11-01-2024 2:13pm

Hononegah opens the IHSA 7A playoffs at home against Willowbrook (Lake Villa)

Final score: Willowbrook 40, Hononegah: 21

The IHSA Friday Night Lights 7A Playoffs begin for Hononegah against Willowbrook (Lake Villa) at 7:30 p.m. Kelsey Field on the campus of Hononegah High School will host the first-round game match-up between the 8-1 NIC-10 Champion Indians and the 6-3 (2nd Place) Williowbrook Warriors out of the West Suburban - Gold Conference.

The two teams have recent history, just having played last year on Kelsey Field and the Hononegah Indians getting a dominant 44-0 victory in Level 3 action in the 2024 IHSA 7A playoffs.

Unlike last season, the Indians don’t have a 2,000-yard passer and explosive athletes at wideout and corner. This season, the Indians are a run-heavy team that can and will make game-changing plays on defense and special teams. They also have a powerful running game led by senior Kurt Smith (16 TDs and 897 yards).

Speaking with Willowbrook Head Coach Nick Hildreth earlier this week, he mentioned how much he respects the Hononegah program and mentioned Dominic Kelly on offense and Kurt Smith and Brock Anderson on defense as players they made note of during early week film study. As for senior quarterback Kelly, Willowbrook Coach Hildreth said, “Their quarterback is very athletic and has a strong arm that makes plays outside the pocket a lot with his receivers.”

The Willowbrook head coach also stated that “Hononegah has a really good program, and you can tell by the way they have played this year after losing so many quality players from last season.”

On a side note, Hildreth is very good friends with Hononegah head girls basketball coach Jason Brunke. The two grew up together and still talk and get together with their families often.

Indians 6’2” senior wide receiver/TE Cole Schmall was trending to come back for Friday’s IHSA 7A playoff game. He practiced more over the last couple of weeks after fearing that he might be out for the season after an injury sidelined the standout Hononegah Indians player. If the senior does come back, expect a noticeable jump in energy from the team and the fans as Cole brings effort and energy when he is on the field. Also, a wide receiver with a great catch radius should allow the Indian's offense to begin to fly through the air and get some good looks for a passing game that at times has been a work in progress.

Finally, the Hononegah Indians have had a trying season by any measure and this senior class doesn’t want to go out on Kelsey Field on Friday night and have this be their legacy. I expect a colder evening against a foe than they have seen and maybe won’t be ready for the physical style and attacking offense and defense that Hononegah brings.

Thanks to Willowbrook (Lake Villa ) head coach Nick Hildreth for his time and information. Thank you to the Hononegah Indians stats team and coaching staff for the information in the story. Finally, thank you to the HonoFootball Facebook page for the graphic used in the story.

A self-described sports evangelist, Harold Bone is the Rockton-Roscoe News sports editor who is committed to finding stories behind-the-box scores and discovering engaging sports content. Got a story idea? Contact Harold via email at harold@roscoenews.com and follow him on Twitter at @SPRTSEDRRNews.