Five for remembering: Great playoff games

Maine South quarterback John Schacke is pursued by Mount Carmel's Adam Krugman.
(Jon Sall/Sun-Times)

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If you are like me, the first thing you do when the pairings for the state football playoff are announced is look to see if there are some possible matchups involving No. 1 vs. No. 2, two unbeaten teams, two longtime rivals or two great players.

It doesn't happen every year, of course. One possibility this year could be top-ranked Maine South vs. Loyola in the Class 8A semifinals.

But I remember five exciting and dramatic playoff games – four settled state championships, two in overtime, one in double overtime – that are documented in my forthcoming book, "Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right: High School Football In Illinois," which will be published by University of Illinois Press in August.

* Glenbrook North, 19, East St. Louis 13, OT, 1974: Arguably the best game in the history of the state playoff – and it happened in the inaugural postseason playoff. East St. Louis, with Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow and two other future NFL players, was heavily favored. But...

Glenbrook North won, overcoming a 13-6 deficit in the third quarter. Don Broadbridge, once the third-string quarterback on the freshman B squad, threw a 50-yard scoring pass to Sam Poulos on the fourth play of the fourth quarter to spark a comeback.

Brian Van Schaack scored on fourth-and-1 in overtime. Brian Edwards intercepted a fourth-down pass intended for Winslow at the goal line to seal the victory. Linebacker Jack Moller was credited with 18 tackles. Sophomore Greg Woodsum rushed 23 times for 112 yards.

* St. Laurence 22, Glenbard West 21, OT, 1976: Dave Hickey, St. Laurence's bone-jarring fullback, was sidelined by injury. Ernie Wulff, an untested junior, took his place. He rushed 25 times for 104 yards and scored the winning touchdown in overtime.

Glenbard West led 9-0 but St. Laurence went ahead 15-9 at halftime. Glenbard West bounced back when Chuck Burau recovered a fumble and ran 67 yards to score in the third quarter.

* Wheaton Warrenville South 40, Joliet Catholic 34, 2 OT, 1992: In what Joliet Catholic coach Bob Stone said "might have been the national high school game of the year," WW South prevailed as Phil Adler carried 24 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

Coming off two losses to Mount Carmel in previous state championship games, WW South won its first of four state titles in the next seven years. The Tigers won 79 of 89 games during that stretch, establishing one of the most successful programs in the state in the 1990s.

* Maine South 31, Mount Carmel 28, 1995: Speaking of dynasties, Maine South began its torrid run of success as Brian Schmitz converted a 39-yard field goal with 12 seconds to play. John Schacke, the first of the Hawks' great quarterbacks, threw three touchdown passes, 83 yards to Ben Wilson and 44 and 22 yards to Schmitz.

* Barrington 34, Naperville North 28, 2 OT, 1998: The only one of the "best ever" games that didn't have a state championship setting. In the Class 6A semifinals, Barrington prevailed in what longtime sports editor/columnist Bob Frisk of the Daily Herald said was the "most exciting game I saw in 50 years."

Dan Pohlman, a 6-1, 205-pound junior, turned the tide by scoring on an 89-yard kickoff return, then scored twice in the overtime sessions.