10/27/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - It's a new beginning for the teams who have qualified for the postseason and the coaches, players, fans and schools prepare for games that will decide a state championship in eight different classes.

The ASV area teams, in Classes 1A thru 4A, will battle it out with schools their own size in hopes of reaching the title games on Friday, November 25th at the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium.

For the quality of teams moving forward, from teams that went 9-0 the ones who squeezed in with just five wins, the cream will surely rise to the top in the next five weeks.

Let's take a look at each of the ASV teams and their opponents in the first weekend.

1A PLAYOFFS

#16 Madison 5-3 at #1 Colfax Ridgeview/Lexington 9-0.

The Trojans were rewarded for their five wins versus a pretty tough Independent schedule of road trips and larger schools.

With consecutive victories (18-13 at Anna-Jonesboro and 47-0 vs Wesclin at home) Coach Tavares Young and his crew 'crashed the party'.

The other wins came at Tremont, and at home against St. Louis (MO.) TDW and 1A qualifier Dupo.

The skilled position players are many for the Trojans with running backs junior Jaylene Williams (269-yards, 48-carries), sophomore Steven Moore (464-yards, 50-attempts) and senior Carlis Wilson, Jr. (259-yards, 38-attempts) sharing the running duties for Coach Young.

Moore has eight touchdowns while Wilson has hit paydirt five times.

Senior Kameron Trammel has also put together some good numbers in the return game (143-yards) along with freshman Isaiah Williams.

Junior Derrion Enlow (26-of-47, 504-yards, six TD's) is the quarterback for the Trojans as they head into the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19.

Enlow also has rushed 21-times for 250-yards.

Kaylon Bursey, a junior wide out, has over 100 yards returning kicks.

Madison will be an underdog when they head to #1 seed in the South bracket Colfax Ridgeview/Lexington on Saturday.

The Mustangs and head coach Hal Chiodo are 9-0 after winning the Heart of Illinois (Small) Conference at 9-0.

Ranked #2 in the state in the final 1A Associated Press poll behind Lena-Winslow, the Mustangs are averaging 32-points a game in their eight on-the-field wins besides a forfeit win over Fisher.

They have wins over four teams (1A Villa Grove, 2A Downs Tri-Valley and El Paso-Gridley and 3A Eureka) that qualified for the playoffs.

Ridgeview/Lexington reached the 1A semifinals last fall before losing to Le-Win.

Senior running back Kaden Farrell leads the offense. He rushed for 139 yards and a score in the Mustangs' 41-7 win over LeRoy last Friday.

Quarterback Alec Thomas completed two touchdowns to junior wide receiver Kaleb Elliott and a TD to junior Braydon Campbell in their regular season finale.

#9 Catlin Salt Fork (6-3) @ #8 Bridgeport Red Hill (7-2)

The Storm heads into the playoffs on a three-game winning streak, having victories over Westville, Hoopeston Area and Fithian Oakwood.

Salt Fork has lost to three teams by a total of six points; 3A Seneca (9-0) 37-35, 2A Bismarck Henning-Rossville-Alvin (9-0) 43-42 and 1A Gilman Iroquois West (7-2) 23-20.

All three are playoff bound this weekend.

Ethan McLain and Ethan Davis are running backs for the Storm while senior tight end/linebacker Garrett Taylor has been a mainstay for head coach Joe Hageman.

Taylor is a two-time 1A state champion in the discus throw.

Coach Billy Gray's Salukis dropped their final game on the road Friday night at Carlyle 45-38 to fall to 7-2.

Playing as an Independent after leaving the Little Illini Conference, Red Hill put together a fine season for a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.

Hayden Arbuckle, a junior quarterback, calls the signals for the Salukis.

He has had plenty of help this season from running back junior Reece Ralston, junior Samuel Stimler and senior Jacob Powden.

Red Hill had wins over former LIC clubs Marshall, Lawrenceville, Newton and Casey-Westfield this season.

The other loss was to state-ranked and 1A Shelbyville (8-1).

#15 Dupo (5-4) @ #2 Camp Point Central (9-0).

The Tigers will head north to play the second-seeded Panthers on Saturday.

Head coach Zack Klaustermeier got his Dupo program to the playoffs in his first year in charge.

The Tigers needed wins in the final two weeks over Sparta and Nokomis to sneak in.

Dupo freshman quarterback Deegan Prater scored the game winning touchdown with just :08.9 left to give the Tigers a 36-30 win over Nokomis on Friday night.

The win gave the resume enough to get into the 1A bracket.

Logan Stevens is a senior running back for Dupo who rushed for 1,139-yards on 149-carries for Dupo while Prater added 697 out of 96 rushes.

Wide receivers Nick Phillips, Ashton Stein and Thinh Staggs were producers this season for Coach Klaustermeier.

The Panthers didn't have to sneak past anyone in 2022.

Coach Brad Dixon guided his team through an unbeaten season, with only one close game.

CPC edged Beardstown, 36-28, but shellacked the rest of their victims 319-20 which included five shutouts.

Five of the conquests were over playoff teams Beardstown, Brown County, Jacksonville Routt, Hardin Calhoun and Mendon Unity.

