Rochester, SHG, and Williamsville Advance to IHSA Football Semifinals

Three Springfield area high school football teams punched their tickets to the IHSA semifinals following quarterfinal victories on Saturday, Nov. 14, setting up a high-stakes rematch and a road trip.

Rochester and Sacred Heart-Griffin both advanced in Class 4A, while Williamsville secured its spot in Class 3A. The postseason path now forces SHG to visit Rochester for a semifinal showdown, mirroring a regular-season thriller from Oct. 9 that the Cyclones narrowly claimed 29-28 on a late two-point conversion.

In the Class 4A quarterfinals, Rochester routed host Highland 68-42 behind a historic performance from junior running back Evrim Tabag. Tabag carved his name into the record books by tying the all-time scoring record in IHSA playoff history across all classes, while shattering Class 4A playoff records for scoring and rushing yards with 401 yards and eight touchdowns on 25 carries.

He achieved the entire stat line by the end of the third quarter before the reserves took the field, falling just 26 yards shy of the all-time rushing yards record across all classes set by Peoria Richwoods’ T’Nahleg Hall against Moton in 2017.

Highlights/scores: State football quarterfinals (11/14/26) — WCIA News

“That was in three quarters. You’ve got to give credit to the o-line, you’ve got to give credit to everybody. They played great, and Evrim did Evrim things, I’m proud of him.”

Rochester coach Derek Leonard told WMAY radio in the postgame interview.

Filling in for injured starting quarterback JP Leonard, junior Khordell Gregory completed 11-of-14 passing attempts for 196 yards and a touchdown for Rochester. He also added 58 rushing yards on eight carries.

Meanwhile, Sacred Heart-Griffin traveled to face top-seeded Centralia and walked away with a 42-14 victory. Senior running back Mikey Groesch fueled the fourth-seeded Cyclones by rushing for 180 yards on 23 carries, piling up 144 of those yards in the first half as SHG scored the first 35 points.

In Class 3A, Williamsville earned its semifinal berth by defeating Monticello 37-23 at Paul Jenkins Field. Junior quarterback Keagan Peters accounted for five touchdowns, including a 12-yard strike to Griffin Watkins on fourth down right before halftime to knot the score at 21-21, followed by a 70-yard scoring pass to Cameron Hamilton in the fourth quarter.

The Bullets defense, led by senior Easton Catalano, stymied the Sages without any offensive points after the break following a 21-21 tie at halftime. Junior safety Brenton Trickey also recorded an interception in the second half.

Williamsville will now travel to face St. Joseph-Ogden in the Class 3A semifinals, while Sacred Heart-Griffin heads to Rochester for the 4A rematch.