5 CS8 teams made the playoffs. 2 Friday night and 3 Saturday afternoon games.
Friday
4A #15 Spring Valley (Hall) (5-4) at #2 SHG (9-0)
Spring Valley drew the short stick and will make the trip to Ken Leonard Stadium. Their resume includes a loss to 5-4 1A team. The CS8 equivalent to that would be if Jacksonville lost to Routt Catholic. I can’t imagine they’ve seen anything remotely close to the SHG offense. SHG will want to get a quick running clock and avoid injuries. This should be over fast. SHG 56 Spring Valley 6.
6A #9 Quincy (7-2) at #8 Chatham (7-2)
The winner will play Lemont in Round 2. This could be a shootout. Quincy is likely to be bigger on the OL-DL than the Titans. They start a Sophomore QB, who may be the coach’s son, and have a good mix of running and passing. Their two losses to 5A Sterling and 7A Moline were both competitive. The Blue Devils appear to have only an average defense, giving up 42 points to non-qualifier Rock Island last week. Chatham has QB Knudson, RB Blaise, and 3-4 good receiving options. They were undefeated at home in the regular season. Their two losses were more lopsided than Quincy’s. The Titans downfall against Rochester was an inability to protect Knudson and poor run defense. They were overwhelmed by the Cyclones in all areas. When working well, the Titans jump on teams early and score fast. I expect the Blue Devils to make this a battle but come up short.
Chatham 41 Quincy 32.
Saturday
5A #14 Decatur MacArthur (5-4) at #3 Peoria (8-1)
Mac does not match up well with Peoria. Their defense, normally a strong point, is not as solid this year. Their QB has a decent arm and can scramble but is not well protected. They also don’t have much of a running attack. Peoria scores lots of points and this will quickly be a mismatch. Peoria 53 Mac 8.
4A #13 Effingham (5-4) at #4 Rochester (8-1)
All four of Effingham’s losses were to playoff qualifiers: 2A St Teresa, 4A Mt Zion, and 5A Mahomet and Highland. Their biggest margin of defeat was 21 points to Mahomet. They lost by 14 to Highland on the road in Week 9, which could be seen as a moral victory after the way Highland has played. Rochester usually plays very well at home, and Derek will not let the Rockets look ahead. After a sloppy win at home against U High in Week 7, they really pasted both Jacksonville and Mac in Weeks 8 and 9 and looked playoff ready. Keeton Reiss continues to develop the passing part of his game and several Receivers have stepped up. The Rockets will try to take Effingham out early and should win comfortably. Rochester 48 Effingham 13.
5A #9 Jacksonville (6-3) at #8 Metamora (6-3)
Last year, the Crimsons got a come from behind win over Mac in Week 9 to qualify for the playoffs. They then got buried on the road by Mahomet. Jacksonville had some good moments in losses against Chatham and SHG earlier in the season. They have not played particularly well the last two weeks, getting hammered by Rochester and giving up 49 points to a 3-6 U High at home last week in a win. Metamora is not unbeatable, even at home. Their program is not quite at the level it was 10-15 years ago. They have losses to 5A Peoria, 6A Washington, and 7A Pekin. Metamora only beat one playoff team, 5-4 5A Dunlap. The Crimsons cannot get behind big early like last year. They have a good ball control running attack but a shaky defense. To have a chance to win, QB Elijah Owens may need to complete several long throws in non-passing situations. I think Metamora denies the CS8 a fourth win in the weekend. Metamora 39 Jacksonville 31.
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