As a motivational phrase, “The drive for five” certainly flows easily off the tongue. It’s also is a perfect fit on the back of T-shirts worn by high school football players at practice.
It refers to a team needing to win five of its nine games to be eligible for playoff consideration in any given year..
Howevr, playoff consideration and playoff bound are not necessarily the same thing, as several area schools have painfully discovered in recent years.
One school that’s been stung by that lately is Vernon Hills, which finished 5-4 last year and 5-4 in 2011, and yet did not get the chance to participate in a playoff game in both those seasons.
In football, all teams with 9-0, 8-1, 7-2 and 6-3 records qualify for the postseason. The field of 256 teams is then filled out by some of the state’s 5-4 teams, with the tiebreaker for which 5-4 teams get in and which stay out being the strength of schedule — the number of wins by a team’s nine opponents during the regular season.
Obviously, the best way to guarantee not being left out of the playoffs with a 5-4 record is to win six games. And that was what Vernon Hills coach Bill Bellecomo had on his mind after the Cougars routed North Chicago 50-12 last weekend to improve to 4-0.
“Starting right now, the focus has to be on Antioch,” he said moments after his team’s fourth win. “Being Saturday already, we can’t really enjoy this one. We have to get back to work. We’ve gotten done what we were supposed to do up to this point. Now we’ll get to see what we’re made of.”
Bellecomo is aware that, in terms of strength of schedule, it’s not there for Vernon Hills. So getting to six wins is pretty much a must. So far, the Cougars’ wins have been over Grayslake Central (0-4), Larkin (0-4), Grant (0-4) and North Chicago (1-3).
“Getting to six and making the playoffs is definitely one of our goals,” Bellecomo said. “Another is winning the division. This is the last opportunity we have to play these teams, so that’s a big motivating factor.”
Vernon Hills last won the North Suburban Prairie in 2010, and after this season, the Cougars are joining the Central Suburban North. This is their last go-around against all of these NSC Prairie teams.
And Antioch (3-1) has long been one of the league powers. Last year, when Vernon Hills missed the playoffs at 5-4, Antioch won the head-to-head meeting 42-40. In 2011, when Vernon Hills also missed the postseason at 5-4, Antioch beat Vernon Hills 10-7.
Friday’s game will offer an interesting contrast in offensive philosophies.
Vernon Hills is led by senior quarterback Connor McNamara, who throws the ball all over the field. Antioch has a run-first, run-second offensive philosophy, and the Sequoits rely on their smothering defense to turn the tide in their favor.
Last week against North Chicago, McNamara was 20-for-27 passing for 230 yards and five touchdowns in a game shortened by the running clock.
In the past decade, 10 area football teams have missed the playoffs with a 5-4 record.
Besides Vernon Hills in 2014 and 2011, it’s also happened to Waukegan (2007), Deerfield (2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012), Highland Park (2011), Grayslake North (2010) and Antioch (2009).
In that same 10-year span, 18 area teams did make the playoffs with 5-4 records.
[email protected] More Top Picks Ladder Tossssss
Twitter: @JeffBonato
Bryan Bonato contributed to this story.
FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Central Suburban North
Glenbrook North (3-1) at Highland Park (1-3)
Maine East (0-4) at Maine West (2-2)
Niles North (2-2) at Deerfield (2-2)
Central Suburban South
Niles West (1-3) at Glenbrook South (2-2)
New Trier (4-0) at Evanston (3-1)
East Suburban Catholic
Marist at Benet (3-1)
Marian Catholic (1-3) at Nazareth (3-1)
Notre Dame (3-1) at St. Viator (1-3)
Marian Central (4-0) at Joliet Catholic (4-0)
Fox Valley Fox
Grayslake North (2-2) at Prairie Ridge (3-1)
Woodstock (1-3) at Grayslake Central (0-4)
Woodstock North (3-1) at Crystal Lake Central (2-2)
North Suburban Lake
Libertyville (4-0) at Stevenson (3-1)
Mundelein (3-1) at Lake Forest (2-2)
Zion-Benton (2-2) at Warren (2-2)
North Suburban Prairie
Lakes (2-2) at Wauconda (1-3)
Vernon Hills (4-0) at Antioch (3-1)
Nonconference
Round Lake (0-4) at Lake Zurich (1-3)
SATURDAY FOOTBALL
Central Suburban South
More Top Picks Best Hinged Knee Braces For Bad Knees
Maine South (2-2) at Waukegan (2-2), 1:30
East Suburban Catholic
Carmel (1-3) vs. St. Patrick (2-2) at Hanson, 11 a.m.
North Suburban Prairie
North Chicago (1-3) at Grant (0-4), 1
Nonconference
St. Joseph (1-3) at Lake Forest Academy (0-4), 1