Ty Reynolds - Shaw Local News Network correspondent

Polo grabbed momentum early, then Hiawatha fought back. But the Marcos had the answers in the second half and went on to defeat the Hawks 36-14 in their Illinois 8-Man Football Association first-round playoff game Saturday in Polo.

Landon Knigge rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, and Dixon scored points on seven of its 11 drives while pitching a shutout to defeat Woodstock North 45-0 in their Class 4A first-round playoff game Friday night at A.C. Bowers Field.

Trailing 22-20 and facing the end of its season, Morris scored the final five points of the match to pull out a 21-25, 25-9, 25-22 victory over Sterling in the Class 3A Sterling Regional final and earn its first regional title since 2015.

Sauk Valley rolled to a 25-15, 25-16, 25-16 win over Kishwaukee on Sophomore Night, remaining undefeated on its home court for the second straight season and finishing off a second consecutive 10-0 record in Arrowhead Conference play.

Sterling seized control and never let go against Freeport in their Class 3A Sterling Regional semifinal collecting a 25-10, 25-16 win to advance to Thursday's regional final

Dixon's defense continues to help set the tone heading into the playoffs. Newman was challenged by Mon-Rose to end the regular season, and Polo's 70 points were the most the Marcos scored since at least 1935 in this week's Sauk Valley football notes.

Senior Landon Knigge rushed for a single-game school-record 447 yards and scored five touchdowns to lead Dixon to a 58-20 win over Genoa-Kingston in the regular-season finale Friday night at A.C. Bowers Field.

Rock Falls picked up a win on Senior Night at Tabor Gym, defeating Oregon 25-16, 25-20 on Wednesday in the Big Northern Conference finale for both teams.

Dixon rallied to win the opening set, then slowly pulled away in the second to win at Winnebago 25-22, 25-18 and claim the outright Big Northern Conference title on Tuesday night.

A quick touchdown drive to close the first half propelled Sterling to a dominant second half Friday night, as the Golden Warriors pulled away from Quincy for a 38-17 Western Big 6 win at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

After dropping the first set, Rock Falls rallied to win the second, then come back from an early deficit to win the third in a 20-25, 25-16, 25-22 win over Rockford Christian.

After pulling away in the first set and scuffling in the second, Dixon rolled in the third set on its way to a 25-18, 22-25, 25-8 win over Byron to remain undefeated in Big Northern Conference play.

Rock Falls seeks more leadership from key players after a promising start against IVC led to another loss. Dixon's Landon Knigge had a five-TD first quarter, and Sterling is looking for another bounceback in this week's Sauk Valley football notes.

Rock Falls controlled the ball and the clock in the first half, but an inability to score allowed Illinois Valley Central to pull away in the second half for a 28-0 win on Friday night at Hinders Field

Dixon jumped out to big leads in both sets, then pulled away down the stretch after Oregon runs to win their Big Northern Conference match 25-18, 25-13 on Thursday night at Lancaster Gym.