Playoff clinchers and scoring records: Recap of Week 8 high school football around Peoria

Another week, another Mid-Illini Conference showdown between state-ranked programs — plus plenty of points.

Across the Peoria area, rain filled the night as the penultimate week of the high school football regular season arrived and teams jockeyed for playoff positioning.

It's Week 8 here at Journal Star preps experience, your one-stop shop as we look around the Peoria-area football landscape.

Week 8 coverage: All the scores here | Top performers | Takeaways | Morton wins | Peoria High, too

11:45 p.m. — Manual gets in the win column

Manual scored more points on Friday than it had the whole season in a 50-0 victory against Urbana.

The Rams (1-7) came into the game with a nine-game losing streak, having scored a combined 44 so far this season.

10:27 p.m. — Dee-Mack stays alive! Who else is in the playoffs?

Deer Creek-Mackinaw pulled off a 16-8 upset victory over El Paso-Gridley on Friday to keep alive its playoff hopes heading into Week 9.

The Chiefs (4-4) need to win in Week 9 against Colfax Ridgeview/Lexington to complete a rebound from their 2-4 start to a spot in the Class 1A playoffs.

Heading into Week 9, here are the 11 teams in the Tri-County area that are either in the playoffs or still have a shot at a berth in the 256-team field when it's set next week. Have a look:

• They're in: Morton (8-0), Washington (7-1), Farmington (7-1), Dunlap (6-2), Metamora (6-2) and Peoria High (6-2).

• Unofficially in: Peoria Notre Dame (5-3), Eureka (5-3) and Princeville (5-3).

• Need to win out: Deer Creek-Mackinaw (4-4) and Fieldcrest (3-4, play on Saturday)

10:14 p.m. — Eureka sets school records in win

Eureka running back Mason Boles set a pair of school records, rushing for 434 yards and seven touchdowns as the Hornets defeated Colfax Ridgeview/Lexington 54-20 on Friday night.

The Hornets (5-3) also set a school mark with 518 rushing yards while becoming playoff-eligible.

10:01 p.m. — Records set by Metamora and East Peoria

Metamora defeated East Peoria 62-46, with the total setting a record for combined points ever scored in a Metamora game, according to Alex Staab.

EP's point total also is the highest the Raiders have scored in any game against the rival Redbirds, surpassing the 35 scored in 1986, said Staab.

Meanwhile over at Peoria Stadium, the host Peoria High Lions also were on the plus side of a high-scoring game — outlasting Normal West 62-41.

9:42 p.m. — Morton holds on

Morton made one final defensive stand to escape Dunlap with a 10-6 victory on Friday night.

The fourth-down pass from John Bargen was deflected by Morton's GB Kruzick to seal the win and send the Potters to an 8-0, 6-0 record.

Morton now faces Washington (7-1, 6-0) for a winner-take-all game for the Mid-Illini Conference in Week 9.

9:33 p.m. — Dunlap-Morton going down to the wire

The Mid-Illini matchup between Morton and Dunlap is going down to the wire.

Dunlap has taken over with 3:00 remaining, trailing Morton 10-6 in a key league matchup.

9:25 p.m. — Stark performance

The entirely of the Journal Star circulation area doesn't have too many unbeaten football teams.

But one of them is Stark County, which jumped up to No. 6 in the Class 1A statewide rankings this week. Coach Jade Noard now has the Rebels sitting at 8-0 after a 41-8 victory over South Fulton on Friday.

SC closes the regular season next week against Monmouth United (2-5), seeking its first unbeaten regular season since its state runner-up finish in 2015.

8:30 p.m. — Hogs defense is feasting

The Mid-Illini showdown is not disappointing.

Morton leads Dunlap 10-0 at halftime, and has dominated with its defense. The Potters have blocked a punt, forced a fumble, twice forced a punt and twice turned over the Eagles on downs.

8:16 p.m. — Dunlap sporting special jerseys

The Eagles are wearing patriotic-themed uniforms for their big Mid-Illini Conference matchup with Morton.

Dunlap's uniform tops are dark grey with red numbers, with white stars on blue across the right shoulder and red and white stripes on the left shoulder.

7:24 p.m. — One half of Mid-Illini championship is almost set

Washington is doing its job in setting up a potential Mid-Illini Conference championship game next week.

The Panthers (6-1, 5-0) lead Canton 45-0 at halftime, on the way to an unbeaten league mark heading into Week 9. Morton (7-0, 5-0) meets Dunlap (6-1, 4-1) in a 7:30 p.m. kick.

If Morton wins, the Potters meet Washington in a winner-take-all title game next week at Carper Field in Morton.

7:01 p.m. — That's one way to do it

Peoria High is known not only for its high-octane offense and reticence to punt. The Lions also often will onside kick after its touchdowns.

Normal West is ready.

The Wildcats spent some time in the Peoria Stadium endzone on Friday night, practicing to recover onside kicks endzone before their game against Peoria High.

12:41 p.m. — Weather forces changes to game times

Because of inclement weather in the Peoria area, some game times have been altered for Friday night. Below is a list of affected games. We will update the list with any additional changes.

• Richwoods at Danville, 6 p.m.

• Canton at Washington, 6:30 p.m.

• Pekin at Limestone, 6:30 p.m.

Game of the week: Morton at Dunlap

Class 6A No. 8 Dunlap (6-1, 4-1) hosts 5A No. 7 Morton (7-0, 5-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night in another game that will help decide the league champ.

Last week, 6A No. 3 Washington (6-1, 5-0) defeated Dunlap 28-7. Next week, Washington travels to Morton and Dunlap is at Metamora.

Take a look at the M-I standings, plus the remaining schedule below:

Playoffs: Who's in and who still has a chance?

Heading into Week 8, 11 of the teams in the Tri-County area are either in the playoffs or still have a shot at a berth in the 256-team field when it's set next week. Have a look:

• They're in: Morton (7-0), Washington (6-1), Dunlap (6-1) and Farmington (6-1)

• Unofficially in: Metamora (5-2), Peoria Notre Dame (5-2), Peoria High (5-2)

• Need to win one: Eureka (4-3) and Princeville (4-3)

• Need to win out: Deer Creek-Mackinaw (3-4) and Fieldcrest (3-4)

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Congrats to Washington, the best helmet in Peoria!

The Journal Star asked fans to pick the top high school football helmet in the Peoria area — and you answered.

Washington of the Mid-Illini Conference won the vote for top helmet, edging out Farmington in a back-and-forth battle over the five days of voting. All the details here.

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 a 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.

All the Peoria high school football coverage

• We have every score from the 2023 season, plus links to every story. Click here for the full list.

• 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 8 live updates around Peoria