A year of change for the CS8. One team (Lincoln) returns to the conference after having been in the Apollo for a while and another (QND) will be joining next year. Two new coaches, John Allison at SHG and Micheal Kinkade at Southeast. Both new coaches have been promoted from within their programs. The top 5 producing QB's from last year (Lott/SHG, Reiss/Rochester, Knudson/Chatham, Owens/Jacksonville, and Cunningham/U HIgh) all have graduated. After winning the 4A state title with a Senior dominated team, the rest of the conference is hoping that SHG's rebuild will take some time. Don't bet on it. I believe the gap between teams 1-5 will be much less this year than the last two, where SHG dominated the regular season in 2022 and Rochester and SHG were at the top in 2021.
Sports Radio 1450 has team previews up for all of the schools. Thanks to Ratsy for posting the previews on another thread.
1-Rochester (11-2 last season, lost to SHG in 4A semi's)
The small Senior class of 16 last season gave more playing time to a lot of Juniors and some Sophomores. Look for a bigger Senior class this year, at least 21. I'll find out the exact number before Week 1. The Seniors do not want to be the first class since 2009 to never play in a state title game. The Rockets have several options at QB, multiple experienced Receivers, and return three starters at OL. On defense, they return six starters, including DE Lance Ingold who has committed to NIU and S Henry Buecker who is starting for a 3rd year. The Rocket defense will be critical in how far they advance in the playoffs. In losses to SHG the last two semi-finals, the Defense started well but faded in the second half. I'm not thrilled with having to face Peoria Week 1 on their field. If nothing else, however, it will be a clear early marker of where the Rockets stand. Critical game: Week 1 at Peoria. A tough road game against the 5A runner up.
2-SHG (14-0 last season, won 4A state title. Will be 5A this season)
Long-time assistant John Allison takes over the program. Returning only 3 starters, some might be tempted to think that SHG will be vulnerable to much of the conference this year. I'm not sure that will be the case. They will be an underdog on the road Week 1 against 7A playoff qualifier Normal Community. After that game, I think the Cyclones have a fairly favorable schedule. They don't face a likely top tier conference team until Week 5 at home against Springfield. The Cyclones also don't face Rochester until Week 9 and that game will be at Ken Leonard Stadium. This is the best possible scenario for SHG. Extremely painful memories for Rocket fans of last year's epic playoff collapse. Critical game: Week 3 at Jacksonville. This game will be a good test of how the young Cyclones are progressing. Jacksonville gave them some trouble in the first half last season with a ball control running attack.
3-Springfield (4-5 last season, last in playoffs in 2021. Should be in 6A)
2nd-year Coach Jon Hebb should get the Senators back in the playoffs this season. They surrendered a two-score 4th Quarter lead to MacArthur last year and ended up losing on the game's last play. That loss kept them from the playoffs. The Senators return a good number of starters on both sides and seem set to move Paul Hartman from QB to WR/TE. He is about 6'5" and 200 pounds and is extremely athletic. He will be a match up problem for any opponent. If they can get consistent QB play and tighten up their defense, the Senators will challenge any team in the CS8. They do have a tough non-conference game, on the road against 7A Normal West in Week 7. Critical game: Week 4 at home against Chatham. Last year, Springfield was out of the game early against the best teams in the conference. Historically, they also have not done well against Chatham. A win against the Titans would be a huge boost.
4-Chatham (7-3 last season, lost in 1st round of 6A playoffs)
Chatham should contend for the conference title in '24 and may be the favorite in '25. What about this year? Chatham started out very well in 2022, putting up a ton of points in Weeks 1 and 2 against 5A playoff qualifiers Jacksonville and MacArthur and not using any 2-way starters. In later season losses to Rochester and SHG, their numbers advantage was not helpful as expected, and injuries took their toll. They had a home playoff game against Quincy but couldn't get stops on defense and played from behind most of the contest. The Titans have the largest roster in the conference by far and seem to be making a concerted effort to become faster and stronger. They lose a 2-year starting QB and most of their skill players. Coach Hay has to decide at QB between a Junior and a Sophomore. Perhaps both will play in certain situations as they have different styles. The defense should be better. Critical game: Week 6 at home versus SHG. The last two times Chatham beat SHG they either won the CS8 or shared the title. Since the 2019 win, they have been thumped three times by SHG. This is an opportunity to play a rebuilding SHG at home.
5-MacArthur (5-5 last season, lost in 1st round of 5A playoffs)
Mac is hard to judge because it's difficult to get a lot of info about their program. At their best, they have athletes on offense and will hit you on defense. They made the playoffs last year but were not close in games against SHG, Rochester, and Chatham and lost for the 2nd year in a row to Jacksonville. Mac does return a QB who has some playing experience and have a 6'3" 200-pound Freshman RB who already has an offer from the U of I. They should get at least 5 wins. Critical game: Week 9 at Bloomington. This is a possible win 5 or 6 for Mac and should be a close contest. 6 wins could get them a home playoff game.
6-Lincoln (4-5 last season in the Apollo, last in the playoffs in 1984. Should be in 4A)
Lincoln returns to the CS8. Wouldn't it be something if they make the playoffs for the first time since 1984 in their first year back in the conference? Head-to-head, I favor Jacksonville over Lincoln but the Railers schedule is more favorable to getting to 5 wins than the Crimsons. Lincoln plays 4 1-8 teams from last year, one of which is their non-conference opponent Peoria Manual. 4 of their first 5 games are against 1-8 teams from last season. They can't afford to have a let down against any of these teams but could be sitting at 4-3 in Week 8 traveling to U High. Critical game: Week 8 at U High. Could be their chance at 5 wins and a playoff berth.
7-Jacksonville (6-4 last season, lost in 1st round of 5A playoffs. Likely to be in 4A this season)
Jacksonville returns 3 or 4 starting OL and have the top returning rusher in the conference in Cam'Ron Mitchell. However, they have to replace 3 -year starting QB Elijah Owens and the school has experienced a substantial enrollment decline which has impacted their football numbers. The Crimsons will likely drop from 5A to 4A this season. With a new QB, they may be more run heavy than most of the top CS8 teams, and QB development will be very important. Their number of 2-way starters will also be an issue. Critical game: Week 2 at home versus MacArthur. Jacksonville has won the last two meetings of these teams, and clinched a playoff spot in 2021 in Week 9 with a come from behind win against Mac. If the Crimsons get to 5 wins this year, they probably need this one.
8-U High (3-6 last season, last in playoffs in 2015. Should be in 4A)
U High was 3-6 last year and played Mac and Springfield fairly close. They appear to have increased their program numbers and may have attracted some multi-sport athletes. This had been a weak point as U High is very good in Basketball and Baseball but struggled to get many of those kids out for football. U High is losing a 2-year starting QB in Colin Cunningham, who was responsible for most of their offense last season. Replacing him will take time, and the Pioneers start out against Springfield and SHG. Critical game: Week 9 at home against Jacksonville. The Crimsons should be favored in this but it could be a close game if the Pioneers continue to make strides.
9-Southeast (1-8 last season, last in playoffs in 2014. Should be in 5A)
New coach Micheal Kinkade takes over for the Spartans. Southeast was hurt badly by injuries last season and couldn't keep a QB healthy. They have the talent to be better than 1-8 and get to play three 1-8 teams from last year and also face Lincoln and U High, which could be competitive games. Critical game: Week 2 at home versus Peoria Richwoods. The Spartans will be underdogs Week 1 against Mac but this is a chance to get an early win against a 1-8 team from last year.
10-Lanphier (1-8 last season, last in playoffs in 2004. Should be in 5A)
Will playing at the renovated Memorial stadium give a boost to the Lions who have not been very competitive recently? Possibly. Coach Goff sounded enthusiastic in a radio interview about the team and credited getting the new turf field and getting to practice there this summer instead of going to a nearby park. It's still going to be a challenge for the Lions to compete with much of the conference. Critical game: Week 1 at home against Lincoln. Can the excitement of playing at the renovated Memorial carry Lanphier to an upset victory?
11-Eisenhower (1-8 last season, last in playoffs in 2016. Should be in 5A)
Eisenhower was shut out last season 5 weeks in a row from Weeks 2-6. However, they never quit and got their lone win in Week 8 against Southeast. They can hopefully improve their program numbers and make some incremental improvements this year, but more than 1-2 wins is unlikely. Critical game: Week 4 at home versus Lanphier. This is a chance for the Panthers to get a win at home fairly early in the season.
www.maxpreps.com