CS8 Predictions-Week 2

[rocketnation]

Week 2 has three West Division non-conference games, three East Division non-conference games, and three West vs East crossover contests. Southeast vs Lincoln is a Saturday game at Memorial Stadium and there is some question when/where MacArthur vs Springfield will be played due to the status of the General's field renovations. As of now, it's still scheduled for Friday.

Unlike last week, I am picking against Massey several times.

West Division
Richmond Burton (1-0) at Quincy Notre Dame (0-1)
Richmond Burton (RB) beat Woodstock Marian 21-7 in Week 1, while QND trailed only 20-12 at half to 7A power Quincy before losing 40-12. RB won at home last year 25-6. Something tells me to choose QND in an upset. QND 21 Richmond Burton 20. Massey Prediction: RB 36 QND 6.

Mascoutah (0-1) at SHG (0-1)
Mascoutah lost to 7A/8A Belleville West 34-21, while SHG fell to an excellent Christian Brothers (Missouri) 45-0. Mascoutah made the 5A semi-finals in 2019 but was only 2-7 last year. SHG should have a good bounce back week. SHG 38 Mascoutah 13. Massey Prediction: SHG 46 Mascoutah 14.

East Peoria (1-0) at Lanphier (0-1)
East Peoria rallied to beat Southeast 28-26, while Lanphier lost at Lincon 32-0. There were some small victories for the Lions in Week 1 as they avoided a running clock and held the Railers to fewer points than they surrendered in any game in '23. East Peoria 39 Lanphier 6. Massey Prediction: East Peoria 41 Lanphier 20.

East Division
Chatham (0-1) at Bon Terre North County (MO) (1-0)
The Titans battled 8A Edwardsville to the final minute and lost only 14-7 in a game pushed to Saturday by the weather. The high-powered Titans offense could come up with only one score, but the Defense performed well against the Tigers. North County beat a Missouri team that was 6-6 in '23 24-17. They lost to Mt Vernon (IL) 28-14 in '23. The Titans should rebound and score a lot more this week. Chatham 35 North County 14. Massey Prediction: Chatham 40 North County 14.

U High (1-0) at Bloomington (1-0)
U High won 64-28 over Peoria Manual, while Bloomington beat Danville 41-14. Bloomington made the 6A playoffs in '23 but lost badly to both MacArthur in Week 9 and Chatham in Week 10. U High went from 3 wins '22 to 7 last year. This is a statement game for the Pioneers if they hope to move into the top tier of the conference. I think they can do it. U High 35 Bloomington 31. Massey Prediction: Bloomington 36 U High 28.

Cardinal Ritter (MO) (1-0) at Rochester (1-0)
Cardinal Ritter has an Illinois commit at QB, a Nebraska commit at RB, and several dangerous WR's. They have a very balanced offense and crushed a Missouri team that was 10-2 in '23 44-7 last week. Other than SHG, no one has beaten Rochester at home since 2008 (Bloomington Central Catholic). That will certainly be put to the test Friday. Even playing on the road and on grass, Ritter probably has too much speed and talent for the Rockets to prevail. Rochester went on the road Week 1 and defeated 6A Simeon 35-14 in a much better overall effort than the Week 0 scrimmage against Belleville West. I think the Rockets keep it close but struggle to get stops of Ritter's potent offense. Cardinal Ritter 43 Rochester 31. Massey Prediction: Cardinal Ritter 41 Rochester 27.

West vs East
Eisenhower (0-1) at Jacksonville (1-0)
Eisenhower lost at home to Streator 20-12, while the Crimsons struggled to put away 2A Pittsfield on the road 26-14. The Crimson should go to 2-0 but need to perform at a higher level. Jacksonville 34 Eisenhower 6. Massey Prediction: Jacksonville 42 Eisenhower 7.

Springfield (1-0) at MacArthur (1-0)
Both teams won impressively in Week 1. The Senators beat Champaign Central 44-12 at home, while Mac won on the road 47-6 over Mattoon. While this is only Week 2, the winner of this game will have a much easier path to make the playoffs than the loser. The last time these two played at Decatur the game went down to the final play and Mac came out with a 34-28 win in '22. That loss ended up costing the Senators a 5th win and a playoff opportunity. I think QB Brody Scheffler's experience is the difference in a very close game. Springfield 31 MacArthur 27. Massey Prediction: MacArthur 41 Springfield 20.

