those respective components may offset one another. Perhaps the biggest thing the Spartans have going for them -- in addition to being at home -- is that the confidence that was lost over the last three weeks of the regular season has been restored. -- Ken Karrson

Class 6A Upper Bracket

No. 3 Crete-Monee (9-1) at No. 11 Normal (8-2)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday.

Breaking it down: The Warriors could set a school record for wins and advance past the second round of the playoffs for the first time ever, but it won't be as easy as last week's 66-8 win over Julian. Crete got down to business early and never let the Jaguars get anything going. It will have to do the same against the Ironmen, who upset Oak Forest 41-24 at Oak Forest. This is not quite as long of a trip as to Rock Island, but the Warriors vowed they would treat this as strictly business. They really haven't been tested since Week 2. Crete-Monee has run the ball well all year and has amassed 2,017 rushing yards. RB Cortez Scott leads the way with 780 yards and 14 TDs. He also has 16 catches for 304 yards and four TDs. RBs Julius Spicer (556 yards, six TDs) and Greg Barksdale (254 yards, 10 TDs) are tough to stop. Defensively, LB Mike Jamison has 79 total tackles and three sacks, while Barksdale has 65 tackles -- including four for loss -- and two sacks. DE Eddie Tate has 10 sacks for a total of 58 yards, and DL Rodney Reed has 13 tackles for loss (minus-43 yards) and five sacks. The defense will have to stop the run. In its win over the Bengals, Normal rushed for 379 yards. Normal plays in the Big Twelve Conference and has scored 41 points in each of its last two games. The Ironmen are averaging 28.5 points per game while giving up 13.7 points. The 24 points scored by Oak Forest are the most netted against Normal this year. The Ironmen had allowed 21 points in each of their first two games. FB Keegan McIntosh had 127 yards and two TDs on eight carries versus the Bengals, QB Tre Jones rushed for 121 and RB Travis Mullen ran for 103 yards. -- Mike Nieto