2026 IHSA playoffs: Steve Soucie’s Class 2A playoff analysis and picks

Round of 16 matchupsEastland-Pearl City (6-5) vs. Peotone (8-2): Some might think Eastland-Pearl City’s presence here is a surprise. But few teams are more battle tested than a team that has to run through an NUIC schedule as the Wildcatz have been tough as nails thus far. Peotone’s only losses come at the hands of Wilmington and Coal City and the Blue Devils have the blueprint of a strong running game and gritty defense that should make them difficult to dispatch.Pick: PeotoneTri-Valley (9-1): vs. Wilmington (9-1): These two programs have run into each other an awful lot lately, including last year’s 49-7 drubbing by Wilmington in the quarterfinals. Wilmington has won four of the last five meetings between the two teams going back to 2021, with Tri-Valley’s 2022 victory sparking a run to the Class 2A title game where it fell to Decatur St. Teresa.Pick: WilmingtonEl Paso-Gridley (10-0) vs. Warrensburg-Latham (8-3): El-Paso-Gridley held an opponent under 10 points for the seventh time t