
2026 IHSA playoffs: Steve Soucie’s Class 5A playoff analysis and picks
By Anita Patel
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The Herald-News area IHSA prep football preview for Week 11, featuring key Round of 32 playoff showdowns across the greater Joliet area.Class 8ANo. 28 Lockport (6-4) at No. 5 Bolingbrook (8-1)When: 7 p.m. FridayAbout the Porters: Lockport has now won six of its last seven games as the Porters have locked down things on both sides of the football. Defensively, Lockport has pitched three shutouts over the last six weeks and has allowed an offensive attack that has gotten solid play from QB Griffin Russell using a multitude of offensive skill players to get the Porters where they want to go.About the Raiders: Bolingbrook clearly worked out most of its bugs from a shutdown loss to Homewood-Flossmoor in the season’s opening week. A lot has been made, deservedly so, about the offensive weapons at the Raiders disposal. But it is the defense that has truly shined during Bolingbrook’s current eight-game winning streak, having allowed just 14 points twice and single digit scoring to opponents in