Area Prep Football Report
September 24, 2010
I suffered a tough week last week going 1-1 in predicting the big games and overall went 19-7 last week. I was burned on a couple of upsets including the impressive wins of Rochester over SHG and Riverton over Pleasant Plains. Since I started picking the area games in Week 2 I am 48-14 which comes out to 71% correct. This has been a tough record to attain with the competitiveness of football in the Springfield area.
7:00 p.m. SHG @ Springfield High
Another week and another
big matchup in the CS8. Right now it looks like there are 3 elite
teams battling for the top spot in the conference and two of them are
playing Friday night. Undefeated Springfield HS wants to put some bad
losses to SHG in the past behind them. The Senators have faced SHG the
last two seasons at 7-0 and 5-1 and SHS got spanked both times by the
Cyclones.
I wish I could say that I have SHS as a favorite over SHG this week but it's
just not in the cards for Springfield High again this season.
Springfield cannot put the same kind of pressure on the the SHG offensive
line like Rochester did. I think SHS has the depth to hang with the
Cyclones for 4 quarters I just don't think they will be able to disrupt the
Griffin run game enough to keep SHG off the board for long.
7:00 p.m. Routt Catholic @ Brown County
West central Illinois
boasts one of the biggest games in the state this Friday as Routt travels to
Mt. Sterling to take on the Brown County Hornets. Both teams are
undefeated and other that Routt's tight game with Greenfield in week 2 these
teams have been beating the brakes off everyone else they have faced.
Now it's time for a gut check and a reality test for these west central
Illinois powers. Brown County sports a three headed monster led by QB
Alex Sheppard, RB's Dallas Phelps and Jacob Wilson who so far have proved
very difficult to stop.
Routt is going to try to stop the Hornets with a tough experienced defense
who held an impressive Greenfield to 12 points earlier in the season.
Brown County is just going to be too much for Routt this week.
CS8+1
Springfield (Lanphier) 18 at Jacksonville (H.S.) 30
Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) 31 vs. Springfield (H.S.) 30
Springfield (Southeast) 15 at Lincoln 21
Taylorville 3 at Rochester 42
St. Louis (Gateway), MO 20 at Chatham (Glenwood)16
Prairie State
Bunker Hill 10 at Kincaid (South Fork) 24
Mt. Olive 6 at Gillespie 27
Nokomis [Coop] 8 at Virden (North Mac) 21 (Sat.)
Staunton 37 at Pawnee 14
Sangamo
Athens 32 at Petersburg (PORTA) 7
New Berlin [Coop] 27 at Williamsville 28
Niantic (Sangamon Valley) 29 at Pleasant Plains 24
Riverton 10 at Auburn 35
South Central
Alton (Marquette) 14 at Greenville 28
Carlinville 32 at Roxana 14
Hillsboro 19 at Wood River (East Alton-W.R.) 0
Litchfield 10 at Vandalia 14
Piasa (Southwestern) 6 at Pana (H.S.) 32
Western Illinois Valley
(North)
Concord (Triopia) [T.-Meredosia Coop] 60 at Virginia [Coop] 0
Jacksonville (Illinois School for the Deaf) 0 at Mendon (Unity) [U.-Payson
Coop] 42
Jacksonville (Routt) 24 at Mt. Sterling (Brown County) 30
Western Illinois Valley
(South)
Carrollton 12 at Greenfield [G.-Northwestern Coop] 26
Pleasant Hill [P.H.-Western Coop] 10 at Hardin (Calhoun) [Coop] 36
White Hall (North Greene) 18 at Winchester [West Central Coop] (Sat.) 11
September 17, 2010
This is the week of the Leonards and it's just too bad this game is not taking place in week nine when there would be clearer implications and expectations of both SHG and Rochester. Right now we know for sure that both teams are pretty good and can really score. We don't know if either defense can stop or slow down an explosive offense, (we will have a clearer picture on that on Saturday) or how both teams will react when they are in a close game. So far this season neither team has needed their starters for all 4 quarters of play.
