Fenwick High School will open its Class 6A title defense at home after earning the No. 6 seed and a first-round bye in the IHSA football playoffs.
The bracket, released Oct. 17, sets up the Friars (6-3) to host the winner of an opening-round game between No. 11 Highland Park (6-3) and No. 22 Streamwood (3-6). The top eight seeds in Class 6A drew first-round byes under the IHSA's newly expanded 384-team postseason format. Games are at the home of the higher seed.
Fenwick closed the regular season with a 28-7 win over Carmel on Oct. 17 at Triton College in River Grove, according to Shaw Local's CCL roundup. Senior running back Jake Thies, an Iowa commit, ran for two touchdowns and caught two more from quarterback Myles Hill in the Chicago Catholic League division finale. Thies scored on runs of 13 and 5 yards and receptions of 24 and 8 yards.
The week before, Thies scored three touchdowns in the first five minutes of a 56-6 win over St. Viator on Oct. 9 at Triton, according to the Wednesday Journal.
The Friars' three losses came against Saint Ignatius College Prep (30-20), Providence Catholic (28-21) and Brother Rice (42-21), according to Sports Illustrated's state rankings, which placed Fenwick at No. 11 in Illinois as of Oct. 12. All three opponents compete in the CCL.
Head coach Matt Battaglia has kept his team focused on improvement throughout the season. Before the Carmel finale, he told the Wednesday Journal the Friars had "still yet to play our best football" and were "practicing as best and as cleanly as possible to improve the odds of success."
That message started in August. When the defending champions handed out state championship rings before the season opener, Battaglia told his underclassmen they were "state nothings," according to the Wednesday Journal's preseason rivalry preview.
Senior lineman Kam Rutlin, who plays both defensive tackle and right guard, has been a force on both sides of the ball. Hill, a junior who replaced graduated quarterback Jamen Williams, opened the season with an 84-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Watts on the first play against Joliet Catholic.
The Wednesday Journal reported Oct. 18 that reporter Gregg Voss interviewed Battaglia after the bracket reveal to discuss the Friars' postseason preparation. The video was posted to the Journal's social media account, though no transcript was available.
State championship games are scheduled for Nov. 27-28 at Illinois State University's Hancock Stadium in Normal. Fenwick's second-round home date has not been announced.
