All Friday night contests with one CS8 vs Big 12 matchup. Lincoln looks to even the CS8/Big 12 series at 3-3 against Peoria Manual.
Lanphier (0-3) at Eisenhower (0-3)
Last year, Lanphier got its lone win of the season by beating Eisenhower at home 30-18 in Week 7. After 3 weeks, the two teams have combined to score 34 points, while giving up 328. I am taking Eisenhower because they are playing at home and have been slightly better on defense. Eisenhower 18 Lanphier 14
Southeast (0-3) at SHG (2-1)
SHG got a very nice road win last week beating Jacksonville 51-10. They are developing on both sides of the ball, especially at RB where their featured back scored 5 TD's against the Crimsons. Southeast has not traditionally been competitive against the Cyclones. A positive for the Spartans was scoring 26 against U High last week. The defense has given up more than 40 points in two of three weeks. SHG should win by a running clock. SHG 54 Southeast 6
Peoria Manual (0-3) at Lincoln (2-1)
After easily beating the bottom two teams in the CS8, Lincoln came back to earth last week, losing to Springfield 29-12. Manual is 0-3 but was somewhat competitive in losses against Peoria Notre Dame and Champaign Centennial. This is a must win for Lincoln in their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 1984. So far, they have relied on the Carson twins at RB for most of their offense. This could be a chance to show more of a balanced attack. I think Manual makes this fairly close but that the Railers go to 3-1. Lincoln 29 Manual 16
Jacksonville (2-1) at Rochester (3-0)
After a come from behind last second win against MacArthur in Week 2, Jacksonville lost their QB to injury early last week against SHG and then got running clocked 51-10. They still have the returning CS8 rushing leader in Cam'Ron Mitchell. He scored the sole Crimson TD last week on a kickoff return. Rochester gave up a kickoff TD to MacArthur last week. The Rockets need to clean up some sloppiness on offense, where they had too many drive killing penalties in the first half against Mac. In the second half, they were able to score quickly, mostly on long pass plays. QB Bryan Zulauf has been improved each week, and he has multiple receiving options. Rochester 49 Jacksonville 7
Chatham (3-0) at Springfield (1-2)
Both teams start Sophomores at QB. Chatham won 48-14 in Week 7 last year. They have back-to-back shutouts over Lanphier and Eisenhower. The Titans have scored 149 points and only given up 12, but their opponents through three weeks have a combined record of only 1-8. They have a big offensive line and alternate 2 RB's. Chatham will rely on the running attack as long as it is having success. Against Danville, I did not see a single starter on the Titan defense weighing more than 200 pounds (they do, however, rotate in quite a few players). They are aggressive and pursue well, but I wonder how they will do against a big offensive line with powerful runners (MacArthur-Week 5). Springfield got a must win last week against Lincoln after starting out 0-2. The defense really stepped up and held the Railers offense to a single score. The offense bounced back from a rough game against Rochester and scored a season high 29 points using a balanced attack. Can they build on last week's performance against a better team and get another big win? The Senators have a chance to pull off the upset, particularly if they avoid a slow start. I think this is a one-score game, but the Titans hang on. Chatham 30 Springfield 24
MacArthur (1-2) at U High (2-1)
Last year, MacArthur won in Week 7 14-9 by stopping U High at the goal line late in the game. Mac has big play capability, with their QB, special teams, and particularly the Freshman RB Johnson-Cook. Rochester bottled up Johnson-Cook most of last week. The one time he got loose, Johnson-Cook turned on the speed and scored from over 60 yards out. U High has shown improvement from last season and played well over the first three games. They don't have the weapons on offense that Mac does but are still scoring about 30 points a game. This outcome should be decided by the defenses. U High has been better than last year so far. They gave up 35 points in a Week 2 loss to SHG but were not blown out. Southeast scored 26 last week, but all but one TD was in the 4th Quarter after U High had built a 4-score lead. Mac has surrendered 35 and 49 points the last two weeks. Their defense is not at the level as some of the better recent General teams. In the search for 5 wins, Mac needs this game more than U High. Johnson-Cook is a difference maker. The Generals should win a close one. Mac 34 U High 26
