618 Talk: MVC Shocks the State

[Formicidae13]

A weekly thread to talk about 618(southern Illinois) teams.

I went 9-1 last week, I think everyone else missed that 1(Mascoutah over Highland). I nearly missed another huge upset with SHG @ Waterloo(more on that after this week's games)

6A: #7 Crete Monee(9-2) @ #6 East St. Louis(9-2)
Saturday at 2:00
The Flyers will soar into this one fresh off a 40-0 decision over Normal West(who had given up 18 points all year outside of mighty Richmond-Burton). Crete looks like another impressive team that will try to slay Goliath. The Warrior have an effective looking offense, a must if you want to score on this Flyers defense. I still like the Flyers however, who have outscored Illinois opponents 270-7 when at home this year.

5A: #3 Peoria(10-1) @ #7 Mascoutah(7-3)
Saturday at 2:00
Mascoutah surprised everyone last week after reversing a 56-0 loss into a 55-42 win over conference foe Highland.
Was it because of a bunch of injuries? No, both teams had their main core in both games
Was it with trick plays? Mascoutah scored on a trick play one time.
So how did they do it? The Indians offense was almost exclusively focused around their two best playmakers: Quincy Hall and Allen Middelton. Middelton, an SIUC commit, was used several times from the wildcat. He used these extra touches to finish with 194 yards on the ground, 49 yards passing, and 85 caught yards. He finished with 4 touchdowns(counting a throw) and 3 of them came from 49 yards+.
McKendree commit Quincy Hall also had a career day in the upset of the year. Hall finished with 210 yard and 3 touchdowns off of just 9 offensive touches. Like Middelton, Hall also plays defense and led the team with 11 tackles and closed out the game with a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.

Now, they enter as underdogs again. Peoria loves to put up points, try for onside kicks, and go for two. The Lions were only good at one of those last week, but it was all they needed to win 48-21 over Kankakee. I expect a shootout this week and it may come down to how well Peoria fares on the onside kicks/two point conversions. I'll pick a tough to beat at home Mascoutah team to continue their momentum with another upset.

4A: #4 Rochester(10-1) @ #1 Carterville(11-0)
Saturday at 1:00
Calpreps has the line as Rochester -7, without factoring in Carterville's homefield advantage. That's probably a lot closer than most of the state projects this one to be, given the Rockets pedigree. Rochester had the more impressive regular season schedule, but let's look at what each team has done in the postseason.
Rochester opened with a sloppy half against an underrated Effingham squad, before winning 45-14. They followed that up with a 45-0 trouncing of Breese.
Carterville has not scored as many points, but they have still been highly impressive. In the first round, they sent Geneseo home on a long bus ride with a 36-7 loss. They faced another high pedigree opponent last week, when they shutout Coal City in 22-0 fashion.
So we are left with a defense on a roll against a high scoring offense. Who wins that battle? Probably Rochester, but watch out if the weather turns bad or windy.
I will still take Rochester in this one, but it is worth keeping an eye on.
An interesting note: Rochester has only played on the road once in the last five weeks. A three hour(one way) road trip becomes a little more daunting with that in mind.

2A: #14 Althoff(7-4) @ #2 Johnston City(11-0)
Saturday at 4:00
Why can't Cinderella keep dancing? Althoff, stumbled into the postseason at 5-4 record that included a win by forfeit. But their 4A/5A schedule has paid major dividends as they swing through the 2A bracket. The Crusaders won in round 2 with a 26-14 verdict over Red Bud, who scored on two fourth quarter pick sixes. Althoff had all three of their touchdowns supplied by Jordan Lewis, with two scores coming on defense. He snagged a 27 yard catch for the only offensive score of this game.
Standing in the way of the glass slipper Crusaders is an undefeated Johnston City squad. The Indians have dominated all year, having won all but one game by multiple possessions. They have not been held to less than 28 points this season, finishing with that total twice.
Both Calpreps and Massey have this 618 vs 618 game coming down to a single possession. I think if that comes true, Althoff wins this one. The Crusaders have played 5 games that came down to 6 points or less and have a 4-1 record in them. As aforementioned, Johnston City has only played one game within a possession(a 33-28 win over Sesser-Valier).

