Steve Soucie’s analysis of the Class 2A semifinals – Shaw Local

Three of the four remaining teams (Johnston City, Farmington, Chicago Christian) in the Class 2A field have never reached a state championship.

Two of them (Farmington, Chicago Christian) are playing in a semifinal for the first time this season.

Maroa-Forsyth, which has a long track record in the postseason, is the only team with any experience at this level of the tournament.

It will be interesting to see if experience matters in Class 2A.

First round predictions: 12-4

Predictions for the second round: 5-3

Quarterfinal predictions: 2-2

Semi-final matchups

Farmington vs. Chicago Christian: Farmington hasn’t had any trouble scoring points this season, but what people may miss is how well the Farmers defend. After holding Dwight to seven points in a quarterfinal game, this marks the eighth time this season that Farmington has held an opponent to one touchdown or less this season. Chicago Christian is in the midst of the most historic season in school history as the Knights reach the semifinals for the first time ever. Prior to this season, in which Chicago Christian already had three playoff victories, the program had recorded just six postseason victories since its first appearance in 1997.

Choose: Farmington

Johnston City vs Maroa-Forsyth: Johnston City’s defense has been quite good all season, with the only misstep coming when it allowed 40 points in a mid-season defeat to Dixon. Otherwise, the Indians have contained nearly every team they have played, holding all but three opponents to two touchdowns or fewer. It’s a unit that will need to come up big to try and contain a Maroa-Forsyth attack that has topped 50 points six times this season and is closing in on 600 points this season. The Trojans survived an epic matchup with Quincy Notre Dame in the quarterfinals in a game where many thought the winner would reveal the likely Class 2A winner.

Choose: Maroa-Forsyth