A weekly thread to talk about 618(southern Illinois) teams.
In a not unexpected turn of events, East St. Louis is the only remaining 618 team in the bigger classes. 2A Johnston City is the only other 618 team left and I am not too privy to them, but I'll share some thoughts on their upcoming matchup as well.
#6 East St. Louis(10-2) @ #1 Lemont(12-0) Saturday 2:00
East St. Louis is playing their best ball in the postseason, having outscored opponents 156-0 through three games. Their most recent victory came by a margin of 45-0 over Crete Monee's offensive firepower.
What is most interesting about last week's win is their kicking game. Junior Rico Bond not only went 6-6 on PATs, he also converted a 33 yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Lemont now has the tall task of taking down Achilles with newly acquired ankle armor. Last year, Lemont fell 42-21 in this matchup after scoring twice in the fourth quarter. This should be the Flyers closest postseason battle yet, but they still roll into this one as a pretty big favorite.
#2 Johnston City(12-0) @ #1 St. Teresa(12-0) Saturday 3:00
If there is a team in the state that respects 618 football, it is St. Teresa. The Bulldogs have seen their last two postseasons end in the semifinals against Nashville. They got a break from the 618 in 2018, but still fell to Maroa in the semis.
I think this is the year that they break through their semi-finals curse and 618 struggles. St. Teresa has not played anyone closer than 18 points, going back to an 18-0 week 1 victory over 4A qualifier Effingham. Johnston City just doesn't seem to pop off on paper like their upcoming opponent, so I will pick against them.
Murphysboro, Carterville and Mascoutah all met their demise last week after nice runs through the postseason. The CS8 posters already have done a great job posting about the first two, but I'll share some thoughts on Mascoutah's game.
Peoria 36-21 Mascoutah
The halftime score was 21-14, but the Indians dominated the first 24 minutes of play. They took an early 7-0 lead after recovering an onside kick and using a heavy dose of SIU-bound Allen Middelton from the wildcat.
Peoria attempted their only punt of the game on their opening drive, but it only traveled 10 yards to set Mascoutah up at the Peoria 40 yard line. This drive fizzled out with a turnover on downs at the Lion's 14 yard line.
The Lions responded with a lengthy drive that was topped off by a 68 yard touchdown pass off a simple go route. Peoria failed the two point try to keep the 7-6 Mascoutah lead intact.
Peoria broke from their onside history and kicked the enduing kickoff deep. This ball was muffed however and Peoria would score again, this time off a Malachi Washington touchdown. A successful two point conversion marked their 14th point in just 14 seconds of play.
The story of the second quarter was Zane Timon finding Quincy Hall downfield. This senior duo connected for two touchdown passes to regain the lead at 21-14 for halftime.
As you may have guessed by the final score, this was the story of two halves. The X-factor of the second half was Peoria's decision to run the ball and not let Mascoutah run the ball by putting 8/9 in the box.
The first drive of the second half saw Peoria go for a 4th and 7, 4th and 9, and a 4th and goal from the 2. They converted all three gambles, but still trailed 21-20 after another failed two-point conversion.
Mascoutah tried for a 4th down conversion on their next drive, faced with 7 yards to go from the Peoria 22. This attempt failed and was the turning point of the game in the mind.
The rest of the game was the Malachi Washington show, as he delivered two more touchdowns and plenty of yardage to complete the comeback. Also worth pointing out that he converted a 4th and 2 from inside their own 20 yard line along the way. He is one of the best running backs I've seen and was hunting for contact on every play.
Surprisingly, I don't think the weather had too much of an effect in this one. Mascoutah did a great job clearing off 6 inches of snow fall, so the only element left to deal with was freezing temperatures.
A factor that did seem to matter is how pass interference was called. Some weak flags were thrown for it in the first half, but the officials very much let them play in the second half. Peoria seemed to take advantage of that fact more since their corners were in press all the day with a single safety that played way over the top. Kudos for them for taking advantage, but I hope no semi-final games are called like that.
