Everything you need to know about Saturday's second-round playoff matchups
A berth in the state quarterfinals is on the line Saturday as eight Pantagraph area football teams play second round playoff games.
Here's a look at each matchup.
CLASS 6A
Normal West vs. East St. Louis
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: East St. Louis
Season records: West 8-2, East St. Louis 9-1
FYI: West faces national powerhouse East St. Louis in the second round for the third straight season. The Flyers, who also eliminated the Wildcats in 2013 and '14, prevailed 54-7 last season and 40-0 in 2022 ... East St. Louis is ranked No. 1 in 6A, first regardless of class in Illinois and 29th nationally by MaxPreps ... The Flyers' only loss was a 14-13 decision to national No. 17 IMG Academy ... While he is primarily a running quarterback, Cooper Temples has completed 15 of 17 passes for 172 yards ... West has other weapons in Cody Muhlbauer (1,004 yards rushing) and Maliq Givens (401 receiving, 344 rushing) ... East St. Louis quarterback Kendrick Lyons has passed for 1,665 yards for an offense that averages 40.6 points ... The surviving team next draws either Chatham Glenwood or Oak Forest in the quarterfinal round.
Bloomington vs. Kankakee
: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Kankakee:
Season records: Bloomington 8-2, Kankakee 9-1
FYI: Fresh off the program's first playoff victory since 2008, BHS takes on the fourth-ranked Kays on their home field ... The Purple Raiders rallied from a 20-10 halftime deficit to knock off Lemont 31-20 in the first round, but have been a first half team all regular season with a 243-82 scoring margin before halftime ... Rob Lanier has rushed for 1,079 yards for BHS, AJ Codron has passed for 1,519 and Keyontae Hamilton has 43 receptions for 515 yards ... The Raiders' leading tacklers have been Kenyetta Gardner and Trey'vion Wiley ... Kankakee defeated Normal Community 26-13, while NCHS downed BHS 44-14 in the regular season ... Kays' quarterback Phillip Turner has 1,207 yards through the air, and James Stampley has produced 558 yards rushing and 547 receiving ... The winner takes on either No. 6 Richards or No. 10 Washington in the quarterfinals.
CLASS 4A
Olney Richland County vs. University High
When: Saturday, 4 p.m.
Where: Hancock Stadium, Normal
Season records: Olney Richland County 10-0, U High 8-2
FYI: No. 7-ranked U High tangles with undefeated and No. 5-ranked Richland County of Olney ... The Pioneers' Alek Weiland is the first Area quarterback to reach 3,000 yards passing since Lexington's Alex Tanney in 2006 with 3,024. Weiland completes 65.4 percent of his throws for 38 touchdowns ... U High tailbacks Carson Stevens (523) and Rhett Lynch (466) have combined for nearly 1,000 yards. Receiver Cade Cunningham nearly has 1,000 himself with 992 receiving. AJ Holden adds 772 yards worth of receptions ... Drew Rader tops the Pioneers with 68 tackles, while Cole Matejka has 9.5 sacks ... Richland County quarterback Gavyn Cothern has rushed for 1,523 yards and passed for 919. Dirks Weiler supplies 1,064 on the ground ... The winner plays either Waterloo or Cahokia in the quarters.
CLASS 3A
Eureka vs. Wilmington
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where:
Season records: Eureka 9-1, Wilmington 10-0
Eureka faces the No. 2-ranked team in 3A. Wilmington is the reigning 2A state champion ... Ryan Kettman rushed for 157 yards and Kyle Farrell 103 in the Wildcats' 32-7 first round win over Stillman Valley. Wilmington did not attempt a pass ... Eureka quarterback Austin Gerber is completing 68.8 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,603 yards ... The Hornets' Ben Lapp has 823 yards on the ground and 363 more receiving ... Tory Kupferschmid, who tops Eureka in tackles, and Lance Wiegand are big-play receivers. Kupferschmid averages 20.8 yards on his 31 catches and Wiegand 22.9 on his 15 receptions ... The winner meets either Pecatonica or PBL in the quarters.
CLASS 2A
Chicago Christian vs. Tri-Valley
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where:
Season records: Chicago Christian 9-1, Tri-Valley 9-1
FYI: Fifth-ranked Tri-Valley has rattled off eight straight wins after a week one loss to LeRoy ... Cole Klein has amassed 1,023 yards rushing and 17 TDs in eight games. Thomas Harris chips in 611 yards on the ground ... Quarterback Ethan Moore has 862 yards through the air with Cade Danko hauling in 20 receptions for 434 yards ... The Vikings opened the playoffs with a 42-28 win over Central Catholic, while Chicago Christian hammered Illini West 53-16 ... The winner advances to the quarterfinals where they will be opposed by either No. 3 Bismarck-Henning or Seneca, which was fifth in the final 3A regular season poll.
Elmwood-Brimfield vs. Dwight
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where:
Season records: Elmwood-Brimfield 9-1, Dwight 7-3
FYI: Sparked by its first playoff win since 1983, a 41-13 thrashing of No. 9-ranked Momence, Dwight gets a home game ... Sophomore Collin Bachand made several key plays for the Trojans last week and has 689 yards passing on the season ... Ayden Collom has 1,139 yards rushing and Dylan Crouch 622 ... Evan Cox is Dwight's top tackler and is the Chicagoland Prairie Conference Defensive Player of the Year ... Elmwood-Brimfield ran for 443 yards in a 56-26 first round triumph over Oakwood ... Trojans Bo Windish (1,711 yards) and Matthew Glenn (1,690) form a devastating 1-2 ground punch ... The prevailing team next plays No. 2 Farmington or No. 10 Rockridge in the quarterfinals.
CLASS 1A
LeRoy vs. Rockford Lutheran
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where:
Season records: LeRoy 10-0, Rockford Lutheran 7-3
FYI: LeRoy has put away opponents early with its relentless ground attack. The Panthers average 385.6 yards rushing to just 52.5 for opponents and hold a huge 251-33 first-half scoring advantage ... Quarterback Bo Zeleznik rushed for 309 yards in a 54-21 first round win over Aurora Christian and has 1,298 over 10 games. Stephon Williams has 686 yards as one of six Panthers with 280-plus yards on the ground ... Brock Owens is LeRoy's defensive leader ... Rockford Lutheran finished third in the Big Northern behind 3A Byron and 4A Dixon ... The winner clashes with Ottawa Marquette or Galena in quarterfinal play.
Sterling Newman vs. GCMS
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Gibson City
Season records: Newman 8-2, GCMS 9-1
FYI: No. 8-ranked GCMS defeated Salt Fork 38-7 in the first round behind 111 rushing yards from Brayden Bradbury and 86 from Ethan Lowe as the Falcons were without 1,241-yard rusher Jacob Chase (ankle) ... Quarterback Brayden Elliott has thrown for 1,227 yards ... No. 6 Sterling Newman clipped Hope Academy 50-22 to start the playoffs ... Next up for the winner is a quarterfinal matchup with either No. 2 Lena-Winslow or Stockton.
Photos: Normal West football during week one of the playoffs against Simeon
