The playoff picture is coming more into focus as the high school football regular season starts to wind down, as two more area teams locked up postseason berths with wins Friday night. Now, 10 area teams have reached the coveted six-win mark needed to ensure a playoff spot.
The playoff picture is coming more into focus as the high school football regular season starts to wind down, as two more area teams locked up postseason berths with wins Friday night.
Now, 10 area teams have reached the coveted six-win mark needed to ensure a playoff spot.
When the Week 8 dust settled, Champaign Central (5-3) was still teetering on the edge of playoffs after suffering a 35-20 loss at Normal West (7-1) in a key Big 12 game that snapped the Maroons’ five game win streak. Central sunk back to fourth in the conference, tied with Bloomington with a 5-2 conference record, and is still looking to guarantee the program’s first playoff appearance since 2015.
Arcola (6-2), on the other hand, had more luck with a 37-36 victory over Decatur Lutheran (4-4) in a Little Okaw Valley Conference Northwest game at home that doubled as the Purple Riders’ homecoming game.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda (6-2) also clinched its fifth consecutive trip to the postseason with a 24-22 victory at Sangamon Valley Conference rival Watseka (4-4), with the Warriors down to just one week to win and become playoff eligible.
On top of those three games, a battle between Vermilion Valley Conference leaders Salt Fork (6-1,3-0 VVC) hosts Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (6-1,3-1) went in favor of the Blue Devils after a last-second field goal provided a 23-21 road victory over the Storm.
Oakwood (4-4,3-1) is still in the running for the VVC title, as the Comets have recovered from an 0-3 start and continued on their winning path with a 49-21 victory over Westville (0-8,0-4). The Comets also survived being eliminated from the playoffs. Next week, Oakwood hosts Salt Fork, with both teams sitting at 3-1 in conference.
More is at stake, too, for 12 area teams who still have playoff aspirations.
Cerro Gordo/Bement (5-3), Clinton (4-3), Georgetown-Ridge Farm (4-3) and St. Joseph-Ogden (4-3) all became eligible for the playoffs with wins Friday night.
Meanwhile, Danville (4-4) LeRoy (4-4) and Villa Grove/Heritage (4-4) joined Oakwood with wins to stave off playoff elimination, while Ridgeview-Lexington was knocked out of contention.
For scores on all these games involving area teams, check out our online scoreboard below throughout the weekend:
Baseball Boys’ Basketball Boys’ Golf Boys’ Soccer Cross Country Football Girls’ Basketball Girls’ Golf Girls’ Soccer Softball Swimming and Diving Tennis Track and Field Volleyball Wrestling
