Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South have both clinched playoff berths heading into Week 8, but Friday, Oct. 9 carries different stakes for each program.

Central (4-3, 1-3 West Suburban Silver) hosts Proviso West (1-6, 0-4) at home. The Red Devils locked up a postseason spot with a 4-3 record before falling 42-24 at Glenbard West in Week 7. Now the focus shifts to playoff seeding: a win Friday, Oct. 9 would help Central secure a first-round home game in Class 8A.

Quarterback Beau Gatewood has thrown for nearly 1,800 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, and four Red Devils receivers have reached double-digit catches, led by James Skokna. Gatewood threw for 204 yards and touchdown passes to Skokna and Beau Knapp in the Glenbard West loss.

Proviso West offers a favorable matchup. The Panthers have dropped six straight since a season-opening win over Chicago Noble/Johnson and have been outscored 260-30 during that stretch, according to Shaw Local's Friday Night Drive preview.

The bigger story sits 15 miles south in Cicero.

Hinsdale South (3-4, 3-1 West Suburban Gold) travels to Morton (1-6, 1-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9. The Hornets have already clinched a playoff spot under the IHSA's expanded 384-team format, per Shaw Local's playoff outlook. It will be Hinsdale South's first postseason appearance since 2018, ending a drought that included four consecutive 4-5 finishes from 2021 through 2024.

The Hornets, the smallest school in the West Suburban Conference as a 5A program playing against 7A opponents, showed fight in Week 7. They rallied from three scores down before falling 24-21 at Downers Grove South. Senior receiver Koby Armstrong, a 5-foot-6, 140-pound transfer from Romeoville, caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Ben Miller and added an interception on defense.

"The No. 1 thing with Ben is moxie … When things break down he doesn't panic," head coach Jarrod Amolsch said in a Sept. 22 Shaw Local feature on the Hornets. "He finds a way to make plays."

Morton has scored a combined 13 points over its last two games and has never qualified for the IHSA playoffs. The Mustangs need at least one and probably two wins in their final two games to have a shot at the expanded field.

Central closes the regular season at Oak Park-River Forest in Week 9. Hinsdale South finishes at Leyden.