Congratulations to the 46 regional soccer teams that qualified for the playoffs.

Now the real work begins.

With the opening round of the IHSA playoffs beginning this weekend, it's a good time to talk about some of the interesting storylines.

Forty-six gets reduced pretty quickly, so let's get started.

Welcome back

There are two things I'm most excited about when the brackets are revealed. One is the group of qualifiers who haven't been to the playoffs in several years, and the other is the group of qualifiers who never seem to miss anything.

This season we have a mix of both in our regional teams.

Fenton (6-3) returns to the field after last making the playoffs in 2013. The Bison face Wauconda (7-2) in Class 6A as they look to win their first playoff game since 1984.

Burlington Central (7-2) rides a three-game winning streak into its 6A opener against Grant (6-3). The Rockets are in the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and are looking for their first postseason win since 2006.

The playoff drought was much shorter for other area teams. Schaumburg last qualified in 2017, Waubonsie Valley in 2018 and Benet in 2019. That was the end of a streak of eight consecutive appearances.

Speaking of back-to-back playoff berths, no one in the area comes close to Maine South (6-3), which faces Naperville North (7-2) in 8A. The Hawks can look back on a remarkable streak of 32 consecutive appearances.

Batavia is next among regional teams with 14 straight spots. Glenbard South is right behind with 13.

Ready for a run

It's always difficult to find a good playoff path, but I kind of like Naperville Central in Class 8A.

For starters, the seventh-seeded Redhawks (8-1) face top-seeded Lincoln-Way East (9-0), which defeated Naperville Central 28-7 last week. Two-time defending champion Loyola (7-2) is also in the other half of the group.

In Class 7A, we expect a possible quarterfinal showdown between No. 4 Downers Grove North (8-1) and No. 5 Batavia (8-1). Apart from this possible duel, the path is not bad for both teams.

Hard times

On the other hand, there are some brutal challenges that our teams have to overcome.

Looking at 6A, it's easy to imagine a rematch for the state title between top seeds Cary-Grove (9-0) and East St. Louis (8-1). But I can't stand the top half of 6A.

Between Libertyville (8-1), Geneva (8-1), Antioch (7-2) and others, Cary-Grove will have its hands full trying to get back to the finals.

See you next year?

Let's put a cap on the all-time qualifiers who will sit out the playoffs.

Glenbard West, with one of the toughest schedules in the state, narrowly fell 4-5. The Hilltoppers, winners of three state championships, had made 16 straight playoff appearances.

IC Catholic Prep, winner of six titles, had its streak of eight straight appearances broken. The series of seven appearances in a row also came to an end for Lake Zurich.