In a not unexpected turn of events, East St. Louis is the only remaining 618 team in the bigger classes. 2A Johnston City is the only other 618 team left and I am not too privy to them, but I'll share some thoughts on their upcoming matchup as well.
#6 East St. Louis(10-2) @ #1 Lemont(12-0) Saturday 2:00
East St. Louis is playing their best ball in the postseason, having outscored opponents 156-0 through three games. Their most recent victory came by a margin of 45-0 over Crete Monee's offensive firepower.
What is most interesting about last week's win is their kicking game. Junior Rico Bond not only went 6-6 on PATs, he also converted a 33 yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Lemont now has the tall task of taking down Achilles with newly acquired ankle armor. Last year, Lemont fell 42-21 in this matchup after scoring twice in the fourth quarter. This should be the Flyers closest postseason battle yet, but they still roll into this one as a pretty big favorite.
#2 Johnston City(12-0) @ #1 St. Teresa(12-0) Saturday 3:00
If there is a team in the state that respects 618 football, it is St. Teresa. The Bulldogs have seen their last two postseasons end in the semifinals against Nashville. They got a break from the 618 in 2018, but still fell to Maroa in the semis.
I think this is the year that they break through their semi-finals curse and 618 struggles. St. Teresa has not played anyone closer than 18 points, going back to an 18-0 week 1 victory over 4A qualifier Effingham. Johnston City just doesn't seem to pop off on paper like their upcoming opponent, so I will pick against them.
Murphysboro, Carterville and Mascoutah all met their demise last week after nice runs through the postseason. The CS8 posters already have done a great job posting about the first two, but I'll share some thoughts on Mascoutah's game.
Peoria 36-21 Mascoutah
The halftime score was 21-14, but the Indians dominated the first 24 minutes of play. They took an early 7-0 lead after recovering an onside kick and using a heavy dose of SIU-bound Allen Middelton from the wildcat.
Peoria attempted their only punt of the game on their opening drive, but it only traveled 10 yards to set Mascoutah up at the Peoria 40 yard line. This drive fizzled out with a turnover on downs at the Lion's 14 yard line.
The Lions responded with a lengthy drive that was topped off by a 68 yard touchdown pass off a simple go route. Peoria failed the two point try to keep the 7-6 Mascoutah lead intact.
Peoria broke from their onside history and kicked the enduing kickoff deep. This ball was muffed however and Peoria would score again, this time off a Malachi Washington touchdown. A successful two point conversion marked their 14th point in just 14 seconds of play.
The story of the second quarter was Zane Timon finding Quincy Hall downfield. This senior duo connected for two touchdown passes to regain the lead at 21-14 for halftime.
As you may have guessed by the final score, this was the story of two halves. The X-factor of the second half was Peoria's decision to run the ball and not let Mascoutah run the ball by putting 8/9 in the box.
The first drive of the second half saw Peoria go for a 4th and 7, 4th and 9, and a 4th and goal from the 2. They converted all three gambles, but still trailed 21-20 after another failed two-point conversion.
Mascoutah tried for a 4th down conversion on their next drive, faced with 7 yards to go from the Peoria 22. This attempt failed and was the turning point of the game in the mind.
The rest of the game was the Malachi Washington show, as he delivered two more touchdowns and plenty of yardage to complete the comeback. Also worth pointing out that he converted a 4th and 2 from inside their own 20 yard line along the way. He is one of the best running backs I've seen and was hunting for contact on every play.
Surprisingly, I don't think the weather had too much of an effect in this one. Mascoutah did a great job clearing off 6 inches of snow fall, so the only element left to deal with was freezing temperatures.
A factor that did seem to matter is how pass interference was called. Some weak flags were thrown for it in the first half, but the officials very much let them play in the second half. Peoria seemed to take advantage of that fact more since their corners were in press all the day with a single safety that played way over the top. Kudos for them for taking advantage, but I hope no semi-final games are called like that.
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