That's A Wrap: Centennial one of five teams to clinch playoff spot
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Bloomington 40
Champaign Central 2
CHAMPAIGN — All Champaign Central managed was a safety in Friday night's one-sided Big 12 Conference game against Bloomington at Tommy Stewart Field.
The Maroons (2-6) wrap up the season next week at Peoria Richwoods.
Centennial 55
Decatur Eisenhower 28
DECATUR — A balanced Centennial offense was too much for Decatur Eisenhower in the Chargers' Friday night nonconference win, with Centennial clinching a playoff berth for the third straight season.
Centennial quarterback Kellen Davis completed 12 of 15 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns, with Jacobi Posey his top target.
The Chargers' senior wide receiver finished with four catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns, while Kodiac Pruitt caught two passes for 61 yards and one touchdown. Pruitt was Centennial's top option in the run game, with 18 carries for 165 yards and another touchdown. Davis, Ziyir Aker and Trevon Hall also scored a rushing touchdown apiece for the Chargers (6-2).
Peoria Manual 50
Urbana 0
URBANA — Urbana remained winless after a lopsided Big 12 home loss at McKinley Field. The Tigers (0-8) conclude their season next Friday against Danville.
Danville 21
Peoria Richwoods 3
DANVILLE — Phil Shaw IV set the tone early for Danville in Friday night's Big 12 showdown with Peoria Richwoods at Whitesell Field, capping the Vikings' opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
It was an early lead Danville (4-4) never relinquished as the Vikings kept their playoff hopes intact, with Shaw adding another short touchdown run in the first half, punching it in for a 3-yard score. Richwoods did manage a first-half field goal, but the Vikings finished off their conference win with a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown by Caleb Robinson with just more than one minute to play in a game that saw both teams struggle to hold on to the ball in wet, sloppy conditions.
Mahomet-Seymour 49
Mattoon 6
MATTOON — Mahomet-Seymour wasted little time in establishing its dominance Friday night in Apollo Conference action, scoring its first of seven first-half touchdowns just four minutes into its road game with Mattoon.
That was all the scoring the Bulldogs (7-1) managed, but it was more than enough to finish off the Green Wave and capture their third straight outright conference championship as M-S won its seventh straight game.
M-S quarterback Lucas Dyer completed 9 of 12 passes for 175 yards and five touchdowns in Friday's blowout win, connecting with Luke Johnson for a pair. Johnson finished with three receptions for 78 yards and his two touchdowns and also rushed 12 times for 79 yards and another score. Trey Peters also caught two touchdown passes on his three-catch, 30-yard night.
Special teams and defense pumped up the M-S offense, as the Bulldogs turned a Donovan Lewis interception into a touchdown and forced a fumble on a Mattoon kick return with a Wade Manuel recovery that led to Dyer connecting with Peters for a 16-yard touchdown. Another interception by Hughey Allen set up Cade Ashby's three-yard touchdown run before the end of the first half to round out the big M-S win.
Unity 48
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 0
TOLONO — Four different Unity players rushed for a touchdown Friday night against Paxton-Buckley-Loda, as the Rockets racked up 261 rushing yards as part of a 400-yard offensive night in their blowout Illini Prairie Conference victory at Hicks Field.
Garrett Richardson led Unity (6-2) with nine carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Brock Schlittler made the most of his single carry, breaking away for a 61-yard touchdown, Eric Miebach added three carries for 22 yards and a touchdown and Dane Eisenmenger rushed twice for 20 yards and one touchdown of his own to help the Rockets clinch a playoff berth.
Eisenmenger also completed 9 of 12 passes for 142 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Porter, who had four receptions for 106 yards. Caden Hensch and Tyler Henry both recovered a fumble as the Unity defense held PBL to just 75 yards of total offense.
St. Joseph-Ogden 62
Rantoul 8
ST. JOSEPH — St. Joseph-Ogden picked up its critical sixth win of the season to secure a guaranteed playoff berth with a Friday night blowout in Illini Prairie action against Rantoul at Dick Duval Field.
"It's big from the standpoint that it's one less thing our kids are worried about," SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. "Our total focus going forward week to week is doing whatever it takes to go 1-0. I'm happy for our kids that they took care of that sixth win."
Quarterback Logan Smith completed 5 of 8 passes for 105 yards and also rushed for a team-high 76 yards for SJ-O (6-2). Coy Taylor led the SJ-O receivers with 70 yards, and Ryker Lockhart added 52 receiving yards.
Monticello 21
Prairie Central 13
FAIRBURY — Monticello leaned on big plays from its offense and defense in Friday night's Illini Prairie victory against Prairie Central at Lewis Field, making the Sages eligible for the playoffs with the win.
The Hawks (5-3) looked primed to take an early lead after Hudson Ault broke off an 84-yard run to the Monticello 1-yard line, but they fumbled the ensuing snap, which was recovered by the Sages' Demarion Forman.
