618(Southern Illinois) Preseason Talk

[Formicidae13]

As another season approaches, it seems time to put some thoughts together on some of what the 618 has to offer on the gridiron. Hopefully some others can chime in with more in-depth thoughts on teams they follow.

Southwestern Conference
East St. Louis enters this fall as the favorite once again after a state winning campaign and a dominant 5-0 league record. Last year's team was anchored by an offensive line that quarterbacks/running backs dream of, but that unit has since graduated. But what's more important is what the Flyers return: their top five touchdown scorers who found paydirt a combined 67 times last year. The most important returnee in that group is quarterback Robert 'Pops' Battle who is set to play for Lindenwood at the next level. His upcoming senior campaign will be his fourth year under center. The first three weeks will be a true test for this star-powered squad starting with their season opener against Mount Carmel before hosting Baltimore powerhouse St. Francis and a trip down to Texas. As has been the case for the past several years, East St. Louis figures as 618's best title contender.
Edwardsville has a new sheriff in town as Kelsey Pickering has taken over the head coaching reigns from Matt Martin. Martin's shoes are certainly a challenge to fill, with a resume that includes reaching all 11 postseasons over his tenure and 96 wins. Pickering will have some talent for the transition, starting with SIU commit Jake Curry who will quarterback the Tigers for his third and final season. Iose Epenesa, the younger brother of AJ Epenesa, also returns to the Tiger defensive line as one of the Class of 2025 prospects. Edwardsville seems like the best bet to knock off East St. Louis in the SWC this fall, but even with homefield advantage that will be a tall task. The also seem to be bound for a drop down to 7A this season, which puts a deep run within reach.
O'Fallon had one of the state's most stomach churning ends to their postseason last fall. The Panthers, in pursuit of the first playoff win since 2012, were marching downfield for a game-tying drive against an Edwardsville squad they defeated earlier in the regular season. After the Panthers reached the red zone, an officiating mistake resulted in a dubious "turnover on downs" after only three plays on that set of downs that allowed Edwardsville to run out the clock. This year's O'Fallon team will turn to several new faces after having all but one of their touchdowns last season coming from seniors. On the otherside of the ball, the Panthers will return Drake Mosley, Jordan Suggs and Stephan Tolliver who finished second, third and fourth on the team in tackles last fall. With a pretty easy path to 5+ wins, people should expect to see O'Fallon in the postseason again. Their week four hosting of Edwardsville is already a strong contender for game of the year in the Southwestern Conference and one that easily could decide who takes second place.
Belleville East finished fourth in the conference last year and would have finished third if they successfully converted a two-point conversion during their 28-27 overtime loss to Edwardsville. The Lancers did reach the postseason last year at 5-4 before a first-round exit to South Elgin. Looking at their schedule this year, they should be near the 5 win mark again. Their first two matchups, Collinsville and Pekin, will be vital to their playoff aspirations. Running back Markevious Curiton figures as a feature player for Belleville East after a junior campaign that saw him lead the Lancers in touchdown and finish second in total yardage. If there is any SWC team that can take a game from the trio of ESTL, Eville and O'Fallon, it would be this team.
Alton has done one thing well the last two years: defeat Belleville West. Their wins over the Maroons the past two seasons have kept them out of last place in the league and have stood as their only victories overall. Antoine Phillips led the Redbirds with 52 tackles during their last campaign and racked up 6 takeaways.
Belleville West has gone 0-18 since their last victory on April 23, 2021, but the Maroons received a nice boost this summer with the hiring of head coach Ken Turner. Coach Turner comes by way of St. Mary's in Missouri, where he led the Dragons to state championships over the course of their last two seasons. His offensive prowess will be reinforced by returning quarterback Landon McDonald, plus Jahkori Adams and Exavier Zeilman who tallied 5 of the team's 7 touchdowns last fall.

