FCW football vs. West Carroll 8-man playoffs score, news, our pick, live coverage

FCW faces West Carroll in Round 1 of the 2024 Illinois 8-man football playoffs Friday Night Drive editor J.T. Pedelty will have live updates, scores and news from the game.

What to know FCW vs. West Carroll kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Savanna

FCW-West Carroll preview

About the Falcons: Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland only took three losses last season – all three coming at the hands of Ridgewood and Amboy/LaMoille/Ohio, the teams in last year's Illinois 8-Man Football Association state championship game – but those three dings were enough to send FCW 144 miles one way, north of the Quad Cities in this opening-round matchup. Led by 1,000-yard rusher/leading tackler Leelynd Durbin, (almost) 1,000-yard passer Seth Jones and dominant defensive players Elijah Detweiler and Aydan Radke, the Falcons have never been shutout and have been held under three touchdowns just three times, in their losses; conversely allowing more than three TDs only four times. If you're a believer in coincidental trends, FCW is 3-0 this season against teams with "West" in their name, having beaten 3-6 West Prairie twice and 6-3 West Central in Week 7 – the best win on the Falcons' resume.

About the Thunder: West Carroll 's first season playing in the I8FA has gone quite well, the Thunder earning the No. 7 seed on the 16-team playoff bracket after four consecutive winless seasons to finish their tenure playing the 11-man game. Utilizing a somewhat balanced offense led by RBs Aden Buchholz and Raef Pickard-Schingten along with QB Winter Harrington and WR Roger Laborn, West Carroll has shown the ability to put up points in bunches, averaging 38.3 per outing including 54 or more four times. But it allows them in handfuls too, surrendering 26 or more four times and allowing 22.8 per game. A possible knock might be the Thunder's relatively weak schedule (opponents went a combined 38-43) and difficulty hanging with I8FA's better teams this season, but they quieted that a bit with last week's quality, 36-26 win at 6-3 South Beloit.

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