With QND entering the conference, the CS8 now has 12 teams. This has led to splitting the conference into two 6-team divisions. All teams had the option of scheduling non-conference opponents the first two weeks, play their division games the next five, and the final two weeks are cross division games. Everyone, except Lincoln, has at least one non-conference game and almost half the teams were able to schedule two. SHG, Chatham, and Rochester all play teams from Missouri.
There are two new coaches, Nate Borders at Southeast and Ademola Adeniji at Lanphier.
Four QB's who threw for over 1,700 yards return but all the major RB's from '23 have either graduated or moved to Texas (Myson Johnson Cook). Looking at returning All-Conference picks, the teams with the most aren't Rochester, SHG, or Chatham. Instead, Jacksonville, U High, and Lincoln each return 4 picks.
West Division
1-SHG (7-4 in 2023, made 2nd round of 5A playoffs)
SHG has to replace QB Levi Hanauer and RB Christian Pollard but otherwise are a much more experienced team than last season. I felt the Cyclones played their best football in '23 in Weeks 9 through 11. SHG has a very challenging Week 1 game on the road against St Louis Christian Brothers. After that, they should be favored the next six weeks before ending with Chatham and Rochester. Look for WR-DB and return threat Jamarion Bardwell to have a big season. He has already won state titles in football, basketball, and track. Key Game: Week 8 at home vs Chatham. Chatham is on the rise and believes they can beat both SHG and Rochester this year. They last beat both in '19.
2-Jacksonville (4-5 in 2023, 5A team last in the playoffs in 2022)
The Crimsons have to replace the CS8's leading rusher Cam'Ron Mitchell and QB Mani Moore. They do return a lot of size and have an excellent Kicker. Jacksonville has a nice early schedule and has a strong chance to be 4-1 after Week 5. They close with Springfield, QND, Mac, and Lincoln. There's not a clear favorite in any of those games at this time but at least one win to get the Crimsons to 5 should be doable. Key Game: Week 6: at Springfield. Jacksonville won 31-7 in '23 but Springfield will be improved.
3-Springfield (3-6 in 2023, 6A team last in the playoffs in 2021)
The Senators/Solons went 4-5 in '22, which was their 1st year without 4-year starting QB Rashad Rochelle. They took a step back last year, going 3-6 and losing by at least 17 points in all their defeats. Springfield returns Junior QB Brody Scheffler, who passed for over 1,700 yards as a Sophomore. He should be even better in his 2nd year starting. As the only 6A school in the CS8 other than Chatham, Springfield has been able to avoid the low program numbers and loss of Freshman football that has hurt some other conference schools. They need a fast start as the regular season ends with SHG, Rochester, and Chatham. 5 wins are possible. Key Game: Week 2 at Mac. Springfield led in the 4th Quarter at Mac in '22 and lost on the last play of the game, denying them a 5th win. Without RB Johnson Cook, this is a winnable game for the Senators.
4-Quincy Notre Dame (5-6 in 2023, made 2nd round of 2A playoffs)
QND comes into the conference with very difficult Week 1 and 2 games against 7A Quarterfinalist Quincy and 4A power Richmond Burton. They return a QB with some experience and appear to have some other talented players. The question is whether a 2A team has the necessary depth to play a 9-week schedule against all 4A-7A teams. 5 wins are possible. Key Game: Week 9 at Mac. There's a chance that both teams could be 4-4 going into Week 9.
5-Southeast (2-7 in 2023, 5A school last in the playoffs in 2014)
Nate Borders is third new coach in a row for the Spartans. He was an assistant last year and at 23 is surely one of the youngest head coaches in the state. Southeast played better the second half of '23 and ended the season with back-to-back wins against Eisenhower and Lanphier. They return a QB with some starting experience. The Spartans have a chance to improve on their win total from '23. Key Game: Week 1 at East Peoria. The Spartans have a realistic chance to get Coach Borders a win in his first game when they face a team that was 2-7 last year.
6-Lanphier (0-9 in 2023, 5A school last in the playoffs in 2004)
New coach Ademola Adeniji was a standout RB at Lanphier and EIU. He is stepping into a very challenging position. The Lions were running clocked in all but one game last year and gave up 41 or more points in each outing. According to a story in the State Journal Register, they could have as few as three seniors out. Lanphier only dressed about 30 kids for the Rochester game last year, which is way too low for a 5A school. Key Game: Week 2 at home against East Peoria. This is the Lions best chance to play a competitive game until they face Eisenhower in Week 8.