Camp Point Central has rushed for 2,961-yards this season on just 446-carries, a 6.6 average.

Six-three senior Isaac Genenbacher and 5-9 junior Conner Griffin have been 'beasts' on both sides of the ball.

Genebacher (617-yards) and Griffin (563-yards) have the most yardage along with senior Ross Riley (505-yards).

CPC has only thrown 29 passes, completing 22 so the 'name of the game' for this Adams County school is 'ground and pound'.

#10 Central A & M (6-3) @ #7 Sesser-Valier/Waltonville (7-2)

The Red Devils won their opening round game last season against Casey-Westfield but they fell on the road at Athens in the second round.

Coaches Mike Rude and John Shadowens are co-head coaches for the program and the Red Devils have loses to 9-0 Johnston City and 7-2 Carmi-White County but topped playoff bound Fairfield 15-12 early in the season.

Senior quarterback Carson Hoffard has 759-yards passing this season with 560-yards of that total belonging to junior wide receiver Wyatt Loucks.

Senior Brock Chelf and junior Dezmond Malone have been the top rushers this season.

The Raiders' record looks a bit more impressive when you take a look at the ones they have tangled with.

The three defeats came to unbeaten (9-0) 2A Decatur St. Teresa, (8-1) 1A Shelbyville and (7-2 ) 1A Tuscola; all of whom are in the playoffs

Senior running back Colby Morrison has 760-yards on the ground on 107-attempts while senior Will Thompson has 396-yards on 82-rushes for Coach Brent Weakly's Raiders.

#11 Rushville-Industry (6-3) vs. #6 Cumberland (7-2)

The Pirates started their season for head coach Lucas Watkins with consecutive defeats to non-conference foes Shelbyville (38-14) and Tuscola (40-22) on the road.

However Cumberland hasn't lost since, reeling off seven-straight wins and will make its sixth-consecutive playoff appearance.

The Pirates were upset last season in the first round and Coach Watkins would like to avoid that ending this Saturday against the Rockets.

Five-ten senior quarterback Bryant Weber has led the way for the Pirates this season along with 5-6 junior running back Blake McMechan.

Ross McBride, a 5-7 senior running back and 6-5 senior wide receiver Trevin Magee, are two other major contributors for the Cumberland club that wants to continue the winning streak.

Another wide out threat is Maddox McElravy, a 6-2 senior wide receiver.

Rushville-Industry has the right name for the type team they are.

Coach Brian Lafferty has a club that 'rushes' the ball with three running backs over 400-yards rushing this season.

Five-eleven senior Afton Clark is the top ground gainer with 904-yards on 101-carries with 11 TD's to his credit.

Senior Christian Danner, a 5-10 running back, added 698-yards on 80-attempts with eight touchdowns.

Six-one senior Tyler Bickerman is only 6-of-20 passing this season, with a pair of TD passes.

Danner, senior wide receiver Charlie Terry and junior Wyatt Fowler caught two passes each.

Clark and senior Jake Etter are the top tackling defenders for the club who enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak.

The Rockets finished tied for third in the Prairieland Conference race behind playoff qualifiers Macomb (9-0) and Farmington (7-2) and tied with Elmwood/Brimfield.

2A PLAYOFFS

#16 Chester (5-4) @ #1 Decatur St. Teresa (9-0)

The good news for the Yellow Jackets is that they are back into the playoffs for the eighth time in the last nine seasons, excluding the Covid19 spring.

The bad news is their reward for a 5-4 Cahokia Illinois Division championship is a road trip to the top-seed in the south bracket.

Decatur St. Teresa, a 2A semifinalist from last fall, is 9-0 after winning the Central Illinois Conference.

The Bulldogs outscored their nine victims 426-53 and five of them are in the playoffs.

St. T shutout three opponents and they only allowed more than one touchdown in a game twice.

Six-one senior quarterback Joe Brummer has 15 touchdown passes, going 68-of-109 for 1,200-yards.

The Bulldogs have a rusher named DeAndre Harper, a 6-2 senior, who has amassed 1,116-yards on just 95-carries for 15 TD's.

Sophomore Monty Snyder and senior Brycen Hendrix also have over 250-yards apiece running the ball.

Five-eleven senior Jeremy Walker has 17-catches for 423-yards, which includes five of the Brummer TD passes.

St. Teresa and head coach Mark Ramsey have averaged 458.2 yards a game all-purpose.

Chester has quarterback Zain Al-Jassim, a 6-0, 195 sophomore, who passed for over 1,000-yards this season for the Yellow Jackets (74-of-148, 1,020-yards with nine TD's).

Koby Jany, a 5-10, 175 senior and 5-11, 170 senior RB/LB Will Schuwerk were the top rushers for Chester this season.

Schuwerk (116-carries, 545-yards, eight touchdowns) and Jany (over 300-yards, 73-attempts, 330-yards, three TD's) have carried the load this fall on the ground,

Devante Palacio, a 6-1 sophomore receiver, was the top Al-Jassim target, snagging 41-passes for 625-yards and six touchdowns.

