Back to my weekly series of previews for the Western Big Six and Three Rivers conferences! I will split Week 1's up into two posts as I will do something like season previews for these teams. I won't project final records or conference finish, but I will give my thoughts on each team's path to the playoffs, assuming 5 wins will be necessary. Teams are listed in alphabetical order as on the IHSA website.
UTHS - vs. LaSalle-Peru, vs. Muchin, vs. Sterling, at Geneseo, vs. Quincy, at Rock Island, vs. Moline, bye, at Galesburg
UT returns almost everyone... from a 1-8 football team last year. They showed some flashes and likely won't be complete pushovers. Their offense should continue to be decent but the defense will need to show serious improvement. Their path to the playoffs is not simple and will require finding a win in week 8 (they have not replaced Alleman yet, to my knowledge) and getting wins against both nonconference opponents. Fans in East Moline would then hope for a Week 9 win in Galesburg and them picking off one of the bigger boys, possibly Rock Island.
Galesburg - vs. Dunlap, at Limestone, at Indian Creek (IN), at Sterling, vs. Geneseo, at Quincy, vs. Rock Island, at Moline, vs UT
The Streaks will continue to have athletes but time will tell if they can improve enough to actually contend. Unfortunately it's been a while for the fans in Galesburg and this season features trips to last year's top three conference teams. Their path to the playoffs may be harder than UT's, as they will need to beat Limestone, Indian Creek, and UT, and then pick off two others.
Geneseo - vs. Comer, vs. Grayslake Central, at Moline, vs. UT, at Galesburg, vs. Sterling, vs. Mendota, at Quincy, vs. Rock Island
There's a lot of hype for Geneseo and understandably so as the Maple Leafs return a lot from a playoff team. Their spread offense (which still feels like an oxymoron for Geneseo) was able to put up numbers last year and they are hoping to ring the bell at their field a few times. The path to the playoffs is very reasonable, with Comer and Mendota as very likely wins and what they'd see as perfectly reasonable opponents in Galesburg and UT. Pick off one of Rock Island, Grayslake Central, Sterling, or Moline, and they're in.
Moline - at Glenbard North, vs. Benet, vs. Geneseo, at Quincy, vs. Rock Island, bye, at UT, vs. Galesburg, at Sterling
The Maroons lost a lot and will have questions on their O-line and secondary but brought in possibly the conference's best player in Georgia Tech-committed transfer DE William DePaepe. The Maroons also haven't found an opponent to replace Alleman, through no lack of trying on their part. Moline's path to the playoffs seems reasonable enough, especially if they get a win for the bye week, and another playoff game at Browning isn't out of the question.
Quincy - vs. QND, at Alton, at Rock Island, vs. Moline, at UT, vs. Galesburg, at Sterling, vs. Geneseo, vs. Mahomet-Seymour
Quincy returns a ton of athletes in the highest-flying offense in the league, bolstered by the return of Adon Byquist from an ACL tear last year. The hype for the Blue Devils is real and this may be their best team in many years. Their path to the playoffs looks almost certain as most of their tougher games are at home. With Quincy possibly projected into 7A, what would a Quincy-Moline playoff game look like? We can dream...
Rock Island - at Minooka, at Dunlap, vs. Quincy, vs. Sterling Newman, at Moline, vs. UT, at Galesburg, vs. Sterling, at Geneseo
A rough-looking year for the Rocks, who graduated a fair bit of talent from a mediocre team last year and also lost their coach. Athletes, they've got a few, but these Rocks will have to grow up very quickly. Their path to the playoffs looks very hard, with a brutal first two weeks and very few certain wins.
Sterling - at Metamora, vs. St. Francis, at UT, vs. Galesburg, at Princeton, at Geneseo, vs. Quincy, at Rock Island, vs. Moline
This is a team that graduated a lot but the consistency and pride in their program will always make the Warriors look like contenders. Lucas Austin, their gigantic tackle, should make the protection solid. The path to the playoffs looks reasonable enough, but by no means certain, as the Warriors have challenges in all three nonconference games and will face tough tasks in Moline, Quincy, and even Geneseo (make no mistake, the Maple Leafs are desperate for a win over their biggest rivals after a long dry spell).
On to Week 1 previews!
UTHS vs. LaSalle-Peru - I know very little about LP, beyond their 5-5 record last year with very inconsistent performances across their games. The game is at UT this year... I have no confidence in this pick, but I will go with UTHS in a nailbiter at Soule Bowl.
Galesburg vs. Dunlap - Dunlap won by 14 last year at Dunlap on their way to a 5-5 record. I think that program should bounce back and I give the Eagles the advantage again. I pick Dunlap, but this should be a convenient early measuring stick to see how good Galesburg will be.
Geneseo vs. Comer - New year, same result, Geneseo with a running clock at the end in a game that should give us no insight unless it's close.
Moline at Glenbard North - a very interesting Week 1 matchup between two teams that will likely run the ball a lot. This game could be over in an hour and a half the way they play, and it looks fairly evenly matched. I think the better team is Moline, and despite the trip, the Maroons have shown the ability to play well in the 'burbs and I think they get out of this with a win.
Quincy vs. Quincy Notre Dame - The Blue Devils' win in this one last year was an early sign of their resurgence, and the Raiders last year did not look like a great team, merely a decent one. I see no reason why they will beat Quincy High this season.
Rock Island at Minooka - Good grief, Charlie Brown! Minooka always seems like a team that will eventually be good, and their 7-4 record last year (punctuated by one-score losses to Plainfield North and Yorkville) suggests they're getting there. These long trips have not always been kind to the Rocks and I think Minooka should feel fine here.