7:00 p.m. Rochester @ Sacred Heart-Griffin
There are many story lines
for this game... Father vs. Son... Traditional Power vs. Upstart CS8
Newbie... Urban vs. Suburban... Private vs. Public. There are many
ways in which these teams are different but in most important ways,
football-wise, they are very similar. The Rockets and Cyclones run
systems that are predicated on spreading the field and getting their
athletic tailbacks out in space to make some moves and possible break big
plays. They'll loosen up defenses with pass plays out on the edge and
deep shots down the middle. Defensively both squads have relied on
their team speed to overwhelm less talented football teams. Both
Rochester and SHG boast outstanding line play and this game hinge on which
teams linebackers can hold the opposing backs to the shortest gains.
Cyclone head coach Ken Leonard said it best. "We like horse racing.
These guys (Rochester) are stepping up in class. We're (SHG) used to
running in the Kentucky Derby."
I think that act alone makes SHG a 2 touchdown favorite.
7:00 p.m. Auburn @ Williamsville
Any other week this game
would dominate all talk about football in the Springfield area but the
Sangamo schedule rotation's timing quashed any chance of that this week.
Williamsville and Auburn were the two favorites to win this league before
the season and going into week 4 that is still the case. Much has been
said about the opposing quarterbacks, Josh Gentile of Williamsville and
Michael Bates of Auburn. Frankly, these teams are going to go however
their quarterback goes. Both players are undisputed leaders on their
teams and most of the success of both teams is directly related to their
performances so far this season.
The outcome of this game is hinging on one thing.... whoever has the
football last.
I'll take Auburn in this battle.
Predictions:
CS8+1
Chatham (Glenwood) 24 at Jacksonville (H.S.) 28
Rochester 22 at (Sacred Heart-Griffin) 36
Springfield (H.S.) 40 at Taylorville20
Springfield (Lanphier) 27 at Lincoln 12
Springfield (Southeast) 0 at Johnsburg 38
Prairie State
Gillespie 21 at Bunker Hill 6
Mt. Olive 0 at Staunton 60
Pawnee 23 at Nokomis [Coop] 14
Virden (North Mac) 31 at Kincaid (South Fork) [Coop] 17
Prairieland (Blue)
Havana 10 at Beardstown 33
Sangamo
Athens 26 vs. Niantic (Sangamon Valley) at Niantic 21
Auburn 37 at Williamsville 36
Petersburg (PORTA) 21 at New Berlin [Coop] 30
Pleasant Plains 30 at Riverton 14
South Central
Greenville 24 at Hillsboro 14
Pana (H.S.) 21 at Carlinville 20
Roxana 20 at Litchfield 17
Vandalia 10 at Alton (Marquette) 14
Wood River (East Alton-W.R.) 12 at Piasa (Southwestern) 18
Western Illinois Valley (North)
Mendon (Unity) [U.-Payson Coop] 12 at Concord (Triopia) [T.-Meredosia Coop]
(Sat.) 29
Mt. Sterling (Brown County) 55 at Jacksonville (Illinois School for the
Deaf) (Sat.) 0
Virginia [Coop] 0 at Jacksonville (Routt) 30
Western Illinois Valley (South)
Greenfield [G.-Northwestern Coop] 22 at Winchester [West Central Coop] 15
Hardin (Calhoun) [Coop] 35 at Carrollton 20
White Hall (North Greene) 14 at Pleasant Hill [P.H.-Western Coop] 12
September 10, 2010
Well last week I picked 14 games and ended up with a robust record of 12-2. This week I'll post predictions for even more area schools and games so look for that on wymg.com under Friday Night Lights on the Liz & Lynch page.
This week doesn't have the draw of some of the juicy match-ups we had last week but there are some interesting games on Friday night that I am really looking forward to.
7:00 p.m. Taylorville @ Glenwood
This game couldn't be
bigger right now for both teams. Glenwood is limping on off of a
couple of big losses and really needs to put a "W" up on the board to start
getting their season turned around. The Titans really need to get a
push from their front four on defense led by Tom Cooper, Kyle Shadden, Pat
Bennett and Kramer Halverson.
