It is nearly impossible to get through a postgame interview with a Catholic League football coach without mentioning how strong the conference is and how well it prepares teams for the postseason.
That is true, and the results were obvious in the opening round of the Illinois High School Association’s state football playoffs. The Catholic League went 12-1,, and its only loss was one of the weekend's closest games: Benet’s 42-38 defeat to Moline.
Marist, St. Patrick, DePaul Prep, St. Laurence, Notre Dame, Carmel, Nazareth, Joliet Catholic, St. Francis, Providence, Marmion and Leo all won in the opening round.
DePaul Prep, St. Laurence and Carmel won just three games during the regular season and would not have qualified for the playoffs under the old format. Nazareth won just four games, but probably would have snuck in on playoff points.
“Playing the schedule we played in the Catholic League really prepared us for the playoffs,” Notre Dame coach Dan DeFranza said. “We all notice that a lot of Catholic schools do well in the playoffs. It’s because we beat the crap out of each other in the regular season and every week is a real focused game plan. It is the regular season that prepares us for the playoffs, for sure.”
So, Catholic League schools clearly believe a tough schedule is key to improving your team and winning the playoffs. That's likely another benefit of playoff expansion. Now that above-average (but not dominant) teams no longer have to worry about winning five games to make the playoffs, they can schedule more challenging nonconference games, raise their schedule difficulty, and be better prepared for the playoffs.
In the past, it wouldn’t make much sense for your average Mid-Suburban League team to risk facing Lincoln-Way East or Loyola in Week 1. But under the new format, that may benefit the team.
Home advantage was key in the opening round: 92 of 128 host teams won (72%). The median margin of victory was 28.5 points. But the average opening-round score was 41-13. There were many blowouts, but not more than the first round of the previous format.
However, overanalyzing the opening-round results isn't the point. Many of the teams playing were in their first playoff game in decades. One hope for the expanded playoffs is that many significantly below-average teams can use playoff experience, extra practices, and renewed hope throughout the season to build better programs over the next few years.
One athletic director told me this weekend that students at his school used to be embarrassed to be on the football team. This season’s playoff run changed that; it literally impacted the mood in the hallways. That is a monumental shift, something only possible because of the playoff expansion. It may take a few years for that to pay off, which is why this past weekend's scores aren't significant.
