2026 IHSA playoffs: Steve Soucie’s Class 7A playoff analysis and picks
Mark Chen is a seasoned sports journalist with a degree from the University of Chicago and over 6 years of experience covering club sports and recreational activities in the Naperville area. Prior to joining Naperville Current, he wrote for the Naperville Sun, where he leveraged his strong relationships with coaches and athletes.
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Round of 16 matchupsNormal Community (10-0) vs. Kenwood (7-3): Normal Community got a little bit of a push for the first time this season eventually earning a two-touchdown win over Edwardsville in the first round. It also was also the only time the Ironmen were held under 40 points all season. Kenwood isn’t a typical CPL team and might have the mettle to make this game interesting as it dominated most of its games and its lone loss since an 0-2 start was solid effort against Morgan Park in the CPL title game.Pick: Normal CommunityBrother Rice (8-2) vs. Batavia (8-2): Brother Rice has been a wrecking ball since its Week 4 loss to Loyola and holds a signature win over Mount Carmel during that run. Early season losses to Lincoln-Way East and Loyola pushed the Crusaders seed down much lower than it should be. Batavia, who voluntarily plays in Class 7A, seems to be a magnet for running into Chicago Catholic League opponents relatively early in the draw, having had seasons end the last seve