6A Sleeper Teams

<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Rock Island </strong></span> <strong>2019 Record: </strong><em>8-4</em> The rock's season ended last fall on a tough note, falling to 6A State Champion East St. Louis 70-28 in the second round. There's no shame in losing to the Flyers, as that team was absolutely loaded. The rocks bring back a whole slew of talent, including athlete [player_tooltip player_id="20258" first="Perry" last="Slater"], athlete Devin Swift, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="20862" first="Eli" last="Reese"], offensive lineman Tommy Smith, and more. They even picked up a transfer in Rockridge tight end &amp; division one recruit [player_tooltip player_id="20276" first="Cole" last="Rusk"]. The Rocks play a fairly favorable schedule in 2020, and I wouldn't be shocked if they entered the playoffs between 8-1 or 9-0. This could be key, as they need good playoff positioning, so they're not stuck playing a powerhouse round 2 like last fall. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Vernon Hills</strong></span> <strong>2019 Record:</strong><em> 5-4</em> Vernon Hills was actually playoff eligible in 2019 but unfortunately didn't have enough points to qualify for the postseason. Their 2020 roster is stacked and ready for a breakout 2020 season. Tight end [player_tooltip player_id="20273" first="Justin" last="Morris"], linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="20323" first="Jackson" last="Wiegold"] and wide receiver Jake Pieper are all really talented prospects. There's one name I left out of that group, and it's running back, Ryan Mann. Mann was injured midway through last season, and after his injury, it seemed like the Cougars lost a bit of steam. If the cougars get a healthy Mann back and continue to score points as they did in 2019, this team could be reminiscent of their 2016 squad. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Antioch</strong></span> <strong>2019 Record: </strong><em>8-3</em> This is a very well-coached and fundamentally sound football team. They lost a tightly contested round two matchup to Cary Grove 14-7 last year and will be looking to take a big step forward. They'll be led by their two longtime Minnesota commits, Athan &amp; [player_tooltip player_id="20253" first="Dino" last="Kaliakmanis"]. Their team is talented and loaded with previous playoff experience. You know what you're going to get with this squad, they're going to run the football, open up the passing game with play-action, and play Stoudt on defense. Don't be surprised if that approach gets them to Champaign Thanksgiving weekend. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Kenwood</strong></span> <strong>2019 Record: </strong><em>8-2-1</em> Kenwood may be the most talented team in 6A, not named East St. Louis. The Broncos have Division one recruits all over the field and could have their best team in years. Head Coach Sinque Turner has done a fabulous job rebuilding the program, and they're ready for a deep playoff run. Their core group will be led by Boston College commit's [player_tooltip player_id="20209" first="Lewis" last="Bond"] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id="20213" first="Dante" last="Reynolds"]. A key piece to their 2020 campaign will be the play of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="20223" first="Kaleb" last="Garner"]. If he's able to continue his success from last season and lead this team, Kenwood could be scary good. Their 2020 schedule will feature a healthy amount of recent playoff teams, and we'll know right away how good this team really is. Could we have here only the second CPS school to win a state title? Only time will tell! <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Peoria</strong></span> <strong>2019 Record: </strong><em>10-2</em> Just know, when Peoria plays football games, points are going to be scored and a lot of them. In four different contests, they scored 96, 66, 64 &amp; 78 last season. The box score looked more like a basketball game. The good thing for Peoria fans is the man who led that charge behind center, Darius Beckum, returns for his senior season. He'll be joined by his top wideout [player_tooltip player_id="20260" first="Dionysius" last="Hogan"]. Peoria lost one regular-season game last fall, and I wouldn't be shocked if they entered this year's playoffs with an unblemished record. Coach Tim Thornton does a tremendous job will have his team prepared. The Lions already have one state title within the last five years, and will certainly make a push for their second. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="332"]<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOrCdZUWkAAWRuj?format=jpg&amp;name=large" alt="Image" width="332" height="442" /> WR [player_tooltip player_id="20260" first="Dionysius" last="Hogan"][/caption]