 

[Formicidae13]

Mississippi Valley Conference

Highland seemed primed for a deep run through 5A last season, finishing the regular season 8-1 and their only blemish coming in a 31-28 final to Edwardsville. They cruised through conference play after hitting 4/5 leaguemates with running clocks and the only exception was a 35-0 win. Come the second round, they drew a Mascoutah team they crushed 56-0 during their previous league matchup but were eliminated in a jaw-dropping 55-42 final. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they lose virtually all of their starters from that 9-2 campaign to graduation. Their top 6 touchdown scorers from last year, who tallied an astounding 59 scores, are all gone. Highland will also be tasked with replacing a four-year starter under center. This team does return Ethan Greenwald and Dylan Beadle however, who were the Bulldog's top two tacklers last season by a far margin. Even with their lack of experienced starters, Highland should still be expected to playoff qualify once again. Under Coach Warnecke, the Bulldogs haven't missed the postseason since his debut season in 2011. I see them as one of the MVC's frontrunners at the moment, but having to travel to both Mascoutah and Troy adds an extra challenge. Highland has finished at least tied for second in the MVC for 7 of the last 8 seasons.
Triad is the most intriguing team in the conference this fall, largely due to 25 year Coach Bassler stepping down. His largely triple option based offense led to 17 playoff appearances, but their new leader, Coach Potthast, has indicated the Knights will employ a more modern offense. Triad finished 7-3 last year and second in the conference with a first-round exit against Centralia. The Knights, like Highland, have finished at least tied for second in the MVC for 7 of the last 8 seasons and I see them continuing that trend. Their path to 5+ wins is very manageable and I see their games with Mascoutah and Highland as their key measuring sticks.
Mascoutah finished fourth in the conference last week with losses to Highland, Triad and Waterloo but won the biggest MVC game of the year in their aforementioned postseason upset of Highland to reach the quarterfinal round. Somehow, someway the Indians always seem to kick it up during the postseason(note that they tied for third in the conference before their run to the semifinals in 2019.) Like the rest of the conference, graduation hit Mascoutah hard and will leave them with lots of starting roles to fill. Apparently they've had a quarterback transfer in, so that slot should be strong again. Also in the favor of Mascoutah is they will have the benefit of one of the area's best homefield advantages for their four toughest games, including conference tests against Highland and Triad.
Waterloo put themselves on the map last year with their well-known postseason game where they nearly took down 4A state champs SHG. The week prior they smashed Olney 76-28 for their first playoff win in 20 years. Can they continue their upward trajectory? To do so, they will need to replace a very talented senior class that included multi-year staring quarterback Aidan Morrow and RB/LB Evan Davis who led the team in touchdowns, rushing yards and receiving yards. Their top returner is Koby Osterhage who served as the second option in the backfield with Davis to the effect of 14 touchdowns and 1070 yards, while also finishing second on the team in tackles. Waterloo's schedule holds no punches early, with what I see as 5 of their 6 toughest games in the first 5 weeks. If they make it to 5 wins, they will certainly be battle tested and some momentum in their corner.
Jerseyville was the MVC's last holdout with a grass field, but they will begin their turf era this fall. The Panthers finished 4-5 last year and I anticipate them hovering around that mark again this time out. According the computer rankings, they figure as favorites week 1-4 and underdogs 5-8, so their week 9 game with Columbia may very well hold the key to returning to the postseason. The Panthers do return their starting quarterback Easton Heafner, unlike the top four MVC teams from last year.
Civic Memorial started last season 1-0 before dropping 8 straight. The Eagles also only scored three touchdowns across their final 8 games. Yet, Civic Memorial is only two years removed from a second-round playoff run. Their schedule has four winnable non-conference games, but they will still need to take an MVC game on top of that to return to the postseason.

