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Class 4A quarterfinal
No. 3 Dixon (10-1) at No. 7 Coal City (9-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Dukes: Dixon is one of the few schools in Illinois that has surpassed 500 points scored this season, as the Dukes have consistently put up big numbers offensively. Dixon allowed 29 points in its lone loss of the season to Byron. But other than that, opposing offenses haven’t made much of a dent against the Dukes. Dixon has only surrendered two touchdowns in four other games and held six opponents to a touchdowns or less as its defense has made a difference. Dixon beat Chicago Ag Science 51-6 last week to reach the quarterfinals for the third time in school history, joining the 2006 and 2017 teams. Dixon has never reached the semifinals.
“They’re big and physical on both sides of the ball,” Dixon coach Jared Shaner said of Coal City. “On offense, they’ve got Landin Benson, their all-time leading rusher; he’s scored 10 touchdowns in their last two playoff games. Last week he carried it 37 times. That’s what they want to do. They’re capable of doing some other stuff, but no doubt they want to line up and run straight ahead over top of you. And then on the defensive side of the ball, they’re physical at every position. Their line is good both ways, but what stands out is that their skill guys are big and physical. They’ve got a couple guys out on the perimeter, receiver and defensive backs and outside linebackers, they’re just big kids. We’re going to have to be ready to play, because it will be a very physical game.”
About the Coalers: Coal City RB Landin Benson has getting a lot of praise for guiding the Coalers offense to great heights, as his back-to-back five-touchdown performances are certainly worth of note. And while Benson has been fantastic, Coal City’s defensive unit has also been stellar. The Coalers gave up 31 points in their season-opening loss to Joliet West, but just 69 points since and have shown a propensity to not only limit points, but yards as well. Both of those two teams seem solid through and through, both offensively and defensively.
Friday Night Drive pick: Dixon
Illinois 8-Man Football Association semifinals
No. 4 Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio (10-1) at No. 1 Pawnee-Lincolnwood (11-0)
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
About the Clippers: They are one step from earning the right to defend their eight-man state championship after defeating No. 5 Martinsville 32-20. Last week’s quarterfinal win didn’t come as easy for Amboy coming off five straight blowout wins in which it scored 46 points or more while not giving up more than 14, winning by a average margin of 58.4-5.6. The Amboy players showed, however, they could come through facing adversity, shutting out the Bluestreaks 6-0 in the second half to punch their ticket to the semifinals. QB Eddie Jones said, “We’ve got to have a good week of practice and be ready to play. Watch film, and study them.”
Amboy seeks its third straight 8-man state final berth.
Amboy coach Scott Payne says Pawnee’s running game will be the primary challenge, but the team is balanced.
“They have a 2000 yard running back in Carson Wort. But they also have a good quarterback and wide receivers that are good in the short passing game,” Payne said. “The kids’ mindset is we have to play our game and do the little things right and make sure we stay in our pursuit lane on defense and read our keys on defense and we have to have three or four guys tackling the running back.”
About the Indians: The Indians carried the top seed into the eight-Man playoffs and have lived up to it. They beat Belleville Metro East Lutheran 62-28 in the first round and blitzed St. Anne 64-24 last week. Senior running back Carson Wort had a memorable night, rushing for 515 yards on 37 carries with seven touchdowns. During the regular season, the Pawnee co-op outscored its opponents in the eight games it played (it received one forfeit win) by a combined score of 330-99. Pawnee beat Martinsville, the one common opponent it has with Amboy, 42-12 in Week 7.
Next: The winner will advance to Illinois 8-Man Football Association final against the winner between No. 2 Polo and No. 6 Milledgeville at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22 at Monmouth College’s April Zorn Memorial Stadium
FND pick: Pawnee
No. 2 Polo (11-0) at No. 6 Milledgeville (10-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
About the Marcos: They continued their dominance with a 66-0 win over West Carroll last week to set up a rematch with Milledgeville. The Marcos beat the Missiles 30-14 on Oct. 7 in the Battle for the Blacktop trophy.
“Obviously, coming out in the quarterfinals and beating a team 66-0 is a great feeling, but we’ve got another big game next week – an even bigger game than this, because they all get bigger now – against a team we’ve already played,” Polo QB Gus Mumford said. “They always say it’s hard to beat a team twice, so we’ve got to come out and be prepared and take it to them like we did [against West Carroll].”
Polo coach Ted Alston is also expecting another battle against the Missiles.
“Obviously facing our biggest rival is always a big game and with this being a semifinal, it only adds to the game’s importance,” he said. “I think the game will be a great game between two similar teams that pride themselves in playing solid defense and efficient offense. I think both teams will come out with a great deal of excitement and ready to get after it.”
About the Missiles: After dealing with a stomach virus earlier in the week, Milledgeville junior Karter Livengood helped lead the Missiles to a 16-12 win over Ridgewood. Livengood ran for 107 yards on 31 carries with two TDs, completing all four his passes for 60 yards. The Missiles are in the semis after finishing in the quarterfinals the past three seasons.
Milledgeville coach Jason Wroble says this may be the biggest matchup yet between the two rivals.
“Whenever it is Polo and Milledgeville the game has extra meaning, but I am not sure if a Polo-Milledgeville game has ever had this much extra meaning. This is the type of game that the players, fans and coaches will be remember being a part of. I anticipate a packed house and an electric atmosphere on Saturday,” he said. “The Week 6 game was hard fought and determined by a couple of plays. I anticipate no difference in this game other than the intensity to be even greater. I expect my team to fix the many mistakes that we made in our first meeting with Polo. I also hope that we have some newfound confidence after our hard-fought win in Cambridge last weekend.
“Like every time we line up against Polo, I expect a well-prepared team. They will be disciplined on defense and execute on offense. They are a great program with excellent coaches and that is why playing in semifinals has become a yearly experience for them.”
FND pick: Polo