Zach Reichert isn't wasting his time trying to figure who the Quincy Notre Dame football team might face in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

He'll know soon enough.

The Illinois High School Association will release the pairings for all 256
playoff-bound teams on
Saturday evening, but coaches, players and fans throughout the state try to trump the
unveiling of the brackets and
forecast the matchups.

Reichert figures there's no reason to bother.

"It's so unpredictable," the QND senior guard said. "I like the surprise on Saturday learning who we're going to play."

Still, Saturday can wait. Reichert and the rest of the Raiders have more pressing matters tonight when they play host to Canton in the regular-season finale at what should be a soupy, muddy QND field.

The Raiders want to finish off an undefeated regular season for just the fourth time in school history, a fact QND coach Bill Connell didn't bring up until Wednesday.

"He wanted that to be a little issue and the game to be a bigger issue," junior defensive end Chip Holtschlag said. "We don't really think about it much."

But it's a mark that sets them apart.

"It's a huge feat not everyone gets to go through," senior cornerback Andrew Juette said.

"To be in that category, it kind of speaks for itself. To know that you're the best on your schedule, to be fortunate enough to go through everything with your whole team, to know that you won nine games, it's huge."

For many of these players, they've been fortunate enough to experience it twice.

QND went undefeated last season, not losing until the Class 4A state quarterfinals to eventual state champion Bloomington Central Catholic and ultimately finishing at 11-1.

"Having that experience helps us," Juette said.

"You can tell the newcomers, 'Hey, this is what the seniors who graduated did. This is what we did to be successful.' That's a huge deal."

Especially since the instances of it happening are so rare.

Prior to last season, only the 1974 and 1994 teams had gone undefeated in the regular season.

The 1974 team, considered by many to be the best in school history, reached the state semifinals before losing 3-0 to Mount Carmel. The 1994 team lost in the second round of the playoffs.

This squad would like nothing better than to outlast them both.

"Being 9-0, that's not what we really set out to do," Reichert said. "We have to do something more. Hopefully, it will be the ending we've dreamed of."

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366