Playoff Preview for Central Illinois 7A-1A

The 2021 season is wrapping up all over the state, and now it is  PLAYOFF time. We are in for a treat in the coming weeks with intense competition all over the state. Twenty-one Central Illinois football teams will compete in the 2021 IHSA football playoffs. Here are the teams and the matchups with some breakdown of big matchups. <hr /> <strong>CLASS 7A:</strong> (30) Blue Island Eisenhower at (3)<strong> Normal Community (9-0)</strong> Normal Community finished an impressive undefeated season in a tough Big Twelve Conference lead by QB [player_tooltip player_id="155034" first="Chase" last="Mackey"], <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tye </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Niekamp, and [player_tooltip player_id="154037" first="Camden" last="Maas"] </span>look to make a playoff run in this massive 7A class with their #3 seed in the brackets. If they want to win it all, they will have to get through Mount Prospect and Chicago (St. Rita) to do so, and that is no easy task whatsoever. (18) Libertyville at (15) <strong>Pekin (7-2)</strong> Pekin has rattled off three wins in a row to secure their playoff spot in the loaded 7A bracket. Pekin has a strong run game led by 2023 RB Kanye Tyler and a hard-nosed defense with only 106 points allowed. They can get past round 1 but will have a tough test with a #2 seed Rockton (Hononegah) (9-0) in round 2. <strong>CLASS 6A:</strong> (11) <strong>Normal West (6-3)</strong> at (6) <strong>Washington (7-2)</strong> Normal West is coming off a blowout loss to Normal Community and looks to right the ship in the first round versus a tough Washington team. Throughout the season, Normal West QB Kolton Lindsey has started fast, scoring big in the 1st quarter of games for the Wildcats, whereas their opponents have had 2nd half explosions. The wildcats will need to be a four-quarter team if they get past the 1st round. Washington has played solid football the last month with a five-game win streak and has a very explosive offense with a stout defense allowing 118 points in the regular season. (9) <strong>Springfield</strong> (6-3) at (8) Rock Island (6-3) Springfield is led by Rutgers commit 2022 QB [player_tooltip player_id="20858" first="Rashad" last="Rochelle"] who has a tough road matchup up north in Rock Island.  They can score a lot of points fast so I expect a shoot-out. <strong>CLASS 5A:</strong> (10) <strong>Highland (5-4)</strong> at (7) <strong>Morton (7-2)</strong> Morton is an offensive machine with 329 PF leading the Mid-Illini Conference in that category with the help of WR [player_tooltip player_id= "155241" first= "Jayshon" last= "Lemon"]. They have put together four in a row with an impressive 5 of 8 teams making the playoffs in the conference. (9) Morgan Park (6-3) at (8) <strong>Peoria High (7-2)</strong> (13) <strong>Dunlap (5-4)</strong> at (4) Mascoutah (8-1) (12) <strong>Metamora (5-4)</strong> at (5) Marion (8-1) <strong>CLASS 4A:</strong> (16) Cahokia (H.S.) (5-4) at (1) <strong>Rochester</strong> <strong>(8-1)</strong> Rochester is a powerhouse in the 4A class with Illinois commit [player_tooltip player_id="20880" first="Hank" last="Beatty"] leading the way. He is a player that makes everyone around him better. They will be difficult to be without question working through the bracket. (12) <strong>Peoria Notre Dame (6-3)</strong> at (5) Wheaton St. Francis (7-2) (9) <strong>Paris (6-3)</strong> at (8) <strong>Mt. Zion</strong> <strong>(6-3)</strong> <strong>CLASS 3A:</strong> (10) Chicago King (6-3) at (7) <strong>Prairie Central (7-2)</strong> (9) <strong>Eureka (6-3)</strong> at (8) <strong>Paxton-Buckley-Loda (6-3)</strong> (12) <strong>Elmwood-Brimfield</strong> <strong>(5-4)</strong> at (5) Clark (8-1) <strong>CLASS 2A:</strong> (15) Rockridge (5-4) at (2) <strong>Tri-Valley (9-0)</strong> Downs ran the table with an undefeated season led by 2022 QB [player_tooltip player_id="155039" first="Andrew" last="Petrilli"] that put up 369 points. The defense held their own, allowing 69 points on the season. They look to keep rolling entering the playoffs and should line up with a big matchup with Farmington HS. (14) El Paso-Gridley (5-4) at (3) <strong>Farmington (9-0)</strong> Farmington had a stellar undefeated season with 406 PF / 77 PA led by 2-way starter RB/LB Kevin Shultz, who had a monster season for the Farmers. They will be interesting to follow as the playoffs progress as we may see a battle of the undefeated team’s Downs (Tri-Valley) in the Elite 8. (13) Bishop McNamara (5-4) at (4) <strong>Knoxville (8-1)</strong> (11) Momence (6-3) at (6) <strong>Tremont (7-2)</strong> (10) North Lawndale (6-3) at (7) <strong>Dee-Mack (6-3)</strong> <strong>CLASS 1A:</strong> (15) <strong>Princeville (5-4)</strong> at (2) Ottawa-Marquette (8-1) (13) Ridgeview-Lexington (5-4) at (4) <strong>Rushville (7-2)</strong> (16) Annawan-Wethersfield (5-4) at (1) <strong>Abingdon-Avon (8-1)</strong> <hr /> Next week we will have the winners of the Central and the breakdown of the winning matchups, plus what to expect in Round 2.