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Sports

Ivlow: 'We've Got as Good a Shot as Anybody'

A much-improved Bolingbrook High School football team has a realistic chance at claiming a state title.

The football team is no stranger to the playoffs. The Raiders have made the IHSA state tournament every year during head coach John Ivlow’s 10-year tenure. And on Friday, the team will be playing in its 20th consecutive postseason.

But the furthest Bolingbrook has gone under Ivlow is to the state quarterfinals in 2005 and 2006.

Ivlow thinks that can change.

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Bolingbrook is ranked No. 2 in the IHSA 8A bracket and will face . The Raiders have come a long way from last year, when they labored to an even-.500 record and lost  of the playoffs to eventual state runner-up Mount Carmel.

What's the difference? 

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“It just has to do with experience,” Ivlow said. “We’ve got nine players back on offense. They are a year older, faster and stronger. That’s it. There’s no secret about it. We’ve done nothing different.

“They were very inexperienced last year. You field and play what you got. We felt making the playoffs was a big accomplishment for that group last year," Ivlow said.

Ivlow said the Raiders have "as good a shot as anybody."

“In the last 10 years, there’s been a few years where we thought we had a good shot, and this is one of those years.”

A big reason for Bolingbrook’s turnaround has been its defensive play. Seniors , Greg Gordon, Diaron Rhodes and Phillip Wilson anchor a defense that has limited teams to 12.7 points per game.

“Everybody is going to the ball,” said Morrison, a three-year varsity linebacker who has more than 70 tackles and has already . “Every time you see a tackle, we’ve got all 11 guys going after the ball. We don’t give up too many big plays.

“We learned from losing last year,” he said.

The Raiders have also excelled offensively in averaging 38.9 points per game—15.8 points more than last season.

Junior quarterback Aaron Bailey (1,796 total yards and 26 touchdowns) is a dual threat that can escape pressure from the pocket or launch the ball downfield. And rushers Omar Stover and Jaden Huff have combined for more than 1,100 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.

“We are more focused,” Bailey said. “We just go out there and do our game. We don’t worry about what our opponents are doing. The coaches have been calling good plays and making great blocking schemes for us.”

Bailey, one of nine returning offensive players this season, said the offense is trusting each other more where they know they can do their respective jobs.

The Raiders, Ivlow said, run a veer scheme where the offensive line does not have to be big or physical. He said you don’t block the first level as the line goes to the linebackers.

“They are executing the offense,” Ivlow said of the line. “The quarterback’s got to make the right read. The running backs got to cut to the right path. There are a lot of things that go into this. That’s why you see only five or six plays in this offense. If you run it right, you can’t stop it."

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