A thread to talk about 618(southern Illinois) teams.
Mt. Vernon(4-1) looks to go from worst to first
The return of Dan Mings to the Mt. Vernon Rams continues to look even more impressive. His Rams knocked off South Seven favorite Marion last week in 32-20 fashion. Two touchdowns, a field goal and an onside kick in the second quarter pushed the upstart Rams ahead 22-12 and they never trailed again. Very impressive for a team that didn't win a game last year.
If anyone can upset Mt. Vernon in the remainder of conference play, I would probably take Centralia or Cahokia. The Orphans(Centralia) are off to a 2-0 start in S7 play. They also had a big(although ill-fated) halftime lead over a Mascoutah squad that gave Mt. Vernon their lone loss.
Cahokia certainly has stand out athletes that give them a chance, but I'm not sure if that helps much with the old school offense the Rams run.
Are Mt. Vernon a playoff favorite? No, but given how weak 5A is, I would keep an eye on a team that knows how to pound the rock and isn't afraid to make a risky decision. Especially if they can make some team sit on a bus for hours down to them.
Other South Seven scores: Centralia(4-1) 16-7 Althoff(2-3) and Cahokia(2-3) 46-6 Carbondale(1-4)
Highland(4-1) can score.....35 on anybody?
Big rivalry game last week for the Bulldogs and they showed out for a 35-0 victory. Even some of the great Highland teams in recent memory haven't been able to do that to Troy Triad. They could run and throw the ball pretty much at will in this one, in large part thanks to some dominating play in the trenches. As high I already was on this team, this win impressed me a lot. I may even call them the favorite in the 5A south bracket.
Here may be the stat of the day: quarterback Brent Wuebbels and running back Travis Porter combined for 291 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Other Mississippi Valley scores: Waterloo(4-1) 40-0 Civic Memorial(1-4) and Mascoutah(4-1) 49-14 Jerseyville(2-3)
East St. Louis(3-2) ends O'Fallon's flawless record
Colt Michael marched his team down the field for an opening drive touchdown to go up 7-0. This lead held through the end of the first in 7-6 fashion. But once East Side decided to blitz the quarterback, pretty much every dropback resulted in a holding call or sack for the Panthers. Which is even more impressive when you consider how elusive Michael can be in the pocket. This defensive effort and 5 touchdowns from Pops Battle would result in a 60-21 win for the visiting Flyers. Dominic Dixon impressed for the East Side defense with 2 sacks, 12 solo tackles, and 5 more assists.
I still feel optimistic for both of these teams as they close out their seasons. The Panthers should roll into the 8A bracket with an 8-1 record and East Side is an obvious favorite in 6A even at what figures to be a 7-2 record.
Other SWC scores: Edwardsville(4-1) 70-0 Belleville West(0-5) and Belleville East(3-2) 33-14 Alton(1-4)
Undefeated 618 teams
4A Carterville, 3A Mt. Carmel(not the Chicago one), 2A Carmi(White County) and 2A Johnston City. No surprise that there aren't many and that they are focused in the smaller classes.
Games to watch Week 6
Friday at 7:00 pm
Mascoutah(4-1) @ Triad(2-3)
-Triad has two games left they should win, but also need to take down Mascoutah or Waterloo to get to 5 wins, so they really need this one. Mascoutah has had their number in the last two meetings though.
Centralia(4-1) @ Cahokia(2-3)
-Winner of this one is the best bet to knock off Mt. Vernon down the stretch. Not sure who to pick here, Massey says Cahokia. If the Comanches lose, they will need to steal a game from O'Fallon in week 9 and take down Mt. Vernon next week to get to 5 wins.
Marion(3-2) @ Althoff(2-3)
-Wildcats should be considered a clear favorite here, but there aren't many games that don't look like running clocks this week.
Mt. Vernon(4-1) looks to go from worst to first
The return of Dan Mings to the Mt. Vernon Rams continues to look even more impressive. His Rams knocked off South Seven favorite Marion last week in 32-20 fashion. Two touchdowns, a field goal and an onside kick in the second quarter pushed the upstart Rams ahead 22-12 and they never trailed again. Very impressive for a team that didn't win a game last year.
If anyone can upset Mt. Vernon in the remainder of conference play, I would probably take Centralia or Cahokia. The Orphans(Centralia) are off to a 2-0 start in S7 play. They also had a big(although ill-fated) halftime lead over a Mascoutah squad that gave Mt. Vernon their lone loss.
Cahokia certainly has stand out athletes that give them a chance, but I'm not sure if that helps much with the old school offense the Rams run.
Are Mt. Vernon a playoff favorite? No, but given how weak 5A is, I would keep an eye on a team that knows how to pound the rock and isn't afraid to make a risky decision. Especially if they can make some team sit on a bus for hours down to them.
Other South Seven scores: Centralia(4-1) 16-7 Althoff(2-3) and Cahokia(2-3) 46-6 Carbondale(1-4)
Highland(4-1) can score.....35 on anybody?
Big rivalry game last week for the Bulldogs and they showed out for a 35-0 victory. Even some of the great Highland teams in recent memory haven't been able to do that to Troy Triad. They could run and throw the ball pretty much at will in this one, in large part thanks to some dominating play in the trenches. As high I already was on this team, this win impressed me a lot. I may even call them the favorite in the 5A south bracket.
Here may be the stat of the day: quarterback Brent Wuebbels and running back Travis Porter combined for 291 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Other Mississippi Valley scores: Waterloo(4-1) 40-0 Civic Memorial(1-4) and Mascoutah(4-1) 49-14 Jerseyville(2-3)
East St. Louis(3-2) ends O'Fallon's flawless record
Colt Michael marched his team down the field for an opening drive touchdown to go up 7-0. This lead held through the end of the first in 7-6 fashion. But once East Side decided to blitz the quarterback, pretty much every dropback resulted in a holding call or sack for the Panthers. Which is even more impressive when you consider how elusive Michael can be in the pocket. This defensive effort and 5 touchdowns from Pops Battle would result in a 60-21 win for the visiting Flyers. Dominic Dixon impressed for the East Side defense with 2 sacks, 12 solo tackles, and 5 more assists.
I still feel optimistic for both of these teams as they close out their seasons. The Panthers should roll into the 8A bracket with an 8-1 record and East Side is an obvious favorite in 6A even at what figures to be a 7-2 record.
Other SWC scores: Edwardsville(4-1) 70-0 Belleville West(0-5) and Belleville East(3-2) 33-14 Alton(1-4)
Undefeated 618 teams
4A Carterville, 3A Mt. Carmel(not the Chicago one), 2A Carmi(White County) and 2A Johnston City. No surprise that there aren't many and that they are focused in the smaller classes.
Games to watch Week 6
Friday at 7:00 pm
Mascoutah(4-1) @ Triad(2-3)
-Triad has two games left they should win, but also need to take down Mascoutah or Waterloo to get to 5 wins, so they really need this one. Mascoutah has had their number in the last two meetings though.
Centralia(4-1) @ Cahokia(2-3)
-Winner of this one is the best bet to knock off Mt. Vernon down the stretch. Not sure who to pick here, Massey says Cahokia. If the Comanches lose, they will need to steal a game from O'Fallon in week 9 and take down Mt. Vernon next week to get to 5 wins.
Marion(3-2) @ Althoff(2-3)
-Wildcats should be considered a clear favorite here, but there aren't many games that don't look like running clocks this week.
