Game of the week

Bradley-Bourbonnais (6-1, 3-1) at Lincoln-Way West (7-0, 4-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Boilermakers: Bradley-Bourbonnais bounced back from its only loss of the season with a resounding win over DeKalb in Week 7. The game was close at the break, but the Boilermakers overwhelmed the Barbs with their balanced offense, engineered by QB Ellis Johnson, who tossed four touchdowns in the victory. This balanced nicely with a rushing attack that was extremely productive and utilized the full range of the Bradley offensive attack. The defense has done a little bit more bending as of late than they did earlier in the year, but has still been solid enough when coupled with the tremendous production that the offense has shown at times.

About the Warriors: Lincoln-Way West had little trouble remaining undefeated on the season as its trip to Michigan netted a 49-7 win over Lapeer. The Warriors remain on track for a conference championship and a potentially very high seed in the Class 7A playoffs. The Warriors continue to get very strong defensive efforts and have had just one opponent (DeKalb) in Week 6 post three touchdowns against the defensive unit as they return home and look to keep the Boilermakers from a chance at the Southwest Valley Red.

Friday Night Drive Pick: Lincoln-Way West

Chicagoland Christian Conference

Bishop McNamara (7-0, 5-0) at Hope Academy (7-0, 5-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Fightin’ Irish: Another road test, another A-plus from Bishop McNamara, who not only scored for the first time in three years against Wheaton Academy last week, but won the meeting for the first time in five years. Their spread option offense has garnered most of the headlines, and rightfully so – they average 50.4 points per game. But a ball-hawking, hard-hitting McNamara defense has only allowed more than 14 points twice this season. In a matchup that figures to see both offenses go back and forth, it could be the Fightin’ Irish defense that needs to make a late play.

About the Eagles: Whether it’s close games like a 20-18 Week 1 win at Eastside (Patterson, NJ) or a 28-21 tally over Wheaton Academy in Week 6, or one of their four running clock wins, Hope Academy has shown it can win games in a variety of ways. It’s been almost a month since the Eagles have played at home, but they’ve scored at least 60 points in each of their first two home games. The Eagles already have their 12th straight playoff berth clinched and now turn their attention to completing their second undefeated regular season in four years.

FND Pick: Hope Academy

Southland Athletic Conference

Kankakee (5-2, 4-0) at Thornton (2-5, 1-3)

When: 6 p.m. Friday

About the Kays: Kankakee returned home last week after five straight road games, and after shutting out Bloom, hit the road one more time in the regular season before hosting Crete-Monee in Week 9. Three of the wins in their five-win streak have come by a running clock, as the offense has started to find a rhythm under rookie head coach Ed Hazelett. The defense continues to be their calling card, though, allowing just 47 points over the last five weeks. Cedric Terrell III has been arguably the biggest contributor on both sides of the ball, figuratively speaking, but physically speaking, All-Southland defensive tackle Jyheir Sutton seems to have picked up some power back duties.

About the Wildcats: With a pair of wins, Thornton has already won two more games than last year and matched its 2023 win total, and a win in either Week 8 or Week 9 would give the Wildcats their first three-win season since Fred Gandy’s first season as coach in the COVID-19 spring 2021 season. But outside of those wins, the Wildcats have had their struggles. They’ve scored just 12 points in their five losses, and if history is any indication, points will be hard to come by this week. Since they came to the Southland in 2019, the Wildcats have lost all six meetings with Kankakee, last scoring in their 28-14 loss in 2019.

FND Pick: Kankakee

Illinois Central Eight

Herscher (5-2, 4-1) at Coal City (6-1, 4-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Tigers: Herscher had to sweat out its fifth victory of the season, needing overtime to topple Reed-Custer in Week 7. The Tigers have the five wins to qualify for the playoffs, and one more win clinches Herscher’s first playoff appearance since 2018, which is also the last time this program finished the regular season above the .500 mark. It’s been a bit of a breakthrough for this program this season, but closing the gap between themselves and a Coal City crew that is firing on all cylinders right now might be a little bit too much to ask for.

About the Coalers: Coal City continues its absolute domination of Illinois Central Eight opponents, and the Coalers seem to be gathering more steam as they go along. Coal City has outscored ICE opponents 202-27 in four league games and hasn’t been remotely pushed in contests since its lone loss to Richmond-Burton back in Week 2. The Coalers have scored 40-plus in every game this season, but that R-B matchup and will look to carry that momentum through this game and into their Week 9 showdown with Wilmington.

FND Pick: Coal City

Wilmington (6-1, 4-0) at Reed-Custer (3-4, 2-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Wildcats: The names might change, but Wilmington‘s ability to generate rushing yards doesn’t seem to. The Wildcats put up nearly 400 yards rushing as they breezed to a Week 7 win over Streator. Hunter Kaitschuck assumed the leading rusher role in this win, scoring four touchdowns on just nine carries. Wilmington’s defense also hemmed in Streator for less than two yards a carry when it elected to run further, cementing the Wildcats’ status as a defense you shouldn’t expect to do much against.