#9 Athens (7-2) @ #8 Carmi-White County (7-2)

It was a record breaking season for CWC senior tail back Isaac King.

The 5-9 senior is the all-time career yardage leader for the Bulldogs program after rushing 168-times for 1,703 yards in 2022.

He scored 21 touchdowns while averaging 10.1 yards per carry.

Head coach Kurt Simon's club ended up 7-2 after a 7-0 start, dropping consecutive contests to 9-0 Johnston City and 5-4 Flora on the final night.

The Bulldogs have another running back who put of grand numbers this season.

Draxtyn Aud, another 5-9 senior, added 602-yards on the ground on 90-attempts and he scored 14 TD's.

Running the ball it the game plan for CWC, as they averaged as a team 8.1 yards per running play.

QB senior Warren Legg only threw 20-passes this season, completing nine for six touchdowns and 268-yards total.

Tyler Goemaat, a 6-2 senior, and King caught two passes each while 6-0 junior running back Andrew Dodgson and 5-11 sophomore Noah Pollard added 269 and 135 yards rushing respectively.

Five-ten sophomore Cade Allen was the top man returning kickoffs with 276-yards and Landon Driscoll, King and Allen added 176-yards on punt returns for Coach Simon.

Aud was the squad's top Dawg on defense with 48 solo tackles and he got help from Driscoll, 5-9 junior defensive back Caleb Seibers, 6-2, 225 senior lineman Bryson Moore and 6-2 junior linebacker Nelson Rider.

Athens comes into the first round also at 7-2 with losses to perennial powerhouse programs Williamsville and Maroa-Forsyth.

The M-F loss, 38-36, was last Friday to close the regular season.

Five of the teams from the Sangamo Conference (along with Stanford-Olympia and Auburn) made the playoffs this season.

Coach Ryan Knox also has a rusher over 1K this season with junior Cory Craig entering the playoffs with 1,216-yards on 150-attempts.

Camren Bigard, another junior rusher, added 783-yards on the ground while senior running back Camden Austin was good for 546-yards on 54-carries.

Junior quarterback Drew Cushman was 22-of-56 in the air with 405-yards and three TD's as Coach Knox, like CWC, likes the ground attack.

Wide outs senior Tank Hill and junior Carson Muller are the top targets for Cushman when they throw it.

In five of the seven wins, the Warriors have held the opposition to one score or less, including two shutouts.

#13 Auburn (6-3) @ #4 Pana (8-1)

After an opening game loss in Week #1 to Vandalia, the Panthers have rattled off eight-straight wins.

Included in the run was a 42-21 win over previously unbeaten North Mac.

The two sets of Panthers tied for the South Central Conference championship at 8-1 in the closed league.

Coach Trevor Higgins has another strong team heading into the playoffs with veteran signal caller Max Lynch running the show.

The 6-0 senior has passed 69-of-136 for 1,030-yards and nine touchdowns for Pana.

He has been even better on the ground rushing 147 times for 1,821-yards and 23 TD's.

Two other running backs; Monte Weddle and Evan Swisher have carried the ball with success for the Panthers.

Weddle, a 5-8 senior (39 for 280-yards), and 6-0 senior Swisher (72 for 386-yards) have combined with Lynch to put up some massive numbers.

Four different receivers have over 150-yards in passes from Lynch.

Hayden Stark tops the list with 334-yards on 24-receptions and three TD's

Ace Armstrong, a 5-10 senior (11-catches, 239-yards, three touchdowns), Carter Beyers, a 5-10 senior (19 for 225, one TD) and 6-2 senior Camren Cook (nine for 150 one TD) give the Panthers threats in the passing game.

Pana has averaged 421-yards a game total offense.

Swisher, Armstrong, Lynch, Beyers along with sophomore Isaiah Harbert have been the top tacklers on a club that has rolled past eight-consecutive victims heading into the 2A playoffs.

Coach Higgins would like to make it past the third round as they have lost in the quarterfinals in each of the last two playoff trips, each time losing at Nashville.

Auburn is also from the strong Sangamo Conference and their defeats came to Williamsville, Maroa-Forsyth, and Athens.

Coach Ryan Gardner has a club that can score as they have been over 40-points four times in their six victories.

The Trojans have 6-0 junior quarterback Talin Kern who has completed 66 percent of his throws (99-of-150 and 1.556-yards and 20 touchdown passes).

The receivers are 6-0 senior Jackson Kern (38-674-6 TD's) 6-0 senior Nathan Barth 27-364-7 TD's), 5-11 junior Sawyer Smith (21-369-2 TD's) and 6-4 junior Grant Dobson (12-155-1 TD).

This gives Kern weapons at his disposal.

On the ground 6-0 junior Treshaun Lancaster has 151-carries for 1,122-yards and 10 TD's.

Dobson, junior Quentin Chizmar and sophomore Carter Hunley have anchored a solid defensive unit.

#12 Fairfield (6-3) @ #5 North Mac (8-1)

The Mules needed wins to get into the playoffs after a 2-3 start but Coach Justin Townsend's club rolled past four-consecutive Black Diamond Conference foes to reach 2A tournament with a 6-3 mark.