 

[Formicidae13]

South Seven

Mt. Vernon is coming off of their best season in a long time with the return of Coach Mings. The Rams would have finished the regular season 7-2, but two forfeit losses dropped them to 5-4. Those losses dropped them in playoff seeding, matching them up with a state-ranked Kankakee squad that defeated them 16-14. I've heard they return a lot of seniors, but no matter what expect a very ground based offense and some special teams trickery.
Marion is in the same boat as Edwardsville and Triad this year after losing a long-time head coach. In their case, the lose 21 year veteran Kerry Martin who finished his career with 17 consecutive playoff appearances. It's a lot harder to find information on South Seven rosters, but Marion still feels like a very safe pick to make the postseason again and be a factor in the S7 title race.
Cahokia ended last year 4-5 with five losses to pretty quality teams. They have a similar schedule again this fall, but five wins is certainly a possibility.
Carbondale finished at the bottom of the conference last year, only winning one conference game and two games overall. The Terriers will benefit from quarterback Brock Bowlby taking snaps under center for another season.
Centralia rolled into the second round of the postseason last year as part of a 6-5 campaign. The Orphans do lose a lot of key pieces from last year's squad, so they will need some new faces to step up to return to the postseason.

Other Notables

Collinsville ended a 100+ year drought last fall by securing their first playoff win in program history and finished their season with 9 victories. Quarterback Ethan Bagwell will look to give the Kahoks another playoff win after totaling 19 touchdowns, 1285 air yards and 654 yards on the ground as a junior. Collinsville should certainly return to the postseason with a schedule that only features two teams above 5A.

Althoff departed the South Seven for the Gateway Metro Conference, where Marquette is the only other football playing school. The Crusaders have had several transfers in this offseason and pose a huge threat if they reach the postseason again in 2A. Their path to five wins may present a bit of a challenge however, so they will need to play with more consistently than last season.

 

[rocketnation]

Appreciate all the info, you covered a lot of ground here. Carterville won 2 playoff games last season and competed with Rochester in the 4A quarterfinals after a rough start. I saw them again at the Chatham 7 on 7 this summer. Even though they had to replace a very productive senior class from last season, they showed well in Chatham. I wouldn't be surprised if they are in the Top 10 in 4A again this year. Their schedule could hurt them a bit as they play a mix of 2A-4A schools.

 

[crusader_of_90]

This is wonderful stuff! Thank you.

 

[dcaudle68]

Thaks for the write ups, glad you are posting on this forum.

 

[EdgyTim]

South Seven

Mt. Vernon is coming off of their best season in a long time with the return of Coach Mings. The Rams would have finished the regular season 7-2, but two forfeit losses dropped them to 5-4. Those losses dropped them in playoff seeding, matching them up with a state-ranked Kankakee squad that defeated them 16-14. I've heard they return a lot of seniors, but no matter what expect a very ground based offense and some special teams trickery.
Marion is in the same boat as Edwardsville and Triad this year after losing a long-time head coach. In their case, the lose 21 year veteran Kerry Martin who finished his career with 17 consecutive playoff appearances. It's a lot harder to find information on South Seven rosters, but Marion still feels like a very safe pick to make the postseason again and be a factor in the S7 title race.
Cahokia ended last year 4-5 with five losses to pretty quality teams. They have a similar schedule again this fall, but five wins is certainly a possibility.
Carbondale finished at the bottom of the conference last year, only winning one conference game and two games overall. The Terriers will benefit from quarterback Brock Bowlby taking snaps under center for another season.
Centralia rolled into the second round of the postseason last year as part of a 6-5 campaign. The Orphans do lose a lot of key pieces from last year's squad, so they will need some new faces to step up to return to the postseason.

Other Notables

Collinsville ended a 100+ year drought last fall by securing their first playoff win in program history and finished their season with 9 victories. Quarterback Ethan Bagwell will look to give the Kahoks another playoff win after totaling 19 touchdowns, 1285 air yards and 654 yards on the ground as a junior. Collinsville should certainly return to the postseason with a schedule that only features two teams above 5A.