Offensively it appears that this is the first week that the much ballyhooed
team speed of Chatham-Glenwood will give the Titans an advantage. I
expect Glenwood tailback Devin Vonnordheim-Moore
to have a big day on the offensive end for Chatham.
Taylorville needs to get a victory in this game for much different reasons. The Tornadoes are 2-0 but coming off a tough 4-5 season where they didn't make the playoffs and the folks in twister-land don't want to see that happen again this season. Taylorville needs to keep the momentum going this Friday and get win number 3 on the season if they are going to have any hopes at getting into the playoffs because the next 4 weeks are going to be BRUTAL. The Tornadoes face Springfield High at home, Rochester @ Rocketbooster, then they host SHG and finally hit the road against state ranked juggernaut Mater Dei HS in Breese about 2 hours south of here. The potential for Taylorville to go 0-4 in that stretch is huge, which makes Friday night's game in Chatham very important.
7:00 p.m. South Fork @ Pawnee
There is a lot of excitement brewing in Pawnee and the South Fork coop towns of Kincaid, Morrisonville and Edinburg about their football teams this season. Pawnee is off to a 2-0 start and are looking at making the playoffs for the 3rd straight season even after significant losses to graduation. Jr. quarterback Dalton Doerfler has been a pleasant surprise for coach Kit Thein since he has emerged as a capable leader who can move the football in the air which adds a dimension to the grind it out run game Pawnee usually deploys.
South Fork is led by all everything quarterback Zach Hanlon who helped the Ponies to a week one win over favored PORTA HS of Petersburg. It was the first time South Fork had started the season off with a victory since 1996...14 years. Last week the Ponies lost in a nailbiter to Nokomis after letting an 8 point lead slip away in the second half. This week, we'll see if Pawnee is for real and if South Fork can get a win against a quality opponent.
7:00 p.m. Greenville @ Carlinville
This game is features teams
just outside of the listening area however Greenville and Carlinville sit
atop the South Central conference along with area school Pana this week.
All three teams are 2-0. Greenville and Carlinville strut into this
game from convincing wins against lesser opponents in the first couple of
weeks and appear ready to duke it out with someone on equal footing.
This one is going to be a toss up but I like Carlinville to get the win at
home.
Whatever the outcome this potentially will give Pana a shot to stay tied at
the top of the SCC as the Panthers face conference also ran Wood River who
is 0-2 and in for a long season.
Predictions
Sangamo
Auburn 46, PORTA 19
Niantic Sangamon Valley 26,
New Berlin 21
Williamsville 42,
Pleasant Plains 27
Athens 25, Riverton 17
Central State 8+1
Chatham Glenwood 31, Taylorville 30
Jacksonville 55, Lincoln 0
Springfield High 42,
Lanphier 9
Rochester 56, Jerseyville 14
Sacred Heart-Griffin 49,
Southeast 6
Prairie State
Staunton 60,
Bunker Hill 0
Nokomis 23,
Mount Olive 10
Pawnee 19, South Fork 13
North Mac 24, Gillespie 23
South Central
Carlinville 16, Greenville 12
Alton Marquette 24,
Hillsboro 7
Pana 35,
East Alton-Wood River 8
Roxana 17, Vandalia 10
Western Illinois Valley South
North Greene 22, Carrollton 13
Greenfield 21, Calhoun Co. 20
West Central, 36, Pleasant Hill 28
Western Illinois Valley North
Triopia 63, Illinois School for the Deaf 0
Routt Catholic 36, Unity 18
Brown County 54, Virginia 0
September 3, 2010
7:00 p.m. Jacksonville 31 @ Rochester 24
Rocketbooster stadium is gonna be rockin Friday night as the Jacksonville Crimsons invade Rochester for the very first time on the gridiron. Both teams are coming in off lopsided wins against teams that are going to struggle in 2010. There are a lot of naysayers out there that think Rochester is going to struggle against the top tier teams in the CS8 and Jacksonville is certainly one of those teams. If Rochester wants to be taken seriously as a contender in the CS8 this is a game they need to win. I think Jacksonville is going to have something to say about that. I’m predicting the Crimsons to get a win in a close one by a touchdown.