Eric Rodgers, a 6-2 senior quarterback, is part of a veteran group that have made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons excluding the Covid19 spring.

Rodgers is 28-of-58 overall passing for 376-yards along with 75-carries for 481-yards.

Two TD's passing and eight on the ground leads the balanced attack.

Five-eleven senior running back Luke Sork leads the rushing attack with 737-yards on 89-carries and 10 of the Mules' TD's.

Two running backs, 5-9 junior Trey Mason and 5-10 junior Latrael Snyder, are over 400-yards each for Fairfield.

Playing without junior running back Jay Snyder (injury in their first game) the rest of the Mules have pitched in.

Reegan Taylor, a 5-11 senior wide out, is second behind Sork in receptions and yards with 11 and 101.

Nick Easton, a 5-8 senior, returned kicks for 192-yards while 5-8 senior Gabe Todd had 113-yards on kickoff returns.

North Mac, in its first season in the South Central Conference, has just the loss to Pana as a blemish.

Five-ten senior quarterback Kaden Brown has been impressive running and passing for the Panthers with 990-yards on running and 565-yards passing.

Seven touchdowns on the ground and seven in the air for Brown tops both categories for head coach Patrick Bowman.

Seniors Zane Hogan, Joe Reinhart and Reed Lewis have most of the other stats.

Hogan is second in rushing (840-yards on 90-attempts) while Reinhart (473-yards) and Lewis (452-yards) have been impressive.

Dane Vance, a junior all-purpose player, has four TD's passes and 185-yards rushing to help out the Panthers' attack.

#15 Flora (5-4) @ #2 Johnston City (9-0)

Familiar conference foes hook up as the only rematch of the playoffs in the first round from the ASV area.

The Wolves needed a win over Carmi-White County in Week 9 to secure a spot in the playoffs while the Indians rolled to a 9-0 mark in beating everyone in the BDC.

Coach Brian Tackitt has his club playing better than during the mid-season three game skid.

Two top players; 6-3 senior quarterback Malichi Tolliver and 5-9 senior running back Beau Propes have led the way back into the playoffs.

The pair have scored 22 of the Wolves 35 touchdowns this season.

Tolliver has rushed for 734-yards (12 TD's) and passed for 655 (four TD's).

Propes added 618-yards on 102 attempts on the ground for 10 touchdowns.

Five-nine senior John McGree added 70-rushes for 462-yards and six touchdowns.

Johnston City and head coach Todd Thomas have been strong as a program lately and the Indians won the league title this season without a blemish.

A 37-28 come from behind win over Carmi-White County and a 65-0 shellacking of Christopher/Zeigler-Royalton closed the unbeaten campaign.

Like most teams in the conference, running the ball is the moniker of the Tribe.

Isiah Watson is the 5-10 senior running back who capped a fine season with 1,013-yards on just 111-carries for a 9.1 average.

Watson scored 21 touchdowns.

Six-one senior Boston Peyton added 55-carries and 501-yards.

Freshman Jace Weaver, senior Kaden Dover sophomore Nolan Causey each have over 295-yards on the ground.

Quarterback Connor Mowery, a 6-0 senior, seldom passed the ball (8-of-14, 245-yards and six TD's) for the Indians.

Six-four junior Keaton Fort was the top receiver (three catches, 109-yards and two touchdowns).

#10 Arthur-Lovington (7-2) @ #7 Vandalia (7-2)

The Vandals head back into the playoffs for Coach Jason Clay with their only defeats coming from North Mac and Southwestern on the road.

Matthew Hagy has had a great run for Vandalia as quarterback.

Hagy is 89-of-168 was (50 percent) for 1,365-yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 819-yards on 112-attempts.

Preston Nestrick caught 28 of the Hagy hurls for 558-yards and seven touchdowns while senior Reid Well caught 15-passes for 208-yards.

Pierson Wilkerson ended up with 23-receptions for 315-yards and five scores.

Andrew Kelly added to the aerial arsenal with 206-yards and five TD's from 13-receptions.

On the ground, besides Hagy, Eric McKinney topped the Vandals with 891-yards on 124-rushes.

McKinney found the endzone 12-times on the season.

Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond enter the playoffs on a five-game winning streak for head coach Ryan Jefferson.

The Knights have just losses to Cumberland (28-26) and Downs Tri-Valley (42-7) but in the seven wins ALAH has averaged 49-points a game, including a 56-21 triumph over Argenta-Oreana.

Cumberland and Tri-Valley both qualified for the playoffs.

ALAH has quarterback Kaden Feagin, a 6-3 senior who also is a top defender in the backfield.

He has rushed for 1,409-yards on just 118-carries (11.9 per rush) this season for the Knights.

His 24 touchdowns rushing and six TD tosses have led to the ALAH success this fall.

Five-nine senior Mason Allen has 368-yards on 56-tries while Jayce Parson and Landon Waldrop are both averaging over 10-yards rushing per attempts (276 and 407).

Parsons is the top receiver with 23-catches, 319-yards and three touchdowns.

#11 Nashville (7-2) @ #6 Red Bud (7-2)

This could be the best matchup of the 2A first round with the Hornets heading west for a showdown with the Musketeers.