Althoff departed the South Seven for the Gateway Metro Conference, where Marquette is the only other football playing school. The Crusaders have had several transfers in this offseason and pose a huge threat if they reach the postseason again in 2A. Their path to five wins may present a bit of a challenge however, so they will need to play with more consistently than last season.

Great work!

 

[Formicidae13]

This is wonderful stuff! Thank you.

Appreciate all the info, you covered a lot of ground here. Carterville won 2 playoff games last season and competed with Rochester in the 4A quarterfinals after a rough start. I saw them again at the Chatham 7 on 7 this summer. Even though they had to replace a very productive senior class from last season, they showed well in Chatham. I wouldn't be surprised if they are in the Top 10 in 4A again this year. Their schedule could hurt them a bit as they play a mix of 2A-4A schools.

The Lions certainly are at a disadvantage with how far south they are when it comes to scheduling bigger schools. I’m interested to see if they can replicate their success again

 

[DazeWork]

On the South 7: Noticed Granite City / Collinsville scheduled the conference this year. Are they officially in &/or is this the plan?
Was wondering on playoffs, they’re at 5 teams without Althoff.

 

[Formicidae13]

On the South 7: Noticed Granite City / Collinsville scheduled the conference this year. Are they officially in &/or is this the plan?
Was wondering on playoffs, they’re at 5 teams without Althoff.

Good question that I forgot to address. Collinsville/Granite are in on a trial basis for the this year and next, after which the S7 will vote on whether to have them join.
Here’s an article on the subject: https://thesouthern.com/sports/prep...cle_e22a53bd-4403-5a79-acc2-b6b7050286bf.html

 

[jha618]

Good question that I forgot to address. Collinsville/Granite are in on a trial basis for the this year and next, after which the S7 will vote on whether to have them join.
Here’s an article on the subject: https://thesouthern.com/sports/prep...cle_e22a53bd-4403-5a79-acc2-b6b7050286bf.html

I hope the S7 unanimously votes to keep Collinsville out of the conference

 

[crusader_of_90]

Cville starting to get a chub for football - more than 100 kids out in their program.

 

[playboymixx]

I hope the S7 unanimously votes to keep Collinsville out of the conference

Why?

 

[jha618]

Why?

I just really dislike the motivation for what Collinsville did in leaving the conf in only football. ESL isnt leaving the conference in baseball when Collinsville beats them 17-0 every year.

 

[crusader_of_90]

Don Stovall is trying but that baseball program has really fallen off. Used to be darned good.

 

[jha618]

Don Stovall is trying but that baseball program has really fallen off. Used to be darned good.

I am still amazed that at his age he would be out there catching double headers!

 

[crusader_of_90]

Black don't crack - he and Darond look great!

Darond was the best athlete I ever played with and was the most respected guy in school. From the locker room to the band room, he was universally loved by all.

 

[playboymixx]

I just really dislike the motivation for what Collinsville did in leaving the conf in only football. ESL isnt leaving the conference in baseball when Collinsville beats them 17-0 every year.

I hear you, but it sounds like leaving the SW Conference is starting to work out for them. They’ve been getting better and joining the S7 may help even more in that regard. Can’t be mad at that.

 

[jha618]

I hear you, but it sounds like leaving the SW Conference is starting to work out for them. They’ve been getting better and joining the S7 may help even more in that regard. Can’t be mad at that.

They aren't getting better. They are just playing worse opponents. They are a borderline 8a school with 1900 kids. They shouldnt be scheduling Marquette and Mattoon who may have 1100 kids combined.

 

[dcaudle68]

They aren't getting better. They are just playing worse opponents. They are a borderline 8a school with 1900 kids. They should be scheduling Marquette and Mattoon who may have 1100 kids combined.

I was getting ready to say this. They aren't better, just playing 3A-6A schools as a much bigger school.

