The Ironmen (7-2) head north to face Carmel Catholic (7-2) Saturday in the first round of the 2025 IHSA 7A Football Playoffs.

After an elite eight appearance last fall and a semifinal run in 2022, Community, is aiming to extend a streak of five straight first-round wins. 

First, they will have to get through the Associated Press’s No. 7 Corsairs, a team whose only losses came in one-score games to Providence Catholic, 35-28, and AP’s 4A No. 1 Montini Catholic, 55-54. 

Community, Ironmen head coach Mr. Jason Drengwitz said, is “up for the challenge” of facing an unfamiliar foe as the Corsairs make their 7A debut. 

“That’s part of the excitement of playing in the 7A playoffs,” Drengwitz said. “We’ve never played the same team twice.”

Scouting the Corsairs

Carmel boasts one of the state’s most productive offenses, averaging 45 points per game while playing a schedule that included perennial powers Loyola Academy and Fenwick.

Led by Nebraska-commit Trae Taylor at quarterback, the Corsairs have thrown for 2,990 yards with 34 touchdowns against 3 interceptions this season.

Taylor, Drengwitz said, “can make every throw on the field. There’s a reason that he’s one of the top five quarterbacks in the country” among high school juniors. 

Stopping Taylor “won’t be easy,” Drengwitz said, but the Iron plan to “give him different pre-snap pictures that he hasn’t seen before.”

Taylor’s success comes courtesy of a deep receiving corps—a group, Drengwitz said, full of playmakers. 

The Corsairs feature four receivers recording 30+ catch and 500+ yard seasons.

University of Massachusetts-commit Kai Owens leads the wideouts with 732 yards and 9 touchdowns, while Greg Bess-Henning has a team-best 11 total touchdowns. 

And when defenses spread to cover the perimeter, Carmel shifts gears. 

The Corsairs have piled up 1,600 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground, paced by Jaquel Edmonds at 65.7 yards per game.

Defensive Keys for Community

To blunt Carmel’s balance, Community plans to start by limiting explosives on the back end—then squeeze the pocket. 

“We have great players in the back end,” Drengwitz said. “There’s not a magic coverage that we can do. We just have to be good at what we do … If you want to be good [at] defending the pass, you have to first be good at all the little details.” 

That task falls on senior defensive backs Micah Drengwitz and Jalen Smith, a duo that have combined for eight interceptions on the season. 

The Iron’s secondary success, Coach Drengwitz said, relies on the team’s defensive line, pressuring the quarterback and collapsing the pocket. 

“We have to get pressure on them from our interior guys,” Drengwitz said, a responsibility that rests with a corp of lineman like Damarion Gardner, Adrian Ramirez, Mason Caraway and Kelan Augstin, several of whom play both ways.

The Iron Offense

Quarterback Lucas Beaty’s status for Saturday was still uncertain as of early Thursday, due to an ankle injury.

Beaty finished the regular season with 1013 yards for 12 touchdowns against 2 interceptions, and added 6 rushing scores.

If Beaty cannot go, Drengwitz said, junior Mitchell Potts will take the snaps. 

Potts is 6/9 on the season for 113 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception in limited action.

“Mitchell is extremely dynamic as an athlete,” Drengwitz said. “He has great running ability” and can “throw the ball really, really well.” 

Pott’s skill set plugs into an offense built to run first. 

The Iron averaged 207 rushing yards and 7 yards per carry in the regular season, with junior Cole Kretsinger pacing the ground game with 996 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. 

Road Routine

The Iron shift to a Saturday schedule and a road trip of about two and a half hours to Mundelein. 

Drengwitz said the program will keep its normal routine—Friday run-through, team breakfast, meetings and walkthroughs—to arrive “sharp and fresh.”

“It’s still just a football game,” Drengwitz said. “We’re going to do what we do… be the best version of ourselves and be able to handle the ups and downs of a playoff game.”

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at Carmel Catholic’s Baker Stadium in Mundelein; the winner faces No. 3 St. Charles North or No. 30 East Moline (United).