East Division
1-Rochester (14-0 in 2023, 4A State Champions)
The Rockets return QB Bryan Zulauf, who wasn't expected to play much last year until Parker Gillespie was hurt in the preseason. Zulauf threw for over 2,400 yards and 32 TD's and was very effective in the state championship game. Derek has always got improvement from his multi-year starting QB's (Nic Baker and Clay Bruno in particular). Expect Zulauf to run more this year and to be even more of a play maker. The biggest concerns are the Offensive Line, where only Center Jake Milliron returns, and the Secondary which is mostly new and will be tested early and often by Cardinal Ritter and Chatham. Rochester does have 4 or 5 viable options at running back. Each has some experience and a rotation of at least 2-3 is likely. Three tough games in the first 4 weeks will test the 16 new starters, especially on the defense. Key Game: Week 2 at home against St Louis Cardinal Ritter. The Rockets usually dominate at home, but this will be a huge challenge against a team with loads of D-1 talent.
2-Chatham (8-4 in 2023, made 6A Quarterfinals)
There's excitement in Titan land heading into the season. They return Junior QB Colton Knoedler. I thought the Titans staff waited too long last year to turn him loose and throw more. Having said that, he still threw for almost 2,400 yards and 30 TD's. Chatham also returns his top 4 receiving options. Watch for Junior WR Blake Lehnen to be a matchup nightmare for CS8 defensive coordinators. The Titans did themselves a favor and likely the rest of the CS8 as well by scheduling 7A/8A power Edwardsville Week 1. Expect the Tigers to run right at the Titans defense until they show they can stop it. The defense was undersized last year and will need to improve if Chatham wants to make a deep run in the 6A playoffs. Key Game: Week 4 at home against Rochester. This is the Titans best chance for a win since '19 and both Titan wins over the Rockets have come at home.
3-Normal U High (7-3 in 2023, made 4A playoffs)
U High was the surprise of the CS8 last year, going from 3 to 7 wins. The Pioneers did fade a bit near the end of the season with shutout losses to both Chatham and Coal City in the first round of the playoffs. They likely return the most starters (18) of any CS8 school and have Alek Weiland back at QB. He threw for almost 1,800 yards as a Junior. Can the Pioneers take the next step and compete well with Chatham and Rochester in '24? Key Game: Week 2 at Bloomington. This is a nice non-conference opponent for U High and a win over a 6A playoff team from '23 would be another positive for the program.
4-Decatur MacArthur (6-4 in 2023, made 5A playoffs)
Mac started out 1-3 last year and then won 5 in a row heading into the playoffs. Losing elite Sophomore RB Myson Johnson Cook, who has moved to Texas, is a huge blow. The Generals also have to replace QB Cameron France who was impressive in big games against Rochester, Chatham, and SHG last year. Even with these losses, they have a reasonable chance at 5 wins. Key Game: Week 3 at U High. Mac lost at U High 28-14 last year in what I viewed at the time as an upset. They may need an upset of U High in this game to get to 5 wins.
5-Lincoln (5-5 in 2023, made 4A playoffs)
Lincoln came back into the CS8 last year from the Apollo Conference and made the playoffs for the first time since 1984. They did have a favorable schedule, with their 5 '23 victories coming against teams that combined for only 9 wins. They have some size returning and making the playoffs created some enthusiasm at what is known as a Basketball school. However, the Railers lost their main offensive weapons to graduation. The Carson twins, who played both RB and WR, accounted for over 25 TD's last year and will be hard to replace. Key Game: Week 8 at Quincy Notre Dame. This is a must win for the Railers if they want to make the playoffs again.
6-Decatur Eisenhower (1-8 in 2023, 5A team last in playoffs in 2016)
Eisenhower was very young last year. They were running clocked in all but one of their losses and got their only win against 0-9 Lanphier. If they are able to retain most of the young players who were thrown into varsity play last year, they could be more competitive. Hard to know at this time as it's always difficult to get info on the Decatur schools. Key Game: Week 1 at Streator. This is a great chance to be competitive and possibly pull off an upset against a 2-7 team to start the season.
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