Monticello (5-3) took the early lead instead, with Ike Young scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run with just more than 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Sages added a 67-yard touchdown pass from Luke Teschke to Carter Foran in the second quarter and turned a Young interception in the fourth into a 3-yard touchdown run by Teschke. Teschke finished 15 of 19 passing for 182 yards and also rushed 27 times for 109 yards. Prairie Central quarterback Avery Elder completed 7 of 15 passes fo 90 yards, two interceptions and touchdown passes to Levi Goad and Caiden Schulz. Ault also had 19 carries for 169 yards.
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 8
LeRoy 6
GIBSON CITY — The difference in Friday night's Heart of Illinois Conference Small showdown between Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley and LeRoy was a two-point conversion.
The Falcons' Aiden Sancken converted his run after Brayden Elliott hit Ryker Grauer on a 21-yard touchdown pass to put GCMS (6-2) in front for good to hand LeRoy its first loss of the season and clinch a playoff berth for the Falcons in the process.
The Panthers (7-1) couldn't after they answered with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Bo Zeleznik to Brody Bennett. Sancken also led GCMS with 20 carries for 47 yards. Zeleznik rushed 31 times for 107 yards for LeRoy.
Heyworth 54
Fisher 12
FISHER — Fisher jumped out to an early 12-0 lead in the first quarter of Friday night's HOIC Small game, but Heyworth had the answer and then some with 54 unanswered points to stop the Bunnies (0-8) at Kellar Field.
Salt Fork 20
Oakwood 8
FITHIAN — Salt Fork saw its early lead evaporate when Oakwood got a second-quarter equalizer, but 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter pushed the Storm to the Vermilion Valley Conference victory. Salt Fork earned a playoff berth with the win.
Jameson Remole got Salt Fork (6-2) started with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Grant Wilson midway through the first quarter. The answer from the Comets (4-4) came in the form of a 3-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Tyler Huchel. Neither team scored in the third quarter before Carter Chambliss' 3-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth snapped the 8-8 deadlock in favor of Salt Fork. Remole finished off Storm's league win with an 18-yard touchdown run with less than 2 minutes to play.
Westville 47
Hoopeston Area/Armstrong-Potomac 16
HOOPESTON — Westville staked itself to a 41-point halftime lead, which was more than enough cushion to handle a too-little, too-late charge from Hoopeston Area/Armstrong-Potomac in Friday night's VVC matchup.
A pair of long touchdown runs by Westville quarterback Drew Wichtowski, with a 40-yarder and a 60-yarder in the first half. Trent McMasters also scored on a 26-yard touchdown run for the Tigers (7-1).
Kollin Asbury rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries for the Cornjerkers (2-6).
Clifton Central 16
Iroquois West 12
GILMAN — Iroquois West scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter and maintained its two-score lead heading into the fourth before Clifton Central scored 16 unanswered points for the come-from-behind VVC victory.
Iroquois West quarterback CJ Perzee got the Raiders (3-5) on the board in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kobie Hendershot. Christian Gaytan added a 1-yard touchdown run later in the quarter and finished the game with 28 carries for 150 yards.
Momence 36
Watseka 7
MOMENCE — Watseka found itself in a 12-0 hole after one quarter, double that deficit after two and was down 30 points before scoring in the third quarter Friday against Momence.
That 2-yard rushing touchdown from Andrew Shoemaker with a successful Jack Combes PAT wound up the only points for the Warriors (1-7) in the VVC road loss.
Villa Grove 40
Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 21
VILLA GROVE — Villa Grove had two running backs top 100 rushing yards Friday night against Sangamon Valley/Tri-City, as the Blue Devils racked up 278 yards on the ground in their Lincoln Prairie Conference home win at Russ Ghere Field.
Hunter Butts led Villa Grove (5-3) with 13 carries for 135 yards and one touchdown, but it was Gunner Cline who got in the end zone more frequently. Cline rushed 20 times for 115 yards and scoredthree touchdowns.
Blue Devils quarterback Layne Rund added six carries for 28 yards and a touchdown and also completed 3 of 9 passes for 112 yards and an interception. Noah Wilcoxin and Parker Knierim paced the Villa Grove defense with nine total tackles apiece.
Sullivan/Okaw Valley 46
Tri-County 6
SULLIVAN — Sullivan/Okaw Valley remained unbeaten with Friday's blowout Lincoln Prairie victory against Tri-County. The Redskins (8-0) jumped out to a 19-0 lead after one quarter and pushed their advantage to 40 points by halftime. Cooper Christensen threw for 276 yards, completing 10 of 12 passes, and four touchdowns and Aiden Ballinger caught three passes for 100 yards on three catches and two touchdowns.
Clay Kibler rushed eight times for 18 yards to lead Tri-County (0-8). Alex Hoel scored the Titans' lone touchdown and finished with four carries for five yards.