Red Bud began their season at 6-1 with a lone loss to 4A qualifier Breese Central (17-6) but they had a hiccup with a 12-7 loss on the road at Chester in Week #8.

That defeat cost the Musketeers an automatic conference championship bid so they needed a win in the final week to get a good spot.

Coach Dave Lucht's club rebounded with a big road win at 4A East Alton-Wood River last Friday and now sit at 7-2 with a first round home game.

Five-eleven senior Thomas Friess has tossed 88 passes, completing 52 for 925-yards and 10 TD's for Red Bud.

The top ground man has been 5-10 senior Nick Gantner with 128-carries and 745-yards and a team-best 11 touchdowns.

Lucas Schwartzkopf, a 5-11 junior, added 39-carries for 284-yards and six TD's.

Sophomore Gavin Balwin and junior Trace Wagner, combined for five additional touchdowns and 362-yards.

Gantner is also the top receiver for the Musketeers, with 15-catches for 259-yards and three scores.

Devin Hall, a 6-2, 220 senior tight end and lineman, has been strong on both sides with 82-solo tackles.

Nashville is coming off of a 2A championship game loss to Wilmington but head coach Stephen Kozuszek has rebuilt the team and they are back in their usual spot heading into the playoffs.

The Hornets have two losses (4A Freeburg and 4A Carterville) with wins over DuQuoin, Anna-Jonesboro, and Pinckneyville in the Mississippi Division along with wins over West Frankfort, Carlyle and win-less Alton Marquette.

JT Malawy, a 5-9, 145 junior, is the quarterback for Nashville.

Mowery is over 1K in passing for the Hornets.

The key backs are Kaden Gajewski, a 6-4, 190 senior and Noah Miller, a 5-6, 165 junior.

Carson Cook, a 6-3 senior wide receiver, has been a top pass catcher for the Hornets.

3A PLAYOFFS

#12 Monticello (5-4) @ #5 Mount Carmel (8-1)

Things were rolling along for the Golden Aces until the final game of the regular season, a 34-33 2OT loss to 5A playoff qualifier Mount Vernon at home.

Prior to that, Coach Michael Brewer's club had ransacked eight previous victims in winning the Little lllini Conference with a 7-0 mark.

Blayne Sisson has put together quite a career so far as the 6-0 junior quarterback has rushed and passed his club into being a serious playoff threat to get to Champaign.

The Sisson stats are 'sick' with 13.1 yards per carry (80-for-1,048) and 61-of-101 passing for 1,297-yards for 15 TD's.

Andrew Gillihan has caught 25 of the aerials from Sisson for four TD's while Gage Kennard has 18 receptions for 371-yards and six touchdowns.

Asher Kight has 745-yards on the ground out of 65-attempts and also has 17-receptions for 142-yards.

The defense for the Aces has also been stout with just the Mount Vernon loss being a close call.

Monticello squeezed into the playoffs with a 5-4 mark.

The Sages get zero favors in the Illini Prairie Conference with programs Prairie Central, Tolono Unity, St. Joseph-Ogden and Bloomington Central Catholic.

Those four handed Coach Cullen Welter team its losses on the season.

Drew Sheppard, a 6-3 senior quarterback, took over the squad at the beginning of the season and he has led them to the playoffs.

Sheppard has rushed for 730-yards on 110-attempts and passed for 1,884-yards and 15 TD's.

It's the 13th time the Sages have made the playoffs for head coach Cullen Welter (123-40 overall at the school).

#9 Roxana (6-3) @ #8 Hillsboro (6-3)

Former conference rivals from the old SCC collide on Saturday.

The Hiltoppers come into the contest on a four-game winning streak.

Coach Joe Reed, who as a player was no stranger to playoff football as a part of perennial northwestern Illinois power Carthage, is in his second season leading the Hillsboro program.

They dropped three games this season to Pana, Vandalia and North Mac, all of which are in the playoffs along with SCC conference brother Carlinville.

Senior quarterback Zane Duff has been the catalyst for Hillsboro.

The 5-10 quarterback is 28-of-63 passing for 426-yards and four touchdowns.

But he is also a one of their top ground gainers on the season for the Hiltoppers with 425-yards on 68-rushes.

The top two runners for Coach Reed are 6-0 senior Jaben Compton and 6-0 junior Dylan Lessman.

Combined the duo have nearly 1,400-yard (697 and 693 respectively).

Two other top runners are Blaze Helton, a 6-2 senior, and 6-2 junior Jace Stewart.

The top receiver for Duff and Company is 5-10 junior Zander Wells.

Senior Brayden Fowler led the club in the regular season returning kickoffs.

Stewart, Wells and Duff have anchored the defensive side of the ball for the program that is making it's first postseason appearance since 2017-18.

The Shells got into the playoffs after tangling with some good teams in the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division.

Head coach Wade DeVries has his Shells in the postseason after a year away from the playoffs last fall (2-7).

Roxana finished 6-3 with the defeats coming against 2A Red Bud (25-15), 4A Breese Central (20-13) and 4A Columbia (28-27).