Jacksonville: (Sr) QB Nick Lonergan is the offensive leader for the Crimsons. He passed for 417 yards in week one against Jerseyville including 4 TD passes and a TD run. His main targets are 6’3” (Sr) WR Nate Jones and 6’1” (Sr) WR Cameron Ruyle
Rochester:
Rochester is led by 6’5” (Jr) QB Wes Lunt and 190 pound tailback (Sr) Colten
Glazebrook.
The Rocket defense which is tough, is anchored by 6’6” 230 pound University
of Iowa recruit Riley McMinn at defensive end. That kid is a beast.
7:00 p.m. Greenfield 18 @ Routt Catholic 26
These teams are both coming into this game off of shutout victories in week one. The thing is they both put up big numbers on offense as well. The key to this game is going to be defense and which team can stop the other more often. I think this game will be a toss up and a heckuva game to watch. Anyone headed to Kraushaar-Rosenberger Field in Jacksonville Friday night is gonna see an exciting game. I’m going to take the Routt Rockets over the Greenfield Tigers by 8.
7:00 p.m. Chatham Glenwood 16 @ Springfield High 17
This is game that has two teams potentially going in different directions. Springfield High appears to be on their way UP with a convincing victory in week one against CS8 also ran Southeast. Glenwood High school looks to hang to a spot near the top of the conference after taking a beat down to perennial state power SHG last Saturday night. Talent-wise and speed-wise I think these teams are very even. I’m taking Springfield by a single point
Springfield: Senator (Sr) QB Tyrell Bolden is a dual threat for Springfield to run and throw the football.
Glenwood: Devin Vonnordheim-Moore 182 pound (Sr) tailback is the top option for the Titan offense when6’ (So) QB Miles McAdams isn’t slinging the ball to 6’2” (Sr) WR Raz Harris. The Titans defense is not going to get the test they got last week against the Cyclones but the Senators are going to make them work.
Local Predictions
CS8 + 1
Jacksonville
(1-0) 31 @ Rochester (1-0) 24
Southeast (0-1) 9 @ Taylorville (1-0) 31
Taylorville builds on their week 1 win against
Lanphier by knocking off Southeast by 20.
Chatham Glenwood 16 (0-1) @ Springfield High (1-0) 17
Canton (0-1) 12 @
Lincoln (0-1) 16
The
Little Giants have lost 11 games in a row dating back to 2008. Lincoln will
make it 12 in a row.
Lanphier 10 (0-1) @ Sacred Heart-Griffin (1-0) 56
Sangamo Conference
New Berlin (1-0) @ Auburn (1-0)
Auburn knocks off the rebuilding Pretzels of New
Berlin.
Sangamon
Valley (1-0) @ Porta (0-1)
SV’s Dan Rentchler’s ground game helps PORTA to an 0-2
start.
Williamsville (1-0) @ Riverton
(0-1)
The Hawks cannot stop Williamsville’s Josh Gentile on
the ground or the in the air.
Pleasant Plains (1-0) @
Athens (0-1)
Pleasant Plains is shocked by the Warriors who will
get it done at home Friday night.
Prairie State Conference
Staunton
(1-0) @ Gillespie (0-1)
Staunton’s ground game is too much for the Miners.
Pawnee (1-0) @ Mount Olive (0-1)
Pawnee keeps it going against a declining Mt. Olive
squad.
Kincaid (1-0) @ Nokomis (0-1)
Kincaid goes a surprising 2-0 with another upset win
this week.
Bunker Hill (0-1) @ North Mac
(0-1)
North Mac gets their first ever football win against
the hapless Minute Men.
Have comments or questions? Email Chad at: