Six Friday night contests to end the regular season. Weather should not be an issue this week. High Friday in the mid to high 60's and no rain forecast.
Eisenhower (1-7) at Southeast (1-7)
Both teams have their sole wins against Lanphier. Eisenhower won 46-24 in Week 4, while Southeast's margin was 48-8 last week. The Spartans appear to have found a pretty good Junior QB late in the season. He gives them some hope for next year. The Generals are playing many underclassmen and hope they stay in the program and keep developing. Southeast 35 Eisenhower 16
Lanphier (0-8) at Springfield (2-6)
Not really a road game for the Lions, since both teams have Memorial Stadium as their home field. Lanphier has struggled all season, especially defensively, and dressed fewer than 30 against Rochester in Week 6. The Senators will have QB Brody Scheffler for two more years. Springfield 51 Lanphier 8
Lincoln (5-3) at Chatham (5-3)
Lincoln led 14-0 on the road last week against U High but faltered and lost 41-28. Chatham beat U High 35-0 in Week 7. Both teams would like a 6th win to avoid playing a 9-0 or possibly an 8-1 team in the 1st round of the playoffs. Titan Sophomore QB Colton Knoedler has improved from the beginning of the season and was very sharp for a half last week against Rochester. Chatham should win comfortably. Chatham 45 Lincoln 14
Jacksonville (4-4) at U High (6-2)
Jacksonville needs to win to make the playoffs. They would likely be in 5A. U High would love to get a 7th win, which should get them a 4A home playoff game. Both teams own wins over Decatur MacArthur. U High beat Lincoln, while Jacksonville lost to the Railers. If the Crimsons win, it will likely be due to the running of Cam Ron Mitchell and Mani Moore. The Crimsons clinched their playoff berth in 2021 in Week 9 but that was a home game against Mac. U High is the slight favorite playing at home. U High 34 Jacksonville 28
MacArthur (5-3) at Bloomington (5-3)
The final CS8 vs Big 12 contest. The Big 12 leads 6-4 so far. MacArthur is the CS8 team I've missed the most on this season, being only 4-4. I picked them to beat Jacksonville and U High and had them losing to Chatham and SHG. I've always thought that Mac is a much stronger team when they play at home. Their wins this year against Chatham and SHG were both home games. Bloomington looks to be in 6A in the playoffs, while Mac will be 5A. Bloomington has lost to 5A Peoria, 7A Normal, and 6A Normal West. None of their losses were particularly close. They have beaten playoff qualifiers Peoria Notre Dame (4A) and Champaign Centennial (6A). Can Mac win for the fifth straight week after their big victory over SHG? I'm taking the Purple Raiders, barely. Bloomington 31 MacArthur 30
Rochester (8-0) at SHG (6-2)
The Rockets have never won at Ken Leonard Stadium, going 0 and 7 dating back to 2012. Last year, Rochester led 28-0 in the 2nd Quarter of the 4A semi-finals before being outscored 56-14 the remainder of the game by the Cyclones. There is a role reversal of the two teams from last season. SHG returned only 3 starters from their championship team and have had to deal with injuries to multiple key players. Rochester has the more experienced team and got WR-QB Parker Gillespie back last week after missing the first seven weeks with an injury. The Rockets led Chatham only 21-14 late in the 2nd Quarter last week before erupting to score the next 42 points. The defense, which had not been particularly impressive, came to life in the second half and forced three quick turnovers. This led to several short field TD's for the offense. Rochester would love to have a fast start and then be able to turn up the defensive pressure. Expect SHG to have reviewed Chatham's success in moving the ball in the 1st half last week. The Rockets should get their initial win at KL Stadium, but I'm expecting this to be hard fought. Rochester 41 SHG 23
Eisenhower (1-7) at Southeast (1-7)
Both teams have their sole wins against Lanphier. Eisenhower won 46-24 in Week 4, while Southeast's margin was 48-8 last week. The Spartans appear to have found a pretty good Junior QB late in the season. He gives them some hope for next year. The Generals are playing many underclassmen and hope they stay in the program and keep developing. Southeast 35 Eisenhower 16
Lanphier (0-8) at Springfield (2-6)
Not really a road game for the Lions, since both teams have Memorial Stadium as their home field. Lanphier has struggled all season, especially defensively, and dressed fewer than 30 against Rochester in Week 6. The Senators will have QB Brody Scheffler for two more years. Springfield 51 Lanphier 8
Lincoln (5-3) at Chatham (5-3)
Lincoln led 14-0 on the road last week against U High but faltered and lost 41-28. Chatham beat U High 35-0 in Week 7. Both teams would like a 6th win to avoid playing a 9-0 or possibly an 8-1 team in the 1st round of the playoffs. Titan Sophomore QB Colton Knoedler has improved from the beginning of the season and was very sharp for a half last week against Rochester. Chatham should win comfortably. Chatham 45 Lincoln 14
Jacksonville (4-4) at U High (6-2)
Jacksonville needs to win to make the playoffs. They would likely be in 5A. U High would love to get a 7th win, which should get them a 4A home playoff game. Both teams own wins over Decatur MacArthur. U High beat Lincoln, while Jacksonville lost to the Railers. If the Crimsons win, it will likely be due to the running of Cam Ron Mitchell and Mani Moore. The Crimsons clinched their playoff berth in 2021 in Week 9 but that was a home game against Mac. U High is the slight favorite playing at home. U High 34 Jacksonville 28
MacArthur (5-3) at Bloomington (5-3)
The final CS8 vs Big 12 contest. The Big 12 leads 6-4 so far. MacArthur is the CS8 team I've missed the most on this season, being only 4-4. I picked them to beat Jacksonville and U High and had them losing to Chatham and SHG. I've always thought that Mac is a much stronger team when they play at home. Their wins this year against Chatham and SHG were both home games. Bloomington looks to be in 6A in the playoffs, while Mac will be 5A. Bloomington has lost to 5A Peoria, 7A Normal, and 6A Normal West. None of their losses were particularly close. They have beaten playoff qualifiers Peoria Notre Dame (4A) and Champaign Centennial (6A). Can Mac win for the fifth straight week after their big victory over SHG? I'm taking the Purple Raiders, barely. Bloomington 31 MacArthur 30
Rochester (8-0) at SHG (6-2)
The Rockets have never won at Ken Leonard Stadium, going 0 and 7 dating back to 2012. Last year, Rochester led 28-0 in the 2nd Quarter of the 4A semi-finals before being outscored 56-14 the remainder of the game by the Cyclones. There is a role reversal of the two teams from last season. SHG returned only 3 starters from their championship team and have had to deal with injuries to multiple key players. Rochester has the more experienced team and got WR-QB Parker Gillespie back last week after missing the first seven weeks with an injury. The Rockets led Chatham only 21-14 late in the 2nd Quarter last week before erupting to score the next 42 points. The defense, which had not been particularly impressive, came to life in the second half and forced three quick turnovers. This led to several short field TD's for the offense. Rochester would love to have a fast start and then be able to turn up the defensive pressure. Expect SHG to have reviewed Chatham's success in moving the ball in the 1st half last week. The Rockets should get their initial win at KL Stadium, but I'm expecting this to be hard fought. Rochester 41 SHG 23