Meaning the Shells were a few plays away from being undefeated.

They made it into the playoffs with a win over nearby rival East Alton-Wood River 35-27 two weeks ago and then a 68-0 mauling of win-less Alton Marquette.

Quarterback Chris Walleck, a 5-10 junior, leads the passing offensive with 40-of-76 passing for 534-yards and four touchdowns.

Junior running backs Evan Wells (759-yards, nine touchdowns) and Terrel Graves (907-yards, nine touchdowns) give the Shells the type of rushing attack that will create some problems.

Senior running back Nik Ward has 399-yards on the ground with five TD's.

Andrew Ellis, a 6-0 sophomore, has 19 receptions for 399-yards and two touchdowns.

Senior defensive back Paxton Osmoe, senior linebacker Jackson Harris and sophomore defensive back Zeb Katzmarek are the top defenders with over 40-solo tackles each.

#13 Harrisburg (5-4) @ #4 Tolono Unity (8-1)

The Bulldogs backed into the playoffs with losses in two of their final three games.

Late season losses to Murphysboro and Carterville didn't keep Harrisburg out of the playoff picture as they had just enough to get into the 3A tourney.

Coach Matt Griffith is in his first season for the Bulldogs and his team has relied on some tough running backs.

Five-eleven senior Ross Rider, 6-0 junior Karmello Downey and 5-11 junior Tevin Godsey have been the main cogs in the running attack.

Quarterback Owen Rann, a 6-2 sophomore, calls the signals for the team that had some tough losses to 4A teams East Alton-Wood River (29-28 OT) and Murphysboro (32-21) and Benton (24-21).

The only lopsided loss (49-7) was last Friday at home against 9-0 4A Carterville.

Six-three senior linebacker Andrew Unthank has been tough in the middle for Harrisburg.

The top pass catcher for the Dawgs has been 6-4 senior Charlie Fehrenbacher.

Tolono Unity sits at 8-1 on the season, once removed from a state championship game appearance from last fall, looks to get back to the finals as one of the top 3A seeds.

The Rockets dropped a 34-12 decision on the road at unbeaten Prairie Central and have since rolled past eight victims by a combined 352-73 with a pair of shutouts.

Six-two senior running back Matt Brown rushed 27-times for 214-yards and four touchdowns in the 28-0 win over the Sages.

Six-three senior Cale Rawlin is the QB for the Rockets who are looking for their first state championship after finishing second seven times in the program's history, including last season's 35-7 loss to Byron in the title game.

#15 Stanford Olympia (5-4) @ #2 Benton (8-1)

The Rangers lost their season opener to Carterville (28-0) and have won eight-consecutive since in winning the SIRR Ohio Division for head coach Justin Groves (34-13 in five seasons).

Sophomore quarterback Tiffin Kouzoukas has been effective in his first season as a starter, completing 89-of-151 for 1,207-yards and 11 TD's.

Wyatt Upton, a 5-9 senior running back, has 1,201-yards to his credit running the ball with 21-touchdowns.

He also has 20-receptions for 193-yards and a score.

Jacob Kinsman, a 5-11 senior running back, and 5-10 sophomore A.J. Craven have put up numbers for the Rangers.

Sophomore receiver Grant Owens leads the club with 21-receptions for 373-yards and three TD's.

Benton took care of six of the eight victories in easy fashion and then proved they could win close games against Ohio Division rivals Harrisburg (24-21) and Murphysboro (31-19) on their way to a playoff berth.

This is the third playoff appearance for the Rangers since Coach Groves took over in 2018-19 with last year's club going 11-1 before losing in the third round at Mount Carmel.

This is the fifth playoff appearance for the Spartans, but the first since 2014-15 for head coach Eric Lyons.

Six-foot junior quarterback Zach Keedy leads the Spartans while 5-9 junior running back Kade Lollar has been the top rusher.

Kade Lollar, a 5-9 junior running back, also has contributed along with junior running back Nic Olson and junior Chase Litwiller.

#10 Robinson (6-3) @ #7 St. Joseph-Ogden (6-3)

Following two consecutive losses to open the season at Roxana (15-13) and at home to Mount Carmel (62-21) the Maroons responded with six wins in seven games to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15.

Head coach Casey Pinnell has just a close loss to Richland County (34-32) in the last seven weeks.

Six-foot senior quarterback Wes Jackson put together great numbers (162-of-227 for 1,578-yards and 15 TD's) for Robinson this fall.

Jackson also rushed 109-times for 515-yards and 16 touchdowns.

Nathan Wernz, a 6-0 senior running back, has 74-rushes for 459-yards and five touchdowns for the Maroons while 5-10 senior Craig Markello added 41-carries for 282-yards and two scores.

Wernz is also one of the top three receivers on the club with 21-receptions for 415 yards and four scores.

Five-ten sophomore Blake Green has five touchdown receptions, with 44-catches and 433-yards overall.

Judson Pinkston, a 5-8 junior, has 39-receptions for 397-yards and three TD's.

The Spartans' three losses have come to playoff teams (Tolono Unity, Prairie Central and Bloomington Central Catholic) who are a combined 23-4.