 

[Formicidae13]

I may be picking with my heart more than my brain this week, but oh well.
Also, I ran out of time to do it now, but I'll share some thoughts on the SHG @ Waterloo near upset later. They nearly made the Mascoutah upset old news.

 

[MS4EVER]

I may be picking with my heart more than my brain this week, but oh well.
Also, I ran out of time to do it now, but I'll share some thoughts on the SHG @ Waterloo near upset later. They nearly made the Mascoutah upset old news.

Love your insight to southern Illinois football! Great stuff!

 

[Formicidae13]

SHG 28-16 Waterloo

This was nearly one for the history books. Both Calpreps and Massey had SHG favored by 22+ and the Cyclones have been sitting atop the 4A rankings all year long, but they were in serious trouble late.

Waterloo led 3-0 through the first quarter, thanks in large part to their defense getting several stops from their own end of the field. Four times in the first half they earned a turnover on downs inside of their own 30 yard line.
They marched inside the Cyclone 6 yard line late in the half, where they were forced to choose between a field goal or touchdown try with just seconds remaining. They chose the former, allowing kicker Lexi Stephens to push them ahead 6-0.
The second half is when things became even more interesting.
On the first drive of the half, Waterloo chose to go for a fourth and inches on their own 30 yard line. Maybe not such a crazy call when you consider they are all about power running, but the Cyclones stuffed the try.
You might think this is when SHG finally scored, but you'd be wrong. Waterloo's Koby Osterage jumps a screen pass and rumbles down to the SHG 10 yard line, only being caught by the turf monster with an open endzone ahead. Another big stop from the SHG defense only allowed this to be worth 3 points and Waterloo now led 9-0. SHG responded with a kickoff returned for a touchdown, closing the gap to 9-7.
SHG's next possession ended at the Waterloo 31 yard line via a turnover on downs. Waterloo's Bryce Reese scored on a touchdown run the ensuing play and the home side led 16-7 in the final seconds of the third.
A quick scoring drive from the Cyclones closed the gap to 16-14 and Waterloo then embarked on what may have been the deciding drive of the gap. Faced with fourth and about half a yard, they went for it. SHG bursts through the line for the stop and then began to totally take over the game.
SHG scored on their next two drives, giving us our final score of 28-16.

So how did Waterloo make this a game?
The Bulldogs have followed a pretty simple plan all year, play tough defense and run the ball. That formula tends to keep you in games.
The defense kept the Cyclone passing attack under wraps for most of the night, with Lott having to spend a ton of time in the pocket. Only once he began keeping the ball himself did their offense really start to move the ball.
On the other side, it's always tough to totally contain the Waterloo defense because they are killer on counters/misdirections. That provided most of their yardage of the night and senior running back Evan Davis led the way with 181 yards on 32 touts.

I'm sure SHG feels they played far below their level, but I think Waterloo had more of the missed chances in this one. I can't imagine they have been stopped on fourth and less than one this year, but SHG did it to them twice in critical spots. Two kicks from inside the ten is also a killer. The first one would have been a risky play, considering there were only seconds left in the half, but the trip up on the interception lost them 4 points. But they still put up a gutsy performance worth hanging their hat on following their team's first playoff win since 1994 the week prior.

 

[Formicidae13]

Love your insight to southern Illinois football! Great stuff!

Thanks! This board is a unique place with people from all across the state and I think there is something special about getting to read about schools you've never heard of or seen.

 

[rocketnation]

SHG 28-16 Waterloo

This was nearly one for the history books. Both Calpreps and Massey had SHG favored by 22+ and the Cyclones have been sitting atop the 4A rankings all year long, but they were in serious trouble late.