Sterling at Metamora - Now this is a great matchup between two state powers. The Redbirds are hoping for their normal dominance on their new turf field. On a neutral site, I think this is an absolute tossup, so given that they're at home, I pick Metamora.
UTHS - vs. LaSalle-Peru, vs. Muchin, vs. Sterling, at Geneseo, vs. Quincy, at Rock Island, vs. Moline, bye, at Galesburg
UT returns almost everyone... from a 1-8 football team last year. They showed some flashes and likely won't be complete pushovers. Their offense should continue to be decent but the defense will need to show serious improvement. Their path to the playoffs is not simple and will require finding a win in week 8 (they have not replaced Alleman yet, to my knowledge) and getting wins against both nonconference opponents. Fans in East Moline would then hope for a Week 9 win in Galesburg and them picking off one of the bigger boys, possibly Rock Island.
Galesburg - vs. Dunlap, at Limestone, at Indian Creek (IN), at Sterling, vs. Geneseo, at Quincy, vs. Rock Island, at Moline, vs UT
The Streaks will continue to have athletes but time will tell if they can improve enough to actually contend. Unfortunately it's been a while for the fans in Galesburg and this season features trips to last year's top three conference teams. Their path to the playoffs may be harder than UT's, as they will need to beat Limestone, Indian Creek, and UT, and then pick off two others.
Geneseo - vs. Comer, vs. Grayslake Central, at Moline, vs. UT, at Galesburg, vs. Sterling, vs. Mendota, at Quincy, vs. Rock Island
There's a lot of hype for Geneseo and understandably so as the Maple Leafs return a lot from a playoff team. Their spread offense (which still feels like an oxymoron for Geneseo) was able to put up numbers last year and they are hoping to ring the bell at their field a few times. The path to the playoffs is very reasonable, with Comer and Mendota as very likely wins and what they'd see as perfectly reasonable opponents in Galesburg and UT. Pick off one of Rock Island, Grayslake Central, Sterling, or Moline, and they're in.
Moline - at Glenbard North, vs. Benet, vs. Geneseo, at Quincy, vs. Rock Island, bye, at UT, vs. Galesburg, at Sterling
The Maroons lost a lot and will have questions on their O-line and secondary but brought in possibly the conference's best player in Georgia Tech-committed transfer DE William DePaepe. The Maroons also haven't found an opponent to replace Alleman, through no lack of trying on their part. Moline's path to the playoffs seems reasonable enough, especially if they get a win for the bye week, and another playoff game at Browning isn't out of the question.
Quincy - vs. QND, at Alton, at Rock Island, vs. Moline, at UT, vs. Galesburg, at Sterling, vs. Geneseo, vs. Mahomet-Seymour
Quincy returns a ton of athletes in the highest-flying offense in the league, bolstered by the return of Adon Byquist from an ACL tear last year. The hype for the Blue Devils is real and this may be their best team in many years. Their path to the playoffs looks almost certain as most of their tougher games are at home. With Quincy possibly projected into 7A, what would a Quincy-Moline playoff game look like? We can dream...
Rock Island - at Minooka, at Dunlap, vs. Quincy, vs. Sterling Newman, at Moline, vs. UT, at Galesburg, vs. Sterling, at Geneseo
A rough-looking year for the Rocks, who graduated a fair bit of talent from a mediocre team last year and also lost their coach. Athletes, they've got a few, but these Rocks will have to grow up very quickly. Their path to the playoffs looks very hard, with a brutal first two weeks and very few certain wins.
Sterling - at Metamora, vs. St. Francis, at UT, vs. Galesburg, at Princeton, at Geneseo, vs. Quincy, at Rock Island, vs. Moline
This is a team that graduated a lot but the consistency and pride in their program will always make the Warriors look like contenders. Lucas Austin, their gigantic tackle, should make the protection solid. The path to the playoffs looks reasonable enough, but by no means certain, as the Warriors have challenges in all three nonconference games and will face tough tasks in Moline, Quincy, and even Geneseo (make no mistake, the Maple Leafs are desperate for a win over their biggest rivals after a long dry spell).
On to Week 1 previews!
UTHS vs. LaSalle-Peru - I know very little about LP, beyond their 5-5 record last year with very inconsistent performances across their games. The game is at UT this year... I have no confidence in this pick, but I will go with UTHS in a nailbiter at Soule Bowl.
Galesburg vs. Dunlap - Dunlap won by 14 last year at Dunlap on their way to a 5-5 record. I think that program should bounce back and I give the Eagles the advantage again. I pick Dunlap, but this should be a convenient early measuring stick to see how good Galesburg will be.
Geneseo vs. Comer - New year, same result, Geneseo with a running clock at the end in a game that should give us no insight unless it's close.
Moline at Glenbard North - a very interesting Week 1 matchup between two teams that will likely run the ball a lot. This game could be over in an hour and a half the way they play, and it looks fairly evenly matched. I think the better team is Moline, and despite the trip, the Maroons have shown the ability to play well in the 'burbs and I think they get out of this with a win.
Quincy vs. Quincy Notre Dame - The Blue Devils' win in this one last year was an early sign of their resurgence, and the Raiders last year did not look like a great team, merely a decent one. I see no reason why they will beat Quincy High this season.
Rock Island at Minooka - Good grief, Charlie Brown! Minooka always seems like a team that will eventually be good, and their 7-4 record last year (punctuated by one-score losses to Plainfield North and Yorkville) suggests they're getting there. These long trips have not always been kind to the Rocks and I think Minooka should feel fine here.
Sterling at Metamora - Now this is a great matchup between two state powers. The Redbirds are hoping for their normal dominance on their new turf field. On a neutral site, I think this is an absolute tossup, so given that they're at home, I pick Metamora.
