Fenwick High School's football team won its second-round IHSA Class 6A playoff game at Rockton on Saturday, Nov. 7, keeping the Friars' title defense alive.

The No. 6-seeded Friars will host No. 7 seed Wheaton North in the quarterfinals, according to the IHSA Class 6A bracket. A date and time had not been posted as of Sunday, Nov. 8.

The final score of Saturday's game is in dispute between two published sources. The IHSA bracket lists the result as Fenwick 38, Hononegah 13. The Telegraph reported the score as Fenwick 26, Hononegah 24. Both sources agree Fenwick won.

The Friars improved to 8-3 on the season. Wheaton North (8-3) reached the quarterfinals by edging Geneva 36-35, according to the IHSA bracket.

Fenwick, the defending 6A state champion, opened its 2026 playoff run with a 38-20 rout of Highland Park on Oct. 30 at Triton College. Senior Jake Thies scored three touchdowns in that game and broke the program's career touchdown record with 41, as we reported Nov. 5.

The quarterfinal will be at Fenwick. The winner advances to a semifinal against the winner of Machesney Park Harlem and Niles Notre Dame.

Cross country at state

Fenwick senior Juliana Gamboa and junior Bridget Brunick competed in the Class 3A girls race at the IHSA state cross country meet Nov. 7 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Neither runner appeared in the top 25 all-state finishers published by the Peoria Journal Star.

The top 25 runners in each race earn all-state honors, according to the Journal Star. The Class 3A girls winner was Kara Glenn of St. Charles North, who finished in 15:13.0.

Gamboa, a Riverside resident, had earned top-25 all-state honors in Class 2A as both a freshman and sophomore before Fenwick moved to the larger 3A classification in 2025, as we reported Nov. 4. Brunick was making her second trip to the state meet.

Girls' swimming in postseason

Fenwick's girls' swimming and diving team was also in IHSA postseason action over the weekend, according to a Fenwick athletics post. Results were not available as of publication.

The football quarterfinal against Wheaton North is the next confirmed matchup on the Friars' schedule.