Illinois high school advances in football playoff after record-breaking 88-84 win, temporary suspension due to darkness

A high school football game in Chicago turned into a wildly high-scoring affair. On Friday, Quincy Senior High School defeated Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy 88-84 in the first round of Illinois' 6A high school football playoffs.

Besides having 172 total points — breaking an Illinois state record — the matchup also had a stoppage to switch fields after it was suspended due to darkness.

Per the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the game was originally supposed to take place on Saturday, but was switched to Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT. The Blue Devils had to drive more than 300 miles from Quincy, which is located southwest of Chicago on the Missouri border, to Chicago for the matchup, and requested the Friday time to save on hotel costs.

Quincy entered the matchup as a No. 9 seed, with No. 8-seeded Sarah E. Goode hosting the game at their stadium in southern Chicago. Goode held a narrow 60-59 lead at halftime after a two-hour offensive slugfest in the first half; officials shortened the halftime to just six minutes to try and save daylight since the field did not have lights, per Muddy River Sports' Matt Schuckman .

Unfortunately, the game had to be suspended with 3:42 remaining due to darkness, with the call coming just before 6 p.m. local time. The two teams then to relocated to the field of nearby Englewood STEM High School, which has lights.

Per the IHSA, it took an hour to transport the two teams there and let them warm up before the game resumed. Quincy, holding a 88-84 lead, recovered an onside kick after the restart, and opted to run out the final minutes of the game for the win. In all, the game lasted more than four hours, including time it took to switch fields.

Junior Quincy quarterback Bryson Little threw for more than 650 yards in the contest, throwing a state-record eight touchdown passes and adding two more scores on the ground. Meanwhile, for Goode, senior running back Aedan Cleveland picked up more than 300 rushing yards with five rushing touchdowns.

The 172 total points scored breaks an Illinois state record of 166 points, set in 2021. With the win, Quincy advances to the second round of the playoffs, which will resume next weekend.