By Greg Halbleib
High school football playoff activity moves into the second round on Saturday with five area teams looking to advance, four of which can be heard live on WJBC.com.
In Class 1A, LeRoy (7-3) hosts perennial playoff participant Freeport Aquin (9-1) at 3 p.m. LeRoy coach B.J. Zeleznik says his Panthers will have to defend the pass.
“We’ve not seen anybody that’s so pass-heavy,” said Zeleznik. “They’ve got four legitimate receivers that they can throw to. We’ve not quite seen the depth at wide receiver that they have. We’ve seen this system several times over the past three years.”
Three of the squads are in Class 2A and all are from the Heart of Illinois Conference. Defending champion Tri-Valley (10-0) hosts DuQuoin (8-2) in a 2 p.m. contest. Vikings coach Josh Roop expects a visiting DuQuoin team that’s similar to his squad.
“They want to run it first, and when they don’t, they can throw it,” said Roop. “They’ve got weapons across the field and a huge offensive line. They’re going to be a tall task for us.”
Deer Creek-Mackinaw (9-1) remains at home in a 2A match with Chicago Hope Academy (9-1). Host Chiefs head coach Job Linboom wants his team to do what it does best–run the football.
“Their athleticism is pretty close to ours despite their youth,” said Linboom, “but I think our big advantage will be our physicality and maybe we’re a little stronger, so we certainly expect to be able to run the ball.”
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (8-2) is the remaining HOIC entry. The Falcons face Annawan-Wethersfield (9-1) for a 3 p.m. game at Wethersfield High School in Kewanee.
Normal Community (9-1) hosts Lisle Benet Academy (8-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday. Ironmen coach Wes Temples says the teams are a lot alike.
“They’re very, very similar to us in speed,” Temples said. “They’re not huge by any means but they’re very well coached and they play harder than anybody we’ve played. It’s one of those things where you’ve got to be really, really good in all the aspects you can control, and hope at the end you’re right there.”
Updates can be found on the special WJBC high school football Twitter feed (@WJBCHSFootball, #WJBCHSFB).
Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].