Lincoln (1-0) at Southeast (0-1) (Game Saturday 1 pm at Memorial Stadium)
Lincoln beat Lanphier 32-0, while Southeast almost got Coach Borders a win in his 1st game losing only 28-26 to East Peoria. The Spartans led 12-0 in the first half before East Peoria rallied. Southeast apparently had penalty issues. Lincoln jumped on Lanphier early and led 26-0 by half. This is potentially a winnable game for Southeast but it's more likely that Lincoln goes to 2-0. Lincoln 30 Southeast 18. Massey Prediction: Lincoln 38 Southeast 19.

 

[RoaminCatholic]

Maaaaan.... rocketnation I hope like the dickens you're right baby!

 

[rocketnation]

Maaaaan.... rocketnation I hope like the dickens you're right baby!

I just have a hunch that QND can do it, but in full disclosure you need to know I picked Rochester over Loyola in the 56-7 '21 rout.

 

[RoaminCatholic]

I just have a hunch that QND can do it, but in full disclosure you need to know I picked Rochester over Loyola in the 56-7 '21 rout.

I mean, we'll give you the exception for the homer pick...

QND definitely can... 1-1 heading into conference would sure go a long way in softening the blow that is jumping into a 5A league. QND at 2-2 heading into week 5 is as ideal as it can get this season. The bonus to this... QND won't see another team as explosive and gifted top to bottom as Quincy High the rest of the year.

Best of luck to the Rockets against Ritter. It'd be a jump to a new level for the Rockets if they were to somehow pull a rabbit out of the hat this week!

 

[rocketnation]

The Channel 1450 picks are in, and they have chosen:
Richmond Burton (2-1)
SHG (2-1)
East Peoria (3-0)
Chatham (3-0)
U High (3-0)
Cardinal Ritter (3-0)
Jacksonville (3-0)
MacArthur (2-1)
Lincoln (3-0)

 

[RoaminCatholic]

The Channel 1450 picks are in, and they have chosen:
Richmond Burton (2-1)
SHG (2-1)
East Peoria (3-0)
Chatham (3-0)
U High (3-0)
Cardinal Ritter (3-0)
Jacksonville (3-0)
MacArthur (2-1)
Lincoln (3-0)

Interesting to say the least, that anyone would take Mascoutah over SHG after SHG took a pummeling in week 1.

Also tough to bet against DL and the Rockets. I'm still holding out for that upset!

Obviously the Bloom/U-High game is going to get the attention in the conference this week, but Lincoln v. SE and more importantly SHS v. Mac are two games I'll definitely be keeping tabs on. I think Mac wins pretty easily over SHS but we've seen crazier stuff. I'm curious how and if the SHS defense can slow the Gens. And, if the Gens defense is really what they seemed in W1. Mattoon wasn't exactly a good program but a shutout in W1 is always an eye opener. We've seen some solid (and underrated) Mac defenses under Spates in recent years. SE/Lincoln I'm just glad it's on a SAT so I can go see the mighty Railsplitters in action finally.

 

[Travelin Fan]

Not bad for my first week prognosticating 9-2, almost hit Quincy/QND on the head, missing it by a total of 2 points.

Richmond-Burton @ QND

R-B opens up with the same two teams from last year looking to duplicate their 2-0 start. You can look at the cup has half full or half empty for QND depending on which half of the game you want to focus on. R-B won by 19 last year. I say they get by with a one possession win this year.

R-B - 28 QND - 21



Mascoutah @ SHG

Last year broke a 4 season streak of playoff qualifying for Mascoutah and I think they’ll have a hill to climb again as I don’t see them getting out of Springfield with a win. SHG will be looking to make a statement. They are young and I don’t know if you can expect them to go from “0 to 60” but the offense will find some rhythm and the game should seem (and be) a lot slower this week.

Mascoutah – 21 SHG – 38



East Peoria @ Lanphier

I’d take Southeast over Lanphier – and East Peoria just got a 2 point win over the Spartans…so Give me East Peoria by a good number.

EP – 34 Lanphier – 14



Chatham @ North County

The only thing I know about North County is what Rocket said in his post. I’m betting in the blind on this one, other than I know Knoedler looked good last week when he threw it and I have to imagine the Titans open up the offense a bit more moving forward.

Chatham – 42 North County – 7



Normal U High @ Bloomington

My CS8 homerism wants me to ride with Normal, and I mean they are coming off putting up 64 and 2 of the TDs they allowed were in the 4th quarter where I imagine backups were in. Admittedly though, in the back of my head is the 44 point shutout that Coal City put on them in the playoffs. Their combined score last year against the three upper half of the CS8 teams they played was 98 points allowed, 31 points scored. However…as Rocket pointed out, Bloomington fared even worse 2 of those teams.

Normal – 38 Bloomington – 31



Cardinal Ritter @ Rochester

Not the first time the Rockets have been told they are facing a team vastly superior in talent, it just usually happens in November. I think the Rocket offense can produce as Coach Leonard has had a lot of time to prep here. In the end I’m not sure the Rocket defense can come up with enough stops.

Ritter – 42 Rochester – 28



Eisenhower @ Jacksonville

Believe Ike had their best shot at a win for a while last week. Jacksonville needs to find more offense and this will be a good week for it.

Eisenhower – 6 Jacksonville – 35

Springfield @ MacArthur

I’m not surprised Mac won, but was surprised by their margin of victory. Same could be said for Springfield. Both of these teams won against 2-7 opponents from a year ago so this week will be a lot more telling for the strength of the programs for this season.

SHS 24 Mac 35

Lincoln @ Southeast

Lincoln once again needs to stack wins early to give themselves a shot at 5 wins for the playoffs. They need to win against Southeast who put up a good showing in a loss to East Peoria because after this the road gets tougher with matchups against Rochester, Normal, MacArthur, and Glenwood with Eisenhower sandwiched in the middle. That’s 3-4 going into the final two weeks of the season needing wins against QND and Jacksonville. Lincoln leans on the running game to salt away a 2 score victory.

Lincoln – 28 Southeast – 14

 

[AlabamaTimberwolf]

Not bad for my first week prognosticating 9-2, almost hit Quincy/QND on the head, missing it by a total of 2 points.

Richmond-Burton @ QND

R-B opens up with the same two teams from last year looking to duplicate their 2-0 start. You can look at the cup has half full or half empty for QND depending on which half of the game you want to focus on. R-B won by 19 last year. I say they get by with a one possession win this year.

R-B - 28 QND - 21



Mascoutah @ SHG

Last year broke a 4 season streak of playoff qualifying for Mascoutah and I think they’ll have a hill to climb again as I don’t see them getting out of Springfield with a win. SHG will be looking to make a statement. They are young and I don’t know if you can expect them to go from “0 to 60” but the offense will find some rhythm and the game should seem (and be) a lot slower this week.

Mascoutah – 21 SHG – 38



East Peoria @ Lanphier

I’d take Southeast over Lanphier – and East Peoria just got a 2 point win over the Spartans…so Give me East Peoria by a good number.

EP – 34 Lanphier – 14



Chatham @ North County

The only thing I know about North County is what Rocket said in his post. I’m betting in the blind on this one, other than I know Knoedler looked good last week when he threw it and I have to imagine the Titans open up the offense a bit more moving forward.

Chatham – 42 North County – 7



Normal U High @ Bloomington

My CS8 homerism wants me to ride with Normal, and I mean they are coming off putting up 64 and 2 of the TDs they allowed were in the 4th quarter where I imagine backups were in. Admittedly though, in the back of my head is the 44 point shutout that Coal City put on them in the playoffs. Their combined score last year against the three upper half of the CS8 teams they played was 98 points allowed, 31 points scored. However…as Rocket pointed out, Bloomington fared even worse 2 of those teams.

Normal – 38 Bloomington – 31



Cardinal Ritter @ Rochester

Not the first time the Rockets have been told they are facing a team vastly superior in talent, it just usually happens in November. I think the Rocket offense can produce as Coach Leonard has had a lot of time to prep here. In the end I’m not sure the Rocket defense can come up with enough stops.

Ritter – 42 Rochester – 28



Eisenhower @ Jacksonville

Believe Ike had their best shot at a win for a while last week. Jacksonville needs to find more offense and this will be a good week for it.

Eisenhower – 6 Jacksonville – 35

Springfield @ MacArthur

I’m not surprised Mac won, but was surprised by their margin of victory. Same could be said for Springfield. Both of these teams won against 2-7 opponents from a year ago so this week will be a lot more telling for the strength of the programs for this season.

SHS 24 Mac 35

Lincoln @ Southeast

Lincoln once again needs to stack wins early to give themselves a shot at 5 wins for the playoffs. They need to win against Southeast who put up a good showing in a loss to East Peoria because after this the road gets tougher with matchups against Rochester, Normal, MacArthur, and Glenwood with Eisenhower sandwiched in the middle. That’s 3-4 going into the final two weeks of the season needing wins against QND and Jacksonville. Lincoln leans on the running game to salt away a 2 score victory.