About the Comets: Reed-Custer‘s unexpected run toward a playoff spot likely came to an end with an overtime loss to Herscher in Week 7. The Comets are guaranteed a victory in Week 9 (because of Lisle’s forfeiture of the season), but would need to claim a massive upset here to get to five victories. Reed-Custer has shown sound improvement throughout the season, but the Comets admittedly missed multiple opportunities to put points on the board against Herscher, where just a few more would have secured a victory. They likely won’t find many chances at all against Wilmington, which gives up yards and points extremely infrequently.

FND Pick: Wilmington

Manteno (4-3, 1-3) at Peotone (3-4, 2-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Panthers: Manteno picked up pretty close to a must-win game in a nonconference battle with GCMS in Week 7, showing a lot more life on offense than they have in recent weeks. This is always an interesting contest regardless of record, considering the two schools are separated by just five miles and were once co-operative partners until Manteno broke out on its own in 2002.

About the Blue Devils: It has been a bit of a disappointment through seven games, but three of the Peotone losses have come to opponents that currently have a combined record of 18-3, and there’s still a window of opportunity for the Blue Devils to reach the postseason. A sweep of their next two opponents (they travel to Herscher in Week 9) is required, and for that to happen, Peotone needs its ground game to set the tone and for its defense to be more like it has performed in its wins on the field this season, where the Blue Devils held both Granite City and Streator to solitary touchdowns.

FND Pick: Manteno

Vermilion Valley Conference

Clifton Central (6-1, 6-1) at Iroquois West (1-6, 1-6)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Comets: For the first time in 2025, Clifton Central had to bounce back from a loss when the Comets hosted Hoopeston last week. They passed that test with flying colors, a 54-0 shutout, and while Westville is in a good spot to win the VVC with two games to play, the Comets have the chance to add two more wins to their Class 1A playoff resume. With the running game starting to match the passing game’s prowess over the past few weeks and the defense continuing its season-long reign of dominance, the Comets will be one of Class 1A’s toughest outs at this rate.

About the Raiders: Playing for pride and the chance to upset a longtime rival, don’t expect this young Iroquois West team to lay down against a Clifton Central team that’s got the Raiders outclassed on paper. They were blanked 48-0 against former head coach Cameron Lee against Oakwood last week, and now finish the season against conference juggernauts in the Comets and Westville. With a majority of underclassmen on the roster, the next two weeks will give those youngsters exposure to the best of the best and hopefully give them some experience to build off of.

FND Pick: Clifton Central

Momence (2-5, 2-5) at Watseka (1-6, 1-6)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About Momence: All but officially out of playoff contention, Momence will look to end 2025 with two main priorities – sending all-time passing leader Erick Castillo and the rest of the seniors out on a high note and getting valuable reps for some promising underclassmen. Castillo, who was rarely held to under 100 yards passing with 97 yards in last week’s 49-0 loss at Bismarck-Henning, has found a rapport with fellow senior Eddie Ferreira that the two haven’t had in a couple of years. Look for them to connect plenty in the next two weeks.

About the Warriors: Now with its stretch of five games against probable playoff teams in a row done, Watseka will look to wrap up 2025 with a pair of home victories against rival Momence and Hoopeston. They didn’t start the season with much depth, and what little depth the Warriors did have has taken quite a lump with that bruising five-game stretch. But they’ll bring their best to end the year and look to find some long-term positives.

FND Pick: Momence

Illinois 8-Man Football Association

St. Anne (6-1) at Milford/Cissna Park (6-1)

When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday

About the Cardinals: St. Anne made it back-to-back running clock wins with 50-plus points after dismantling St. Thomas More 57-14 last week. Grant Pomaranski continues excelling as the point guard for the Cardinals’ up-tempo offense, dishing out a trio of touchdowns and running for two more against the Sabers. He’s one half of a matchup between two of the I8FA’s top quarterbacks, and similarly, senior wide receiver/defensive back Matthew Langellier is one half of a matchup between two of the division’s hottest two-way players. Langellier caught two of Pomaranski’s three touchdowns last week and had a team-high 11 tackles.

About the Bearcats: Milford/Cissna Park’s also gotten unreal quarterback play from senior Dierks Neukomm, who had 288 total yards and three total touchdowns in last week’s 64-28 win over Blue Ridge. The Bearcats have also seen one of their WR/DBs turn in a standout season as Skyler Estay had a receiving touchdown, rushing touchdown and interception return touchdown last week. These two teams are almost mirror images of one another in terms of talent, and Thursday night at Sam Fanning Stadium should deliver one of I8FA’s best games of the year.

FND Pick: St. Anne