Waterloo led 3-0 through the first quarter, thanks in large part to their defense getting several stops from their own end of the field. Four times in the first half they earned a turnover on downs inside of their own 30 yard line.
They marched inside the Cyclone 6 yard line late in the half, where they were forced to choose between a field goal or touchdown try with just seconds remaining. They chose the former, allowing kicker Lexi Stephens to push them ahead 6-0.
The second half is when things became even more interesting.
On the first drive of the half, Waterloo chose to go for a fourth and inches on their own 30 yard line. Maybe not such a crazy call when you consider they are all about power running, but the Cyclones stuffed the try.
You might think this is when SHG finally scored, but you'd be wrong. Waterloo's Koby Osterage jumps a screen pass and rumbles down to the SHG 10 yard line, only being caught by the turf monster with an open endzone ahead. Another big stop from the SHG defense only allowed this to be worth 3 points and Waterloo now led 9-0. SHG responded with a kickoff returned for a touchdown, closing the gap to 9-7.
SHG's next possession ended at the Waterloo 31 yard line via a turnover on downs. Waterloo's Bryce Reese scored on a touchdown run the ensuing play and the home side led 16-7 in the final seconds of the third.
A quick scoring drive from the Cyclones closed the gap to 16-14 and Waterloo then embarked on what may have been the deciding drive of the gap. Faced with fourth and about half a yard, they went for it. SHG bursts through the line for the stop and then began to totally take over the game.
SHG scored on their next two drives, giving us our final score of 28-16.

So how did Waterloo make this a game?
The Bulldogs have followed a pretty simple plan all year, play tough defense and run the ball. That formula tends to keep you in games.
The defense kept the Cyclone passing attack under wraps for most of the night, with Lott having to spend a ton of time in the pocket. Only once he began keeping the ball himself did their offense really start to move the ball.
On the other side, it's always tough to totally contain the Waterloo defense because they are killer on counters/misdirections. That provided most of their yardage of the night and senior running back Evan Davis led the way with 181 yards on 32 touts.

I'm sure SHG feels they played far below their level, but I think Waterloo had more of the missed chances in this one. I can't imagine they have been stopped on fourth and less than one this year, but SHG did it to them twice in critical spots. Two kicks from inside the ten is also a killer. The first one would have been a risky play, considering there were only seconds left in the half, but the trip up on the interception lost them 4 points. But they still put up a gutsy performance worth hanging their hat on following their team's first playoff win since 1994 the week prior.

Great analysis. Waterloo lost at home to Highland 49-10 in Week 7, with it being 42-0 at half. How they came back and gave SHG their toughest test of the year by far 4 weeks later is beyond me. But that‘s what makes high school sports so exciting. I don’t think another 618 team, Murphysboro, is going to do as well Saturday.

 

[The_Oldfan]

A weekly thread to talk about 618(southern Illinois) teams.

I went 9-1 last week, I think everyone else missed that 1(Mascoutah over Highland). I nearly missed another huge upset with SHG @ Waterloo(more on that after this week's games)

6A: #7 Crete Monee(9-2) @ #6 East St. Louis(9-2)
Saturday at 2:00
The Flyers will soar into this one fresh off a 40-0 decision over Normal West(who had given up 18 points all year outside of mighty Richmond-Burton). Crete looks like another impressive team that will try to slay Goliath. The Warrior have an effective looking offense, a must if you want to score on this Flyers defense. I still like the Flyers however, who have outscored Illinois opponents 270-7 when at home this year.

5A: #3 Peoria(10-1) @ #7 Mascoutah(7-3)
Saturday at 2:00
Mascoutah surprised everyone last week after reversing a 56-0 loss into a 55-42 win over conference foe Highland.
Was it because of a bunch of injuries? No, both teams had their main core in both games
Was it with trick plays? Mascoutah scored on a trick play one time.
So how did they do it? The Indians offense was almost exclusively focused around their two best playmakers: Quincy Hall and Allen Middelton. Middelton, an SIUC commit, was used several times from the wildcat. He used these extra touches to finish with 194 yards on the ground, 49 yards passing, and 85 caught yards. He finished with 4 touchdowns(counting a throw) and 3 of them came from 49 yards+.
McKendree commit Quincy Hall also had a career day in the upset of the year. Hall finished with 210 yard and 3 touchdowns off of just 9 offensive touches. Like Middelton, Hall also plays defense and led the team with 11 tackles and closed out the game with a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.