 

[playboymixx]

They aren't getting better. They are just playing worse opponents. They are a borderline 8a school with 1900 kids. They shouldnt be scheduling Marquette and Mattoon who may have 1100 kids combined.

Nah, they're getting better. They certainly have a weak schedule, but it's slowly but surely working for them. They won their first play off game ever last year and having had a successful season is helping to create a larger turn out with more kids wanting to play football. Only winning a couple of games each year and getting blown out on a regular basis wasn't exactly inspiring kids to want to play for the program, regardless of enrollment. Obviously at some point down the line they'll need to up their competition level if they want to continue to improve the program, but I think that leaving the conference was a kind of restart that they probably needed.

 

[jha618]

Nah, they're getting better. They certainly have a weak schedule, but it's slowly but surely working for them. They won their first play off game ever last year and having had a successful season is helping to create a larger turn out with more kids wanting to play football. Only winning a couple of games each year and getting blown out on a regular basis wasn't exactly inspiring kids to want to play for the program, regardless of enrollment. Obviously at some point down the line they'll need to up their competition level if they want to continue to improve the program, but I think that leaving the conference was a kind of restart that they probably needed.

I get that, but imo it goes against the competitive nature and spirit of hs sports. I can't throw much appreciation towards collinsville in the way they went about "improving" the fb program by way of beating up on smaller schools. Belleville east was awful a few years ago, but they didnt duck anyone during that time. They nearly beat eville and made the 8a playoffs last year. Should every athletic program that's not so good leave their conf to go "reset" vs inferior competition?

 

[playboymixx]

I get that, but imo it goes against the competitive nature and spirit of hs sports. I can't throw much appreciation towards collinsville in the way they went about "improving" the fb program by way of beating up on smaller schools. Belleville east was awful a few years ago, but they didnt duck anyone during that time. They nearly beat eville and made the 8a playoffs last year. Should every athletic program that's not so good leave their conf to go "reset" vs inferior competition?

I really don't think that Collinsville is the bully that you're making them out to be. They only began to beat those smaller schools that you're speaking of in the last couple of seasons. Prior to that, those same small schools were beating Collinsville. And as far as your question about whether or not every program should leave their conference, I don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Things are far more nuanced than that and what works for some, doesn't always work for others and vice versa. The moves that Collinsville have made have given them some positive results and I just can't be mad at that, especially when they haven't bent or broken any rules to give themselves unfair advantages. I understand that you dislike it, but I think that we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[jha618]

I really don't think that Collinsville is the bully that you're making them out to be. They only began to beat those smaller schools that you're speaking of in the last couple of seasons. Prior to that, those same small schools were beating Collinsville. And as far as your question about whether or not every program should leave their conference, I don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Things are far more nuanced than that and what works for some, doesn't always work for others and vice versa. The moves that Collinsville have made have given them some positive results and I just can't be mad at that, especially when they haven't bent or broken any rules to give themselves unfair advantages. I understand that you dislike it, but I think that we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Are there other examples of a school doing anything similar to collinsville...ie being a below average 7a/8a team then voluntarily leaving their conf to schedule 2a sized schools? Look how bad east has been and belleville west currently. They arent taking the easy route and dodging esl, eville, etc.

Im sure collinsville is achieving their desired outcome with what is happening on the fb field, but going about it the way they did isnt commendable. What they did isnt technically cheating, but the ihsa class structure is setup in a way to eliminate a competitive advantage larger schools have over smaller ones and collinsville intentionally circumvented that. I dont think that should be applauded.

 

[dcaudle68]

Are there other examples of a school doing anything similar to collinsville...ie being a below average 7a/8a team then voluntarily leaving their conf to schedule 2a sized schools? Look how bad east has been and belleville west currently. They arent taking the easy route and dodging esl, eville, etc.

