It's finally that time of year. Some conferences have champions decided, some will be decided in a few days and some have near-formality contests to seal the deal.
So who falls into what category in Southern Illinois?
-The Southwestern Conference has led to what we've all expected since the summer: East St. Louis at Edwardsville this Friday for the title.
-In the Mississippi Valley, Highland looks like the de facto champion after smashing their best challenger. They can take the title cleanly Friday night if they prevail at home over a 3-4 foe(Jerseyville)
-The South Seven title (which does not earn an automatic qualification) has been messy all year with Althoff leaving and Collinsville/Granite City playing as affiliates of the league, but not counting in the standings. S7 play has not been limited to certain weeks either, which leads to our current scenario: Carbondale (3-0) can win the conference cleanly with a win over Marion, but if they lose, Cahokia (3-1) will tie for the title after finishing their league play in week 7.
Southwestern Conference
Edwardsville (7-0) 49-45 Belleville East (5-2): Without a doubt, the Lancers have been the team of the year for entertainment purposes. By my count, they've played in the 618 game of the week three times now, including the last two weeks. So what did our St. Clair showmen have in store last week? Just a casual 24-7 halftime lead over an Edwardsville squad that had only trailed once before this season. The Tiger offense roared to life with 21 points in each of the final two quarters to pull this one out and keep their unbeaten record intact. Much of that credit belongs to SIU commit Jake Curry who finished 15-24 to 9 different receivers for 253 air yards. Curry also tossed three into the end zone, tally that resulted in him breaking the school career record for passing touchdowns. Opposite him, Armon Vinson quarterbacked the Lancer offense to the tune of 296 passing yards on an 18-24 day and three passing touchdowns. He also rushed 21 times for 75 yards. My overall take: Belleville East lost in gut wrenching fashion, but this still feels like a moral victory on some level. They hung in with Edwardsville until the final whistle and you'll be hard pressed to find too many teams on a tier above them. Edwardsville can also be happy in victory, but responding to the biggest adversity they've faced all year.
Next week, all eyes will be on Edwardsville as they host East St. Louis (5-2). Whoever wins that contest will improve to 5-0 in the SWC to take the conference title. There's already an entire thread dedicated to this game, so my analysis here will be rather short: East St. Louis is a clear favorite. Edwardsville does have a few advantages that will help their upset chances however. First, they benefit from having played a competitive contest last week and East Side hasn't played a game within 30 points since week two. A rainy forecast and homefield advantage also help E-ville make something unexpected happen.
Other Scores: O'Fallon (3-4) 56-7 Belleville West (2-5) , O'Fallon plays Alton next week and should easily move to 4-4 | East St. Louis (5-2) 59-0 Alton (1-6)
Mississippi Valley
Highland (6-1) 36-7 Triad (4-3): Highland has looked solid all year but they didn't really have a "wow" result yet. Prior to last week's games, their only win over a school with a winning record when they took 4A Breese Central down 35-14 back in week 1. But in the de-facto MVC championship game against their rivals, they exploded. The Bulldogs led this one 28-0 midway through the second quarter and never really tuned back. On top of 238 team rushing yards, their sophomore QB Blake Gelly tossed 11-18 for 150 yards and 3 TDs. Perhaps their defensive showing was more impressive, as they kept Triad's 35 PPG offense to less than 200 total yards.
To officially earn their MVC championship, Highland just needs to dispatch Jersey(3-4) Friday night. The Panthers are essentially playing for a playoff spot(they get 1-6 Columbia week 9) and are coming off their biggest win of the year, so maybe they have at least a puncher's chance here. Triad will hit five wins this Friday against Civic Memorial(2-5) who has yet to avoid a running-clock in conference play.
Jersey (3-4) 33-14 Mascoutah (2-5): This matchup was in the "toss-up" category for me, so Jerseyville winning by 19 is a bit of a head turner. It becomes even more eye-opening upon the realization that the Indians outgained Jerseyville 344 to 324. Give credit to the Panther defense for snatching two interceptions to pull that feat off. With the loss, Mascoutah will miss the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Jerseyville visits Highland(6-1) as mentioned above, but Mascoutah's next contest is interesting as well. They will host and attempt to play spoiler to 3-4 Waterloo's playoff aspirations. If the Bulldogs can close out conference play with a win, they would be a favorite over Freeburg in week nine and hit five wins.
Other scores: Waterloo (3-4) 46-6 Civic Memorial (2-5)
South Seven
Carbondale (5-2) 28-20 Lighthouse Christian, MO (1-4): Not really sure what to make of this result as this is the first time I remember hearing about Lighthouse Christian, but this was not the most encouraging result over a 1-4 team. To be fair, this made for a long bus ride and it was 28-12 with less than a minute remaining. This time of year, a win is a win.
This Friday, the Terriers get to stay home as Marion(4-3) visits. With a win, Carbondale would move to 4-0 in S7 play and win the conference championship. If they lose, they split the title with Cahokia. Marion has really struggled with injuries after starting off 4-0 though, so that doesn't seem to be in the cards.
Cahokia (4-3) 43-8 Centralia (2-5): Depending who you ask, Cahokia should already be playoff qualified. Two of their losses are via forfeit, which stemmed from a benches-clearing fight earlier this year at the end of a game they had a 44 point lead in. Still, the Comanches have dug themselves out of their hole with two winnable games left. The first has them on the road to Collinsville(4-3). Calpreps gives the Kahoks a 60% chance of victory, which feels pretty spot on. Cahokia is probably a slight favorite against an O'Fallon team that should be 4-4 headed into week 9.
Collinsville (4-3) 57-0 Marion (4-3): Marion started this season 4-0 under rookie coach Jason Dunning and seemed on easy street to their 18th consecutive playoff appearance. Injuries have knocked the wheels off their car and that showed in their worst loss in at least a decade. Darren Pennell led Collinsville's offense with a razor sharp 17-21, 303 yard and 2 TD passing attack.
Both of these teams are still on the path to the playoffs in my mind. Collinsville could qualify this week over Cahokia(4-3) or week 9 over what will be a 5-3 Triad team. Marion will likely lose their fourth straight this week to Carbondale(5-2), but they should stumble through the line week 9 versus Mattoon(1-6).
Other scores: Mt. Vernon (4-3) 62-0 Granite City (0-7), Rams go to Centralia (2-5) next week for what should be a win while Alton (1-6) awaits in week 9
Other Notables:
Althoff (6-1) 41-22 Mater Dei (5-2): For the second week in a row, Althoff flips a halftime deficit into a multi-possession victory. A familiar name led the team out of the break: Dierre Hill Jr. The all-star back scored on rushes of 39, 63 and 3 to help the Crusaders outscore the Knights 27-22 in the second half. Mater Dei should be a solid squad in 2A when the postseason begins.
