Round 3 Playoff Preview: Southern Illinois

Meat and potatoes of the IHSA playoffs are here, round 3, quarterfinals, or Elite 8, whatever you wish to call it. This weekend will be exciting with tailgating, great football, and jam-packed stadiums across the state battling to play in the Final 4. <hr /> <h5>Class 5A</h5> <strong>(5) Marion (H.S.) (10-1)</strong> at (1) Kankakee (Sr.) (11-0) Head Coach Kerry Martin (Career Record  201-88, 1 3A State Title, 96-97 14-0 season at Carterville) and his Marion Wildcats have been a significant power on Southern Illinois consistently with 16 consecutive playoff appearances. 2022 WR Venson Newsom leads the Wildcats and is one of the most underrated WR in Illinois, and he should get some excellent exposure up in Kankakee with all the talent they will have on display. <h5>Class 4A</h5> <strong>(2) Breese (Central) (10-1)</strong> at (3) Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) (10-1) Breese is coming off an impressive 20 point victory over a young talented Murphysboro team. The running back duo of 2022 RB Miguel Velazquez and 2022 RB Marcus Price is the epitome of a thunder and lightning backfield. The defense has 2022 DB Austin Wesselmann team leader in tackles (104). 2022 DL Zach Malcomb had a team-high of 14 TFL in the trenches. 2022 MLB Justin Walsh tied the team-high with 14 TFL and 92 total tackles. Breese will not make it easy for an impressive Springfield (SHG) with a home team advantage. <h5>Class 3A</h5> <strong>(3) Benton (11-0) at (2) Mt. Carmel (11-0)</strong> I will be attending this game, and I have to say I haven’t been this excited since the East St. Louis v Desmet game early in the season. This matchup has been building with anticipation for some time now, and many in Southern Illinois are eager to see who is at the top of the 3A Class. The Golden Aces of Mt. Carmel have 2024 QB/WR [player_tooltip player_id="132936" first="Blayne" last="Sisson"] leading the offense had a great season behind a powerful offensive line where 2022 OL/DL Luke Laws lead them in the trenches. 2022 RB [player_tooltip player_id="65852" first="Zeke" last="Hadra"] is healthy, has a determined offensive line before him, and will be a load to stop. He throws it to an Impressive 2022 WR [player_tooltip player_id="155248" first="Zach" last="Allen"] who has had an incredible season, to say the least. Defensively 2022 DL/OL Noah Nable is coming off a solid game in round 2 and looks to be the brick wall of the defense again this week against a stout Benton line. The Golden Aces are a talented team that will make it quite difficult for anyone to beat them. The Rangers of Benton prepare for their first quarterfinal since 2002 and will not get through it easily, traveling to a hostile Mt. Carmel stadium that is sure to be a 12th man. Speaking with Head Coach Justin Groves, he says " His boys will be fired up, and there is no back down in them, and he is looking forward to the challenge." All-State 2022 QB [player_tooltip player_id="65707" first="Keegan" last="Glover"] will be leading will his team with his record-breaking 2022 WR Reid Baumgarte on offense. 2022 OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id="155333" first="Patrick" last="Stanley"] is handling the trenches for the Rangers with menacing intensity on both sides of the ball. 2022 S/WR [player_tooltip player_id="155522" first="Chase" last="Thomas"] is Top 3 in the state in tackles which makes him a heat-seeking missile on defense at all times with that dawg you look for on that side of the ball. <h5>Class 2A</h5> <strong>(4) Breese (Mater Dei) (11-0)</strong> at (1) Decatur (St. Teresa) (11-0) The Knights of Mater Dei have a potent offensive attack led by 2022 QB Bryce Revermann, 2022 RB/DB Jayce Napovanice, 2022 WR/CB Cameron Haag. All three have had an excellent season that has to lead to the 11-0 record. This defense is stellar and has five impactful players that can make plays anytime that rarely miss any tackles 2022 WR Kyler Schuchman, 2023 DL/OL Brayden Buehne, 2022 DB/WR Colin Toeben, 2022 LB/OL Reed Timmermann, 2022 DB/WR [player_tooltip player_id="155536" first=" Trey" last=" Gerdes"]. (2) Pana (H.S.) (11-0) at <strong>(6) Nashville (10-1)</strong> The Hornets of Nashville High are returning to the quarterfinals and making a run at a championship game where they finished runner it up in 2019. Do not let seed fool you; they are an experienced playoff team that will give you a lot of problems. 2022 QB Kolten Gajewski is the leader of this Hornets team with the home-field advantage, which could be the deciding factor for them against a strong Pana team. <hr /> Next week Round 4 of the IHSA Playoff Preview Southern Illinois