Now, they enter as underdogs again. Peoria loves to put up points, try for onside kicks, and go for two. The Lions were only good at one of those last week, but it was all they needed to win 48-21 over Kankakee. I expect a shootout this week and it may come down to how well Peoria fares on the onside kicks/two point conversions. I'll pick a tough to beat at home Mascoutah team to continue their momentum with another upset.

4A: #4 Rochester(10-1) @ #1 Carterville(11-0)
Saturday at 1:00
Calpreps has the line as Rochester -7, without factoring in Carterville's homefield advantage. That's probably a lot closer than most of the state projects this one to be, given the Rockets pedigree. Rochester had the more impressive regular season schedule, but let's look at what each team has done in the postseason.
Rochester opened with a sloppy half against an underrated Effingham squad, before winning 45-14. They followed that up with a 45-0 trouncing of Breese.
Carterville has not scored as many points, but they have still been highly impressive. In the first round, they sent Geneseo home on a long bus ride with a 36-7 loss. They faced another high pedigree opponent last week, when they shutout Coal City in 22-0 fashion.
So we are left with a defense on a roll against a high scoring offense. Who wins that battle? Probably Rochester, but watch out if the weather turns bad or windy.
I will still take Rochester in this one, but it is worth keeping an eye on.
An interesting note: Rochester has only played on the road once in the last five weeks. A three hour(one way) road trip becomes a little more daunting with that in mind.

2A: #14 Althoff(7-4) @ #2 Johnston City(11-0)
Saturday at 4:00
Why can't Cinderella keep dancing? Althoff, stumbled into the postseason at 5-4 record that included a win by forfeit. But their 4A/5A schedule has paid major dividends as they swing through the 2A bracket. The Crusaders won in round 2 with a 26-14 verdict over Red Bud, who scored on two fourth quarter pick sixes. Althoff had all three of their touchdowns supplied by Jordan Lewis, with two scores coming on defense. He snagged a 27 yard catch for the only offensive score of this game.
Standing in the way of the glass slipper Crusaders is an undefeated Johnston City squad. The Indians have dominated all year, having won all but one game by multiple possessions. They have not been held to less than 28 points this season, finishing with that total twice.
Both Calpreps and Massey have this 618 vs 618 game coming down to a single possession. I think if that comes true, Althoff wins this one. The Crusaders have played 5 games that came down to 6 points or less and have a 4-1 record in them. As aforementioned, Johnston City has only played one game within a possession(a 33-28 win over Sesser-Valier).

Always well reasoned, though I don't really think I agtee on Mascoutah taking down Peoria. I'd appreciate your take on Murphysboro at SHG. I've been having little success finding much on the Red Devils beyond just scores.

 

[MalleusMaleficarum]

SHG 28-16 Waterloo

This was nearly one for the history books. Both Calpreps and Massey had SHG favored by 22+ and the Cyclones have been sitting atop the 4A rankings all year long, but they were in serious trouble late.

Waterloo led 3-0 through the first quarter, thanks in large part to their defense getting several stops from their own end of the field. Four times in the first half they earned a turnover on downs inside of their own 30 yard line.
They marched inside the Cyclone 6 yard line late in the half, where they were forced to choose between a field goal or touchdown try with just seconds remaining. They chose the former, allowing kicker Lexi Stephens to push them ahead 6-0.
The second half is when things became even more interesting.
On the first drive of the half, Waterloo chose to go for a fourth and inches on their own 30 yard line. Maybe not such a crazy call when you consider they are all about power running, but the Cyclones stuffed the try.
You might think this is when SHG finally scored, but you'd be wrong. Waterloo's Koby Osterage jumps a screen pass and rumbles down to the SHG 10 yard line, only being caught by the turf monster with an open endzone ahead. Another big stop from the SHG defense only allowed this to be worth 3 points and Waterloo now led 9-0. SHG responded with a kickoff returned for a touchdown, closing the gap to 9-7.
SHG's next possession ended at the Waterloo 31 yard line via a turnover on downs. Waterloo's Bryce Reese scored on a touchdown run the ensuing play and the home side led 16-7 in the final seconds of the third.
A quick scoring drive from the Cyclones closed the gap to 16-14 and Waterloo then embarked on what may have been the deciding drive of the gap. Faced with fourth and about half a yard, they went for it. SHG bursts through the line for the stop and then began to totally take over the game.
SHG scored on their next two drives, giving us our final score of 28-16.