Im sure collinsville is achieving their desired outcome with what is happening on the fb field, but going about it the way they did isnt commendable. What they did isnt technically cheating, but the ihsa class structure is setup in a way to eliminate a competitive advantage larger schools have over smaller ones and collinsville intentionally circumvented that. I dont think that should be applauded.

What Collinsville is doing is no different than a 4A basketball team playing 2A schools all year. Of course, there record is going to look good. Look who is on their schedule. Collinsville is 1900 kids. They kept the other 2 SWC doormats, Granite City and Belleville East. And play Centralia 5A, Carbondale 5A, Mt Vernon 5A, Althoff 1 or 2A, Marion 5A, Cahokia 4A, Triad 5A. This is akin to a Major league team playing their double A affiliate rather than other major league teams. Collinsville is 7A and double the size of everyone on the schedule except for Granite City, and Belleville East. 2 years ago, they went 8-1 and lost the first playoff game to a 5-4 team than promptly got routed in the second round. Last year at 8-1 again they squeaked by a 5-4 team 14-12 and then got stomped by a team that then got stomped in the following round. Anyone that thinks they are having a breakthrough other than numbers is delusional. Let's face it, with 1900 kids, there is no excuse not to have good numbers.

 

[playboymixx]

What Collinsville is doing is no different than a 4A basketball team playing 2A schools all year. Of course, their record is going to look good. Look who is on their schedule. Collinsville is 1900 kids. They kept the other 2 SWC doormats, Granite City and Belleville East. And play Centralia 5A, Carbondale 5A, Mt Vernon 5A, Althoff 1 or 2A, Marion 5A, Cahokia 4A, Triad 5A. This is akin to a Major league team playing their double A affiliate rather than other major league teams. Collinsville is 7A and double the size of everyone on the schedule except for Granite City, and Belleville East. 2 years ago, they went 8-1 and lost the first playoff game to a 5-4 team than promptly got routed in the second round. Last year at 8-1 again they squeaked by a 5-4 team 14-12 and then got stomped by a team that then got stomped in the following round. Anyone that thinks they are having a breakthrough other than numbers is delusional. Let's face it, with 1900 kids, there is no excuse not to have good numbers.

What Collinsville is doing is no different than a 4A basketball team playing 2A schools all year. Of course, there record is going to look good. Look who is on their schedule. Collinsville is 1900 kids. They kept the other 2 SWC doormats, Granite City and Belleville East. And play Centralia 5A, Carbondale 5A, Mt Vernon 5A, Althoff 1 or 2A, Marion 5A, Cahokia 4A, Triad 5A. This is akin to a Major league team playing their double A affiliate rather than other major league teams. Collinsville is 7A and double the size of everyone on the schedule except for Granite City, and Belleville East. 2 years ago, they went 8-1 and lost the first playoff game to a 5-4 team than promptly got routed in the second round. Last year at 8-1 again they squeaked by a 5-4 team 14-12 and then got stomped by a team that then got stomped in the following round. Anyone that thinks they are having a breakthrough other than numbers is delusional. Let's face it, with 1900 kids, there is no excuse not to have good numbers.

For one, I didn’t say that Collinsville was having a “breakthrough.” I said that the program is getting better. That doesn’t mean that they’re great or even good. It means that they’re improving. Again, last year they won the very first playoff game in the entire history of their program. Anyone who doesn’t see that as at least a slight improvement is “delusional.”

 

[paulie23]

no Ethan Bagwell for collinsville is a major update for this season

 

[Formicidae13]

no Ethan Bagwell for collinsville is a major update for this season

It's an understandable move(he already has a baseball commitment with Mizzou), but the Kahoks will certainly miss him.

Next man up Darren Pennell finished with 454 yards at WR and 5 interceptions at DB last year, so the varsity experience is certainly there. His first game at quarterback was solid, going 11/21 for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns passing with 86 more yards on the ground.

 

[MalleusMaleficarum]

no Ethan Bagwell for collinsville is a major update for this season

Is he related to Buff Bagwell?