IHSA football quarterfinal preview for DeKalb County

Class 5A quarterfinalsNo. 4 Wauconda (9-2) at No. 9 Sycamore (8-4)When: 1 p.m. SaturdayAbout the Bulldogs: Wauconda is on its deepest postseason run since 1992, when it went 9-3 as a Class 4A team. The Bulldogs reached the Class 6A round of 16 every year from 2021 to 2024 but never got past it. Last year, their first in Class 5A, they lost to St. Patrick in the first round after a 9-0 regular season.This year, Wauconda had a bye in the Class 5A opening round, beat Lakes 42-14 in the first round and earned the quarterfinal berth with a 40-14 win over Belvidere North last week.Senior Luke Sickmeir has 42 catches for 954 yards this season, but Wauconda won on the ground against Belvidere North. Fullback Brody Rudolph ran for 125 yards and has 1,291 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. Running back Brody McKenna ran for 204 yards and has 797 this season.Sickmeir didn’t have a catch in the win, but he returned a punt 70 yards and made his ninth interception of the season.Quarterback Cooper