St. Joseph-Ogden plays in the Illini Prairie Conference but only two of the wins came againes teams with winning records (Monticello, Paxton-Buckley-Loda).

Junior quarterback Logan Smith leads the club with 115-of-181 passing for 2,061-yards and 24 touchdowns.

Junior Justin Wertz (72-for-458 and seven TD's) tops the rushing attack for SJO.

Sophomore Coy Taylor (63-receptions, 1,046-yards, nine touchdowns), senior Ty Pence (37-catches, 769-yards, 12 TD's) and senior Aidan Moberg (13-receptions, 201-yards, two touchdowns) have been the recipients of the Smith passes.

#14 Carlinville (5-4) @ #3 Williamsville (8-1)

The Cavaliers started off on the wrong foot with three consecutive losses (North Mac, Vandalia, Hillsboro) but they regrouped, recovered and are now in the playoffs for the 14th time under Coach Chad Easterday, and the 36th appearance overall.

The four losses (including Pana to close the season) are to playoff qualifiers.

Rex Reels, a 5-10 junior quarterback/defensive back for the Cavaliers, has put up quality passing figures (99-of-145, 1,209-yards, 10 TD's).

Jack Rouse, a 5-10 junior running back Jack Rouse leads the squad with 1,017-yards on the ground on 164-attempts with 17 touchdowns.

Conner Strutner, a 5-8 senior, added to the offensive numbers with 66-carries for 329-yards and a pair of TD's.

Senior Liam Tieman is a 6-2 wide receiver who reeled in 39 of the Reels' throws for 426-yards and a touchdown.

Henry Kufa, a 5-11 senior wide out, snagged 24 passes for 240 yards and scored twice while 6-2 senior Ryenn Hart added 15-catches for 242-yards and three TD's.

The Bullets are no strangers to the playoffs have earned 29 berths in their history, with a state championship in 2019-20.

Coach Aaron Kunz has a remarkable 164-48 mark and 17 playoff qualifiers, including 13 consecutive.

Jake Seman, a 5-11 senior QB, leads the Bullets by firing passes (134-of-202, 1,904-yards, 26-TD's) as he has found the mark 66 percent of the time.

He is also the top ground gainer with 93-carries for 531-yards and 11 scores for Coach Kunz.

Five-ten senior Harley Sharp also chewed up some yards this season for Williamville (75-rushes, 383-yards, five TD's).

Braddock Cates, a 5-11 senior tail back, added 52-carries for 373 and three touchdowns.

Two other runners; senior Colin Ripperda and junior Mason Lyttaker, are close to 200-yards each.

Six-two senior wide receiver Ethan Hinds (42-catches, 635-yards, 11 TD's) has been the 'go-to' receiver for Seman.

Lyttaker and 6-4 senior Colvin Fleck, each have double-digit receptions for nearly 500-yards combined.

4A PLAYOFFS
#16 Geneseo (5-4) @ #1 Carterville (9-0)

It's been a fantastic year for the Lions and head coach Brett Diel.

Carterville has 'taken no prisoners' in a football sense, with a no-nonsense approach for nine-straight wins with most of the points being allowed late in blowout wins against reserve defenders.

Six-one senior quarterback Andrew Hellriegel has 'kicked it' for two consecutive seasons for Coach Diel.

Hellriegel has been accurrate passing, hitting on 105-of-145 for 1,281-yards and 18 TD's this season.

He also added nine TD's rushing the ball on 59-carries gaining 251-yards.

Six-one senior running back Bryce Smith has been busy this fall.

Smith has 150-carries and 1,274-yards to go with 16 TD's.

Nolan Hartford, a 6-1 senior, added 47-carries for 317-yards and five touchdowns.

Hartford (33-receptions, 420-yards, four TD's) 6-1 senior Blake Burkey (34-catches, 422-yards, six TD's) and 5-7 senior Peyton Bittle (26-278-4 TD's) have reaped the benefits of the Hellriegel passes this season for the unbeaten, state-ranked squad.

Wide receiver Blake Burkey, a 6-1, 175 senior, had 38 receptions for 642 yards and seven TD's.

The Maple Leafs went 3-6 in 2021-22 but responded with a 5-4 mark this season to reach the postseason for head coach Larry Johnson.

They play in the Western Big 6 Conference with large school playoff qualifiers Moline, Sterling and Quincy.

#9 East Alton-Wood River (6-3) @ #8 Coal City (6-3)

After jumping out to a 6-1 mark for the season, the Oilers stumbled a bit late.

They lost to rival Roxana and then dropped a 14-12 decision on the road at Red Bud to close out the campaign at 6-3.

However the playoffs are a new season for Coach Garry Herron and his squad as they are in the Big Dance for the 10th time in the program's history.

Nearly everything that the Oilers do on offense has Seth Slayden involved.

The senior running back has 199-rushes and 1,519-yards on the season for EAWR.

He also recorded a team-best 18 TD's.

Senior Miguel Romero is the Oilers QB (22-of-56, 282-yards, two TD's, 56-carries, 419-yards, three TD's).

The Coalers are part of the Illinois Central Eight Conference, with Braidwood Reed-Custer and Wilmington that are both in the playoffs.