So how did Waterloo make this a game?
The Bulldogs have followed a pretty simple plan all year, play tough defense and run the ball. That formula tends to keep you in games.
The defense kept the Cyclone passing attack under wraps for most of the night, with Lott having to spend a ton of time in the pocket. Only once he began keeping the ball himself did their offense really start to move the ball.
On the other side, it's always tough to totally contain the Waterloo defense because they are killer on counters/misdirections. That provided most of their yardage of the night and senior running back Evan Davis led the way with 181 yards on 32 touts.

I'm sure SHG feels they played far below their level, but I think Waterloo had more of the missed chances in this one. I can't imagine they have been stopped on fourth and less than one this year, but SHG did it to them twice in critical spots. Two kicks from inside the ten is also a killer. The first one would have been a risky play, considering there were only seconds left in the half, but the trip up on the interception lost them 4 points. But they still put up a gutsy performance worth hanging their hat on following their team's first playoff win since 1994 the week prior.

In my opinion, the key event in this contest was Osterhage not pick-sixing that interception! While you're only talking 4 more possible points with a TD and point after (instead of the field goal they got), the boost to the already inspired Waterloo squad and fans would have been incalculable. And it would have been yet another pin into the fast-deflating Cyclone balloon. Your correct in pointing out the other field goals they settled for rather than the touchdowns. And no way would I have bet that they wouldn't have gotten at least one first down on the 4th down plays where they were stuffed. You're right - the Missed Chances trophy definitely goes to the Bulldogs in this one.

P.S.: While I still don't have SHG winning the 4A championship, everything eventually working out for them in this one game is eerily similar to some of the breaks they got in their basketball playoff and tournament games on the way to the Class 3A Basketball Championship this past spring. It's still strange to think they actually won that!!!

 

[crusader_of_90]

I may be picking with my heart more than my brain this week, but oh well.
Also, I ran out of time to do it now, but I'll share some thoughts on the SHG @ Waterloo near upset later. They nearly made the Mascoutah upset old news.

 

[Formicidae13]

Always well reasoned, though I don't really think I agtee on Mascoutah taking down Peoria. I'd appreciate your take on Murphysboro at SHG. I've been having little success finding much on the Red Devils beyond just scores.

Murphysboro is a bit out of my realm, but they run a pretty balanced offense from what I have seen. Senior running back Devon Clemons has been the head of their offense so far as he averages over 150 rushing yards a game.
Quarterback Devon Clemons, another senior, has had a very productive year and thrown few interceptions. I found this article about him, he's really had a breakout campaign.

Prep Football | Caldwell quietly builds solid season as Murphysboro QB

"It's my job to keep everyone focused on what we're doing and to encourage my teammates when they need to be lifted up. Staying positive is a big part of

thesouthern.com

Looking at their matchup with SHG, I think the Red Devils the clear underdogs. I don't think their regular season schedule has them as ready as Waterloo and they don't seem to have the size of Waterloo.
Murphysboro does have a recent pedigree of success that bodes well, finishing as runners-up in 2019. That squad had three losses and this year's team only has two so far. But this year's 4A bracket is on a different level than recent years.

 

[MalleusMaleficarum]

View embedded media

Nice run and the excitement is electric. Question: is there an IHSA rule against wrapping up when you try to tackle a runner?