By Sean Duncan and Drake Skleba

The Class 3A and Class 4A state playoffs begin Monday with play-in games. Regional semifinals start on Wednesday and Thursday, with the regional championships to be played on Saturday.

It’s that time to exercise the fruitless endeavor of making our playoff predictions. Unlike past years, we are pretty divided among our predictions. We both agree that Joliet Catholic Academy, which was ranked No. 3 preseason but underperformed for most of the season, will make yet another run to the state finals at Silver Cross Stadium in Joliet.

With that said, first JCA has to get through the most ridiculous regional we’ve ever seen – the Lincoln-Way West Regional. There is no more egregious example of a bad system than this regional. Never mind that Class 3A in general is down this year. This regional – not sectional – hosts three of the state’s toughest 3A teams: perennial power Joliet Catholic, Lemont and Lincoln-Way West. Oak Forest, which finished runner-up in Class 3A two years ago, has a play-in game. In some other regionals, Oak Forest would be a No. 1 seed. Nevertheless, Lemont plays Lincoln-Way West on Thursday, while Joliet Catholic takes on the winner of Oak Forest and Tinley Park on Wednesday.

The Washington Sectional is another loaded field, with the likes of Rock Island Alleman, Galesburg, Metamora, Washington, Ottawa, Limestone, and Peoria Notre Dame. Several of these teams have the firepower to advance to the semifinals.

On the other hand, there’s the Class 3A St. Ignatius Sectional.  Harlan, which didn’t even make the Chicago Public League semifinals, is the No. 1 seed, followed by Jones and St. Ignatius. All three teams would be low seeds in most other sectionals.

Nevertheless, we both like Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin to advance to Joliet.  We differ greatly in other areas. Enough reading about it, see for yourself:

CLASS 3A PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

NAPERVILLE NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE SUPERSECTIONAL

Guru: Benet Academy d. Wauconda
Duncan: Clemente d. Grayslake Central

GRAYSLAKE CENTRAL SECTIONAL

Guru:
Grayslake Central d. Gordon Tech
Wauconda d. Richmond Burton

Wauconda d. Grayslake Central

Duncan:
Grayslake Central d.  Gordon Tech
Vernon Hills d. Richmond-Burton

Grayslake Central d. Vernon Hills

NAZARETH SECTIONAL

Guru:
Nazareth d. Montini
Benet Academy d. Riverside-Brookfield

Benet Academy d. Nazareth

Duncan:
Nazareth d. Montini
Clemente d. Glenbard South

Clemente d. Nazareth

Guru: BENET ACADEMY ADVANCES TO JOLIET
Duncan: Clemente ADVANCES TO JOLIET

ROCK ISLAND AUGUSTANA COLLEGE SUPER

Guru: Metamora d. Rock Falls
Duncan: Alleman d. Sycamore

SYCAMORE SECTIONAL

Guru:
Hampshire d. Kaneland
Rock Falls d. Rockford East

Rock Falls d. Hampshire

Duncan:
Burlington Central d. Sandwich
Sycamore d. Belvidere North

Sycamore d. Burlington Central

WASHINGTON SECTIONAL

Guru:
Metamora d. Rock Island Alleman
Ottawa d. Limestone

Metamora d. Ottawa

Duncan:
Rock Island Alleman d. Metamora
Ottawa d. Limestone

Rock Island Alleman d. Ottawa

Guru: METAMORA ADVANCES TO JOLIET
Duncan: ROCK ISLAND ALLEMAN ADVANCES TO JOLIET

SAUGET SUPERSECTIONAL

Guru: Sacred Heart-Griffin d.  Troy-Triad
Duncan: Sacred Heart-Griffin d. Highland

EFFINGHAM SECTIONAL

Guru:
Mount Vernon d. Salem
Troy-Triad d. Waterloo

Troy-Triad d. Mount Vernon

Duncan:
Mt. Vernon d. Mattoon
Highland d. Columbia

Highland d. Mt. Vernon

SPRINGFIELD SECTIONAL

Guru:
Sacred Heart-Griffin d. Champaign Centennial
Bloomington d Taylorville

Sacred Heart-Griffin d. Bloomington

Duncan:
Sacred Heart-Griffin d. Mahomet-Seymour
Bloomington d. Rochester

Sacred Heart-Griffin d. Bloomington

Guru: SACRED HEART-GRIFFIN ADVANCES TO JOLIET
Duncan: SACRED HEART-GRIFFIN ADVANCES TO JOLIET

CRESTWOOD STANDARD BANK SUPERSECTIONAL

Guru: Joliet Catholic Academy d. Jones
Duncan: Joliet Catholic Academy d. St. Ignatius

ST. IGNATIUS SECTIONAL

Guru:
Harlan d. University
Jones d. St. Ignatius

Jones d. Harlan

Duncan:
Harlan d. University
St. Ignatius d. Jones

St. Ignatius d. Harlan

LINCOLN-WAY WEST SECTIONAL

Guru:
Joliet Catholic Academy d. Bremen
Herscher d. Morgan Park

Joliet Catholic d. Herscher

Duncan:
Joliet Catholic Academy d. Rich Central
Herscher d. Morgan Park

Joliet Catholic d. Herscher

Guru: JOLIET CATHOLIC ADVANCES TO JOLIET
Duncan: JOLIET CATHOLIC ADVANCES TO JOLIET

STATE SEMIFINALS

Guru:
Benet Academy d. Metamora
Joliet Catholic Academy d. Sacred Heart-Griffin

Duncan:
Rock Island Alleman d. Clemente
Joliet Catholic Academy d. Sacred Heart-Griffin

THIRD PLACE

Guru: Metamora d. Sacred Heat-Griffin
Duncan: Sacred Heart-Griffin d. Clemente

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Guru: Joliet Catholic Academy d. Benet Academy
Duncan: Rock Island Alleman d. Joliet Catholic Academy