Titles, seeds on line as high school football regular season ends

Posted on October 19, 2017
Central Catholic plays for a share of the first Illini Prairie Conference football title Friday at home against current leader Tolono Unity. (Photo Facebook/Central Catholic High School)

 

By Greg Halbleib

Conference titles and post-season seeds are up for grabs as the high school football season ends this week and playoff pairings are announced Saturday night.

Central Catholic (7-1) hosts Tolono Unity (8-0) in a showdown of two of the top teams in the Illini Prairie Conference and the featured game on the six-game lineup for the WJBC Friday Night High School Football Extravaganza. A Central Catholic win would give them a share of the new league’s first football title, which Saints coach Mike Moews said is a season goal.

“We had talked early in the season about the opportunity to win the first conference championship,” Moews said. “We’re in that position, and if we play well, we can do that.”

Moews pointed out that although the Saints can finish no worse than 7-2, they’re not guaranteed a first-round home game.

“We were 7-2 last year but we went on the road in the first week of the playoffs, so you never know,” Moews said. “It’s always nicer to play at home. If we win, we kind of control our own destiny.”

Normal Community (8-0, 7-0 Big Twelve) attempts to finish the regular season undefeated with a trip to Champaign Central (2-6, 2-5). Iron coach Wes Temples said two big goals are in reach for his team.

“The chance to be outright conference champion I think is awfully important. Those things only come around every so often,” Temples said. “And there’s the chance to put together an undefeated season. Those things aren’t easy, and our kids have put in a lot of work. They’ve done a good job and I’m anxious for the game to get here.”

Bloomington (4-4, 3-4 Big Twelve) needs to win at Danville (6-2, 5-2) to have a chance at the post-season. U-High (4-4) is in the same situation as they host Chatham Glenwood (6-2) at Hancock Stadium.

The Extravaganza also includes perennial playoff powers Deer Creek-Mackinaw (5-3, 2-2 Heart of Illinois Conference Large) and Tri-Valley (7-1, 4-0) squaring off in Downs, and El Paso-Gridley (4-4, 1-2 HOIC Large) visiting Eureka (6-2, 3-1).

Normal West (7-1, 6-1 Big Twelve) faces Peoria Notre Dame (5-3, 5-2) on Saturday afternoon at Peoria Stadium.

The Friday Night Extravaganza begins at 6:10 p.m. on WJBC-AM 1230 and WJBC.com with updates every quarter hour and post-game until 11 p.m. Scores can also be found on Twitter (@SportsWJBC, #WJBCHSFB).

WJBC will host the annual Playoff Pairings Show from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday as the Illinois High School Association announces the brackets for all eight classes at that time. WJBC will announce the pairings and talk to post-season coaches.

WJBC 1230 AM: 
6:00 p.m. Football (Extravaganza) – Tolono Unity at Central Catholic Listen live here

WJBC.com: 
7:00 p.m. Hockey – Central Illinois at Madison Listen live here

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected]. 

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