Lincoln – 28 Southeast – 14

The way Pittsfield played Jax tough leaves me wondering about their "toughness." Ike is still building but I see a very tough game for Jax this week. If they lose this game the playoffs are out of reach with SHG, SHS, Mac, and Lincoln still on the schedule. If I know Mark like I do this week is the super bowl of weeks in practice!

 

[STIX815]

Big Richmond Burton fan here and I had a couple of questions for the folks on this thread that know much more about QND than I do.
1. Does QND broadcast their games? I don't see it scheduled on NFHS yet.
2. Is QND better/worse/same than last year? RB is a little better overall than last year but not as explosive.
3. Who are QNDs best players? What do they do well or not so well?

I'm aware that it's only week 2 and it might be hard to answer some of these questions. Any feedback is much appreciated.
Thanks All!

 

[rocketnation]

RoaminCatholic is the QND expert.

I will say that although QND lost 40-12 to Quincy in Week 1, it was only 20-12 at half. Quincy has a high-powered offense and made it to the 7A quarterfinals last year.

The 2011 state title game between Rochester and Richmond Burton was a very exciting big play pass vs power running contest that wasn't decided until the final play.

 

[RoaminCatholic]

Big Richmond Burton fan here and I had a couple of questions for the folks on this thread that know much more about QND than I do.
1. Does QND broadcast their games? I don't see it scheduled on NFHS yet.
2. Is QND better/worse/same than last year? RB is a little better overall than last year but not as explosive.
3. Who are QNDs best players? What do they do well or not so well?

I'm aware that it's only week 2 and it might be hard to answer some of these questions. Any feedback is much appreciated.
Thanks All!

Hi Stix!

First off, safe travels to and from Quincy for all R-B fans making the trip. Enjoy the new digs, the facility is night and day difference than when I played at 10 and Jackson. Wave to us at the tailgate house or just holler if you want a cold adult bev before you enter the away gate. Parking can be tricky, and please note that 9th Street from Jackson St to Van Buren St (one block) is closed on game days for the tailgate house. There is the main parking lot that's available as well as an overflow (off street) parking in the park directly east of campus off 11th St. Otherwise, it's street parking only along Jackson St (runs east/west) and on 9th, 10th, and 11th Streets (north of Jackson St). Madison School (directly behind the tailgate house at 9th and Van Buren is not available for parking during QND home events.

1. Yes, QND broadcasts ALL games on what they call (as I giggle) Raider Sports Network. Link below. Home games have audio/streaming, away games just radio/audio no streaming. So, for this game there will be streaming with the radio audio available.

https://qndlive.org/

2. QND as a football team is better overall compared to last year. We had a lot of sophs/frosh getting reps a year ago. Our numbers are slightly up in terms of overall number Frosh-Senior. I believe a year ago QND sat at around 38 on the roster, this year listed at 48. QND showed some real fight and potential against QHS last week. Forced a good QB into some out of rhythm throws and flew around to the ball fairly well resulting in 3 total turnovers for the Raider defense (2 INT, 1 FR). Offensively, QND returns the bulk of their weapons, however we lost most of the O-line from a year ago. The offense had some real bright spots in W1 versus QHS. 4 sustained drives, two resulting in scores. QND's kicking game is abysmal this year. 1st season in quite some time that QND hasn't had a solid foot to rely on.

3. QND does have a number of two-way guys this season, as they have a lot in recent years. The two names you'll hear the most are #9 Wyatt Mueller [Senior - FS/OLB/QB/RB/WR] (Illinois State) and #8 Ivan Hun [Senior - RB/MLB] (Offers from Harvard, Yale, Princeton)

 

[CIMRY90]

The 2011 state title game between Rochester and Richmond Burton was a very exciting big play pass vs power running contest that wasn't decided until the final play.

Memory is a little foggy but I believe these teams set a record for passing yards by a team and rushing yards by a team in a championship game. Only to have JCA and Montini next morning say hold my drink in the 5A win by Montini 70 to JCA 45.

There was 3 to 4 plays that stick out in my mind in the Rockets vs. Rockets 4A Championship game.

1. RO was having their way early up 14 to 0 and getting ready to go up 21 to fumble inside the 5. RB was able to right the ship beginning with this recover.
2. On a RO scoring play a personal foul was called on RB. With 15 yards assessed on KO RO went with onside kick which was recovered by RO and stole a possession.
3. On RO last possession the QB tossed an interception in the end zone corner. The DB downed the ball in EZ. Could RB gained better field possession if it had been returned?

 

[STIX815]

Roamin Catholic, THANK YOU!! I really appreciate the great detail you went into here! While i cant make the trip down, I'll pass this information onto the RB faithful.
Looks like RB will have their hands full. RB is YOUNG with about 6-8 sophomores getting considerable playing time. However, the sophomore class is a special class that I think will compete for a 4A (or maybe 3A) state title in 25 and 26. But with any young team, there will be growing pains and I think this will be a really good test for us. You will see the same type of team that you saw last year when we played; physical, disciplined, and well-coached. I think QND will be a little more talented than us, but that doesn't always matter in HS football. Best of luck to both teams competing and hopefully both emerge injury free.

RocketNation, while the 2011 game was an absolute classic, I'm disappointed we didn't get to see the rematch in 2019. RB and Rochester both won state titles in 4A and 5A with dominating performances. I think that game would have been similar to the 2011 game and come down to the last possession.

 

[FB1976]

I just have a hunch that QND can do it, but in full disclosure you need to know I picked Rochester over Loyola in the 56-7 '21 rout.

Ironic...because that Loyola score is my prediction for this Friday for the Rockets: Ritter 56-7. Ritter just manhandled Jackson MO...another team the Rockets would have trouble with...and calpreps shows beating the Rockets.

The Rockets can keep it from being a blowout by playing the game of their lives and hoping the grass slows Ritter down enough.

 

[rocketnation]

Ironic...because that Loyola score is my prediction for this Friday for the Rockets: Ritter 56-7. Ritter just manhandled Jackson MO...another team the Rockets would have trouble with...and calpreps shows beating the Rockets.

The Rockets can keep it from being a blowout by playing the game of their lives and hoping the grass slows Ritter down enough.

View embedded media

Luckily, I was out of state and did not see the Loyola blowout in person. I was at the 2 most lopsided losses suffered in the SHG series: the 56-13 running clock in '14 and the no-TD 45-6 almost running clock in '18. Both those games were at KL stadium. I do think Derek will be able, at home, to engineer several Rocket scores Friday. The defense is another story, guessing the IHSA would not look fondly on the Rockets suiting up Ingold, Lyons, Buecker, etc., for one more game!

 

[rocketnation]

South County News "Mr. Pick'em" Predictions
Richmond Burton 19 QND 14
SHG 28 Mascoutah 7
East Peoria 20 Lanphier 0
Chatham 24 North County 20
Bloomington 17 U High 15
Cardinal Ritter 35 Rochester 28
Jacksonville 30 Eisenhower 13
MacArthur 41 Springfield 27
Lincoln 27 Southeast 14

 

[jthebro2]

I think that U-High understands what’s at stake in this matchup, being their first in-county matchup in almost a decade, the precedent that they can set in the twin cities would be enermous. I like U-High by 14, but Bloomington is also an improved team, so it should be a great game with a massive crowd.

 

[RoaminCatholic]

I think that U-High understands what’s at stake in this matchup, being their first in-county matchup in almost a decade, the precedent that they can set in the twin cities would be enermous. I like U-High by 14, but Bloomington is also an improved team, so it should be a great game with a massive crowd.

Let's go Pioneers!

 

[RoaminCatholic]

From: Upon Sober Reflection (Duerrisms for the Week of September 6th, 2024) By: Christopher Duerr (KHQA Sports Director - Quincy, IL)

6)QND RAIDERS (0-1)

Last Week: 40-12 loss to Quincy High

Up Next: vs Richmond Burton

THE SKINNY: Limiting the discussion to the subset of "good Tri-State teams playing elite foes in Week One" (Hannibal/Monroe City/North Shelby/QND) I would posit that the Raiders not only faced the best of those four opponents but put up the strongest quality opposition relative to their specific Goliath. Again, I think by season's end Ivan Hun topping the century mark against this Blue Devil Defense is going to be a great feather in the hat of both Hun himself and the Raider Offensive Line. There were a few build-forward moments in the Quincy Notre Dame passing game as well. (Not yet enough of them, but you can see the architecture there especially when the Raiders drop down to play like competition.) I am not big on making qualifiers as excuses, but I would emphasize the the greater bulk of the 502 yards of total offense the Raider Defense surrendered here came in the second half....and to one of the biggest offensive juggernauts in the state. With the exception of SHG, not sure you seen anyone again this season get remotely close to posting that kind of productivity at the Raiders expense. QND is another program that doesn't do "moral victories" but I did like that I saw so many Raider players talk about how proud they were of the effort and performance in the wake of that loss. These dudes are smart enough to understand the mission Friday Night wasn't the mission moving forward. Now things get fairer and more interesting. And as Matt Schuckman mentioned in our segment together on Muddy Night Lights Friday, if QND grabs this win Friday over Richmond Burton, the playoff calculus at 10th and Jackson instantly swings to the positive. Arguably the most important game of Week Two here.

This week from the mind of Chris Duerr...

 

[AlabamaTimberwolf]

South County News "Mr. Pick'em" Predictions
Richmond Burton 19 QND 14
SHG 28 Mascoutah 7
East Peoria 20 Lanphier 0
Chatham 24 North County 20
Bloomington 17 U High 15
Cardinal Ritter 35 Rochester 28
Jacksonville 30 Eisenhower 13
MacArthur 41 Springfield 27
Lincoln 27 Southeast 14

Mr M still picking games?

 

[rocketnation]

Mr M still picking games?

Yes.

 

[AlabamaTimberwolf]

Yes.

He's a really good man. Every time he covered Auburn against us I would seek him out.

 

[rocketnation]

SJR Staff Predictions (Minus QND and U High)
SHG 35 Mascoutah 6
East Peoria 26 Lanphier 20
Chatham 28 North County 6
Cardinal Ritter 42 Rochester 31
MacArthur 28 Springfield 27
Jacksonville 27 Eisenhower 13
Lincoln 28 Southeast 14

 

[RoaminCatholic]

QND 14
Richmond Burton 3
6:21 2Q

 

[RoaminCatholic]

R-B forced to punt from their own 40. QND takes over at their own 45.

3:41 2Q

 

[RoaminCatholic]

Ivan Hun QND TD taken off the board. Holding thrown on opposite side tackle. 1st and 19 Raiders. Next play Doellman catch QND inside the 5. 1st and goal Raiders. 2 timeouts for QND. QND runs wide left, nothing and stopped. QND timeout. 22 secs left in half.

 

[RoaminCatholic]

TD Raiders!
Final timeout QND
2pt conv good

QND 22
Richmond Burton 3

Edit: Half

RB ball to start the 2nd half.

 

[RoaminCatholic]

Per AlabamaTimberwolf

Glenwood can't stop the Mo team. 17-13 with the Raiders driving again...

 

[jthebro2]

Last I checked, Bloomington 14 U-high 7 going into half

 

[RoaminCatholic]

QND 22
Richmond Burton 3

End 3Q
R-B 3rd and 7, inside Raider 25

 

[RoaminCatholic]

End 3Q
R-B 3rd and 7, inside Raider 25

QND INT on 1st play of the 4th at the goal line. Returns it back to the Raider 25. QND ball. One good drive could seal it.

 

[RoaminCatholic]

QND 22
R-B 10
Final

Huge win for the program.

 

[rocketnation]

Finals
East Peoria 44 Lanphier 0
Jacksonville 65 Eisenhower 12
SHG 43 Mascoutah 22

QND 22 Richmond Burton 10. Great win for QND over a ranked 4A school, huge help for their playoff chances.

Springfield 21 MacArthur 7. Really solid road win for the Senators. Great job by their defense to hold Mac to one score.

Chatham 35 North County 31. Chatham escapes with a win but has a tougher time than I expected in Missouri.

Bloomington 41 U High 38. Tough loss for the Pioneers. They trailed by 10 late, then scored but apparently ran out of time.

Cardinal Ritter 28 Rochester 10. The injury to Rockets QB Bryan Zulauf is much more of an issue than the loss to an excellent Ritter team. After being injured early in the 2nd Quarter, the Rocket Offense was unable to mount many sustained drives. That left the Defense out on the field far too long, and they eventually wore down against a large and talented Ritter Offense. However, the Defense fought hard, forced three turnovers, and never quit. Depending on the severity of Zulauf's injury, there could be major personnel changes by next week's game at Lincoln. If Tanner Beal is the new QB going forward, I don't think you can keep him full-time also at DB. Switching to Eli Carlson is possible as well but he also plays full-time at DB/LB.

 

[cornerrat]

Finals
East Peoria 44 Lanphier 0
Jacksonville 65 Eisenhower 12
SHG 43 Mascoutah 22

QND 22 Richmond Burton 10. Great win for QND over a ranked 4A school, huge help for their playoff chances.

Springfield 21 MacArthur 7. Really solid road win for the Senators. Great job by their defense to hold Mac to one score.

Chatham 35 North County 31. Chatham escapes with a win but has a tougher time than I expected in Missouri.

Bloomington 41 U High 38, 4th Quarter. Must be close to over but this has been a close high scoring affair..

Cardinal Ritter 28 Rochester 10. The injury to Rockets QB Bryan Zulauf is much more of an issue than the loss to an excellent Ritter team. After being injured early in the 2nd Quarter, the Rocket offense was unable to mount many sustained drives. That left the Defense out on the field far too long, and they eventually wore down against a large and talented Ritter Offense. However, the Defense fought hard, forced three turnovers, and never quit. Depending on the severity of Zulauf's injury, there could be major personnel changes by next week's game at Lincoln. If Tanner Beal is the new QB going forward, I don't think you can keep him full-time also at DB. Switching to Eli Carlson is possible as well but he also plays full-time at DB/LB.

All.... Congrats on the Cyclone win. Sigh.... Ratsy

 

[cornerrat]

Week 2 has three West Division non-conference games, three East Division non-conference games, and three West vs East crossover contests. Southeast vs Lincoln is a Saturday game at Memorial Stadium and there is some question when/where MacArthur vs Springfield will be played due to the status of the General's field renovations. As of now, it's still scheduled for Friday.

Unlike last week, I am picking against Massey several times.

West Division
Richmond Burton (1-0) at Quincy Notre Dame (0-1)
Richmond Burton (RB) beat Woodstock Marian 21-7 in Week 1, while QND trailed only 20-12 at half to 7A power Quincy before losing 40-12. RB won at home last year 25-6. Something tells me to choose QND in an upset. QND 21 Richmond Burton 20. Massey Prediction: RB 36 QND 6.

Mascoutah (0-1) at SHG (0-1)
Mascoutah lost to 7A/8A Belleville West 34-21, while SHG fell to an excellent Christian Brothers (Missouri) 45-0. Mascoutah made the 5A semi-finals in 2019 but was only 2-7 last year. SHG should have a good bounce back week. SHG 38 Mascoutah 13. Massey Prediction: SHG 46 Mascoutah 14.

East Peoria (1-0) at Lanphier (0-1)
East Peoria rallied to beat Southeast 28-26, while Lanphier lost at Lincon 32-0. There were some small victories for the Lions in Week 1 as they avoided a running clock and held the Railers to fewer points than they surrendered in any game in '23. East Peoria 39 Lanphier 6. Massey Prediction: East Peoria 41 Lanphier 20.

East Division
Chatham (0-1) at Bon Terre North County (MO) (1-0)
The Titans battled 8A Edwardsville to the final minute and lost only 14-7 in a game pushed to Saturday by the weather. The high-powered Titans offense could come up with only one score, but the Defense performed well against the Tigers. North County beat a Missouri team that was 6-6 in '23 24-17. They lost to Mt Vernon (IL) 28-14 in '23. The Titans should rebound and score a lot more this week. Chatham 35 North County 14. Massey Prediction: Chatham 40 North County 14.

U High (1-0) at Bloomington (1-0)
U High won 64-28 over Peoria Manual, while Bloomington beat Danville 41-14. Bloomington made the 6A playoffs in '23 but lost badly to both MacArthur in Week 9 and Chatham in Week 10. U High went from 3 wins '22 to 7 last year. This is a statement game for the Pioneers if they hope to move into the top tier of the conference. I think they can do it. U High 35 Bloomington 31. Massey Prediction: Bloomington 36 U High 28.

Cardinal Ritter (MO) (1-0) at Rochester (1-0)
Cardinal Ritter has an Illinois commit at QB, a Nebraska commit at RB, and several dangerous WR's. They have a very balanced offense and crushed a Missouri team that was 10-2 in '23 44-7 last week. Other than SHG, no one has beaten Rochester at home since 2008 (Bloomington Central Catholic). That will certainly be put to the test Friday. Even playing on the road and on grass, Ritter probably has too much speed and talent for the Rockets to prevail. Rochester went on the road Week 1 and defeated 6A Simeon 35-14 in a much better overall effort than the Week 0 scrimmage against Belleville West. I think the Rockets keep it close but struggle to get stops of Ritter's potent offense. Cardinal Ritter 43 Rochester 31. Massey Prediction: Cardinal Ritter 41 Rochester 27.

West vs East
Eisenhower (0-1) at Jacksonville (1-0)
Eisenhower lost at home to Streator 20-12, while the Crimsons struggled to put away 2A Pittsfield on the road 26-14. The Crimson should go to 2-0 but need to perform at a higher level. Jacksonville 34 Eisenhower 6. Massey Prediction: Jacksonville 42 Eisenhower 7.

Springfield (1-0) at MacArthur (1-0)
Both teams won impressively in Week 1. The Senators beat Champaign Central 44-12 at home, while Mac won on the road 47-6 over Mattoon. While this is only Week 2, the winner of this game will have a much easier path to make the playoffs than the loser. The last time these two played at Decatur the game went down to the final play and Mac came out with a 34-28 win in '22. That loss ended up costing the Senators a 5th win and a playoff opportunity. I think QB Brody Scheffler's experience is the difference in a very close game. Springfield 31 MacArthur 27. Massey Prediction: MacArthur 41 Springfield 20.

Lincoln (1-0) at Southeast (0-1) (Game Saturday 1 pm at Memorial Stadium)
Lincoln beat Lanphier 32-0, while Southeast almost got Coach Borders a win in his 1st game losing only 28-26 to East Peoria. The Spartans led 12-0 in the first half before East Peoria rallied. Southeast apparently had penalty issues. Lincoln jumped on Lanphier early and led 26-0 by half. This is potentially a winnable game for Southeast but it's more likely that Lincoln goes to 2-0. Lincoln 30 Southeast 18. Massey Prediction: Lincoln 38 Southeast 19.

Al.... A query if I may sir, Do the Rockets win if young Mr. Zulaf doesn't go down? Just curious.... Ratsy

 

[cornerrat]

QND INT on 1st play of the 4th at the goal line. Returns it back to the Raider 25. QND ball. One good drive could seal it.

All.... Parking spots will be a premium in front of the party house now.

QND 22
R-B 10
Final

Huge win for the program.

All.... The lock down parking block premiun in front of the party house has just risen! Congats. Ratsy

 

[rocketnation]

Al.... A query if I may sir, Do the Rockets win if young Mr. Zulaf doesn't go down? Just curious.... Ratsy

IMO there was a 1 in 3 chance Rochester wins if he plays the whole game.

The Rocket Defense did as much as could possibly be expected. Ritter is big, fast, and talented. Their RB was very dangerous, and their QB started making plays beginning with the scoring drive that ended the first half. The Ritter defense pretty well shut down the run all night, which became more important after the injury to Zulauf. Even without the injury, Rochester was going to struggle to score points.

A play that really hurt Rochester was when Ritter appeared ready to punt up only 8-7 late in the first half. A bad snap led the punter to run, and he made the first down. It did not appear to be a designed fake. They were then able to get down the field and score a 2nd TD right before half.

 

[cornerrat]

IMO there was a 1 in 3 chance Rochester wins if he plays the whole game.

The Rocket Defense did as much as could possibly be expected. Ritter is big, fast, and talented. Their RB was very dangerous, and their QB started making plays beginning with the scoring drive that ended the first half. The Ritter defense pretty well shut down the run all night, which became more important after the injury to Zulauf. Even without the injury, Rochester was going to struggle to score points.

A play that really hurt Rochester was when Ritter appeared ready to punt up only 8-7 late in the first half. A bad snap led the punter to run, and he made the first down. It did not appear to be a designed fake. They were then able to get down the field and score a 2nd TD right before half.

All.... Got it. Thanks. Ratsy P.S. The resident mouths seem to be quiet at the moment.

 

[cigaros]

QND 22
R-B 10
Final

Huge win for the program.

Did not expect this. Looks
Like Richmond Burton is down this year

 

[cigaros]

Al.... A query if I may sir, Do the Rockets win if young Mr. Zulaf doesn't go down? Just curious.... Ratsy

Uncertain.

However, there would definitely be more completed passes and sustained drives. This translate to a fresher defense. The real issue is the quarterback was also the starting safety. So therefore, he could not sit down with Derek and go over plays in order to better understand them in real time. There will be a surprise at quarterback next week.