Big points and big blowouts: Recap of Week 6 high school football around Peoria

The Friday Night Lights shined at Dozer Park in Peoria and the Mid-Illini Conference again played a set of lopsided games as the Illinois high school football season rolled on across the Peoria area.

It was Week 6 here at Journal Star preps experience — your one-stop shop as we look around the Peoria-area football landscape this weekend:

Week 6 coverage: All the scores here | Top performers | Takeaways | Metamora wins | Peoria Heights

9:49 p.m. — Lighting up the scoreboard

Both the Peoria High and Washington football teams topped 70 points this week in a lopsided set of games among the Peoria teams in the Big 12 and Mid-Illini Conference. Peoria High defeated city rival Richwoods 76-13, while Washington scored what is believed to be a school record in a 72-8 victory over East Peoria.

That's not all.

Morton blanked Limestone 57-0, while Dunlap shut out Canton 55-0. Metamora defeated Pekin 48-14. In the Big 12, Notre Dame defeated Champaign Central 53-21 in the Shamrock Classic game at Dozer Park in Peoria. Normal West defeated Manual 54-0 in the other Big 12 game involving Peoria schools.

9:01 p.m. — Nice catch!

Farmington receiver Jack Gronewold — just voted the Journal Star athlete of the week — made a great grab late in the Farmers' road game at Macomb.

Quarterback Lane Wheelright dropped back and hit Gronewold on a 40-yard strike, corraling it as he fell backward onto the turf.

Soon after, Wheelwright took in a 17-yard touchdown on a keeper to give Farmington a 20-8 lead in the middle of the fourth. Farmington went on to win, 26-8.

See the play below, via the IHSA's Matt Jensen.

8:29 p.m. — From bad to worse

287-7. That's the combined score of the seven games involving Peoria and Mid-Illini Conference teams as they reach halftime or near it.

Notre Dame, Peoria High, Metamora, Morton, Dunlap and Washington are on their way to big wins in Week 6.

8:22 p.m. — Olympia will be tested come playoff time

Olympia is the sixth-ranked team in Class 3A, but is facing one heck of a stretch, facing three state-ranked teams in four weeks.

The Spartans (4-2) were in a tough battle Friday with top-ranked 2A team Maroa-Forsyth and trailed 21-12 at halftime. M-F (6-0) eventually held off Olympia for a 35-36 win.

Last week, Olympia dispatched New Berlin 46-19 — but before that? Olympia defeated 3A No. 9 Williamsville and the week before that lost to 2A No. 8 Athens, 14-6, for its only defeat.

8:03 p.m. — Not too much drama

Favorites are making quick work in Week 6. Nearly every game involving Peoria and Mid-Illini schools already have two-touchdown spreads, including Notre Dame and Peoria High running away with Big 12 games.

Washington, Dunlap and Morton are up big in their M-I games, while Metamora struck first in the showdown against Pekin.

7:25 p.m. — Longtime rivals up north

Kewanee and Princeton met for the 125th time on Friday — a rivalry dating back to the 1800s, according to the Bureau County Republican.

The schools first met in 1897. They had a 90-year run of consecutive meetings from 1919 to 2019. The rivalry took a few years off before picking back up again in 2013 in the Three Rivers Conference.

Princeton (5-1) — the No. 3-ranked team in Class 3A — won the rivalry game, 37-14, against Kewanee (5-1), which came in unbeaten.

Game of the week: Pekin vs. Metamora

The Mid-Illini Conference has a pivitol game tonight, especially for Pekin. The Dragons (1-4, 0-3) travel to face Metamora (3-2, 1-2) on the new turf at Malone Field needing a win to stay in playoff contention. Pekin closes the season against Canton, Limestone and East Peoria.

Here is the full Mid-Illini schedule. All games begin at 7:30 p.m. The full Peoria scoreboard is here.

• Pekin (1-4, 0-3) at Metamora (3-2, 1-2)

• Limestone (1-4, 1-2) at Morton (5-0, 3-0)

• East Peoria (2-3, 1-2) at Washington (4-1, 3-0)

• Dunlap (5-0, 3-0) at Canton (0-5, 0-3)

Week 6 picks? Predictions are here

Final vote is here! Pick the best helmet in Peoria

We're holding a vote to find out which high school football program has the best helmet in the Peoria area.

Last week, Washington and Dunlap won the vote for top large-school lid. Farmington and Peoria Heights joined the party by winning the small-school showdown.

Now, you get to pick the best helmet among the top four. Which one do you like? Vote by tapping here!

Shamrock Classic at Dozer Park

The Shamrock Classic high school football game is back at the home of the Peoria Chiefs.

Peoria Notre Dame (4-1, 3-1) meets rival Champaign Central (2-3, 1-3) at 7 p.m. Friday in a Big 12 Conference matchup at the minor league baseball stadium located at 730 SW Jefferson St. in Peoria.

Since 2015, PND has appeared in all seven games, going 5-2. They lost to Richwoods in this game last season, 48-35.

Do you have a great video clip?

Have a cool play you'd like to see honored by the Illinois High School Association or included in this space?

To send a highlight to the IHSA, submit video to FridayNight5@ihsa.org or via social media with the hashtag #FridayNight5. Each Tuesday, the IHSA releases the top five plays, culminating with the "Undeniably Dairy Play of the Week."

The school with the top play each week will receive a $250 gift certificate from Dick’s Sporting Goods for their football program.

Hey, and if you send a play the way of the IHSA — send it our way, too. We want to see your highlights or pictures here! Send your videos and photos to sports@pjstar.com or tag us on X.com at @pjstarsports.

Kickoff 2023: Peoria high school football preview coverage

Dig into the Journal Star's preview coverage of the 2023 season. We have top players, returning coaches and much, much more. Find nearly 25 stories right here.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois high school football scores: IHSA Week 6 recap for teams around Peoria