#12 Mt. Zion (6-3) @ #5 Breese Central (7-2)

The Cougars are looking for a deep run into the postseason for head coach Brian Short.

Central has 10 playoff appearances (15 overall) since Coach Short arrived and this is the third consecutive.

Senior quarterback Conner Freeze came up big this season with 107-of-196 throwing the ball for 1,692-yards and 14 touchdowns.

He is also the top rusher for the Cougars (123-rushes, 522-yards, five TD's).

Senior Braden Revermann is the top pass catcher with 51-receptions and 951-yards and eight touchdowns while senior Anthony Attaway rushed 43 times for 214-yards.

The short yardage man for Coach Short is senior Chase Lewis, a 6-2, 230 fullback.

Lewis has just 23 carries for 48 yards. However he has nine touchdowns in those efforts this season.

The Braves are part of the Apollo Conference and head coach Patrick Etherton (42-18 in six seasons) and his club finished second to Mahomet Seymour in the standings.

This is the 30th postseason appearance for MZ, and to advance far they will have to continue to get production from 6-2 junior quarterback Makobi Adams.

Adams comes into the game with a 160-of-279 passing mark for 2,251-yards and 30 TD's, the top figure in this preview.

His main target has been sophomore Brayden Trimble who has 65-receptions for 1,017-yards and 11 TD's.

Six-three junior receiver Grant McAtee has 41-catches for 744-yards and 14 touchdowns.

Freshman wide out Jacob Harvey has 33-receptions for 328-yards and three TD's.

Bryson Richardson, a 5-8 junior running back, led the Braves on the ground with 286-yards on 80-carries.

Mount Zion and Central have one common opponent.
The Braves topped Breese Mater Dei, 38-35 in their regular season finale on the road.

Central, on the other hand, lost to the Knights at BMD 27-14 in Week #2.

#10 Waterloo (6-3) @ #7 Richland County (7-2)

The Bulldogs are one of four schools from the Mississippi Valley Conference (Highland, Mascoutah, Triad) that made the postseason.

The losses for head coach Dan Rose are to Columbia, Highland and Triad.

Waterloo is a three-headed monster.

Five-nine senior quarterback Aidan Morrow has put together a season of 29-of-74, 457-yards and one TD.

Evan Davis, a 6-0 senior running back, rushed 188-times for 1,262-yards and 13 touchdowns.

Koby Osterhage, a 5-9 junior, has 79-rushes, 760-yards and nine TD's.

Richland County returns to the playoffs and head coach Matt Music hopes his club stays around longer than last season as they were ousted in the opening round at Freeburg in 2021.

The Tigers are 7-2 with losses to 5A Centralia and 3A power Mount Carmel, a game in which Richland County hung in with the Aces for a half.

Dawson Brown, a 5-10 senior quarterback, is 136-of-230 for 2.018-yards and 20 touchdowns.

Hutson Lathrop, a 5-10 senior, is the top Tiger on the ground with 117-attempts for 724-yards and nine scores.

Brown also adds to the attack with 96-carries for 428-yards and seven TD's.

Brody Runyon, a 5-9 junior running back (36-carries, 192-yards, one TD) adds to the stats for Coach Music.

Six-four senior Zachariah Wease is the top receiver of Brown passes, catching 45 passes for 602-yards and six touchdowns.

Right behind Wease is 6-0 senior wide out Ayden Cothern (28-snags, 650-yards and eight TD's).

#11 Columbia (6-3) @ #6 Murphysboro (7-2)

The Eagles also had a tough start to their season but they came up big when they needed to for Coach Scott Horner.

Playing 4A teams from the Mississippi Valley (Mascoutah, Waterloo and Jerseyville) as their non-conference opposition, the Eagles are playoff ready after getting through the tough slate.

Two of the biggest wins of the season (Roxana, @ Breese Central) came on identical 28-27 final scores.

Dominic Voegle, a 6-2 senior quarterback, is 75-of-134 for the season with seven TD passes in his pocket.

He is the top rusher for Columbia with 138-carries for 1,248-yards and 16 TD's.

Five-seven senior Zach Wetzel and 5-11 senior Brennan Weik have a combined 597 yards receiving on 43-receptions.

Cameron Janik, a 5-10 sophomore, is second on the squad in rushing (44-163-1 TD).

The Red Devils are looking to make a playoff run for head coach Gary Carter.

Murphysboro has losses to playoff qualifiers Carterville and Benton but they took care of the other business in the other seven games, all wins.

Drew Caldwell is a senior quarterback who runs things for Coach Carter.

His stats show 1,353-yards passing on 79-of-127 with 15 touchdowns.

The running back yardage has mostly come from 5-8 senior Devon Clemons (158-carries, 1,391-yards and 24 touchdowns.

Senior Ethan Finke has 38-attempts for 329-yards on the ground and three TD's.

Grayson Guthman led the club with 21-receptions for 483-yards and four touchdowns.

Karmello Abernathy, a 6-0 junior, led the Red Devils in return yards and he scored a kickoff return TD as well as a punt return touchdown this season.