Four CS8 teams advanced to Week 11: 4A-#3 Rochester, #10 SHG, and #16 Jacksonville.
6A-#1 Chatham.
Friday high of 69, while Saturday has a high of 63 with a chance of rain.
Friday
4A #3 Rochester (9-1) at #11 Waterloo (7-3)
Rochester scored in the 1st minute against Taylorville and rolled to a 56-7 victory. Waterloo won on the road by scoring in the 4th Quarter to upset Mt Zion 14-13. In Week 2, Rochester trailed at Mt Zion much of the game before winning 28-24. Mt Zion led Waterloo 13-7 at half, but a little luck or better execution could have resulted in a lead as great as 24-7 for the Braves. Mt Zion had a TD negated by a penalty and passed on a chip shot FG to try to score a TD on the half's final play. The Bulldogs were able to deny the Braves the TD in what turned out to be a pivotal play. Both Waterloo's TDs came on long time-consuming drives, and they are run-first led by the 1-2 punch of Derez Sayles (1,170 yards/16 TDs) and Owen Niebruegge (715 yards/5 TDs). Waterloo executed this deliberate run strategy with success against SHG at home in the 2022 playoffs leading 16-7 before eventually falling 28-16 to the Cyclones. Particularly in the playoffs, the visiting team does not want to start slowly and fall behind early. Rochester's tempo on offense is very different than Waterloo's. QBs JP Leonard and Tanner Beal have combined for over 2,200 yards passing and 24 TDs, while RB Kaiden Stout has over 900 yards rushing and 12 total TDs. The key for the Rockets defense is to get off the field quickly and not allow the Bulldogs to dominate the time of possession. Rochester 35 Waterloo 14. Massey: Rochester 44-14.
Saturday
4A #2 Carterville (10-0) at #10 SHG (7-3) 1:30
Carterville won last week at home 42-14 over Alton Marquette, while SHG went on the road and defeated QND for a second time 27-18. Carterville's strongest opponent was Week 1 when they faced 5A playoff qualifier Marion. The Lions won by a very close 35-34 margin. Marion had a QB who put up some big numbers this season and that was the most points Carterville has allowed. Two of their opponents, Murphysboro and Harrisburg, who are both perennial playoff teams were only 4-5 and 3-6 and the Lions faced only two Illinois teams that qualified for the playoffs during the regular season. Carterville faced Rochester in the 2022 Quarterfinals, a game won by the Rockets 41-28. That team's biggest area of strength was the Offensive Line. The 2025 Lions pass only about 11 times a game and their running attack is led by RB Jonathan Miller (1,353 yards/17 TDs). While no one else has rushed for more than 360 yards, Carterville does have three other players with at least 7 rushing TDs. SHG is led by QB Cam Brinkman, who has thrown for over 2,000 yards and run for almost 800 more. He has a total of 34 TDs on the season. Getting WR/K Drew Ward back after an injury in the Rochester game also gave the Cyclones a lift last week as he kicked 2 FGs. Like Waterloo, Carterville wants long time-consuming drives, while SHG has more of a big play threat offense. SHG 42 Carterville 20. Massey: SHG 41-14.
4A #16 Jacksonville (6-4) at #9 Cahokia (8-2) 2:00
Congratulations to Jacksonville, who was the highest seed in any class to win last week. Unfortunately for them, they have to go on the road again this Saturday to face Cahokia, rather than getting a home game. The Crimsons looked to have the Week 10 game against Olney Richland County well in hand at halftime, leading 34-12. They struggled in the 2nd half and held on to win 41-39 in a game not decided until the last minute. Jacksonville relies almost exclusively on the run, attempting fewer than 40 passes on the season. They do have multiple running options, with four different backs having between 585 and 860 rushing yards and a total of 33 TDs. Their QB, while not having rushed for a large yardage total, also has 10 TDs. The Comanches have lost only to a Missouri team and to 5A qualifier Sycamore 30-28. They beat Centralia on the road 44-22 in Week 10, their 2nd win over the Orphans this season. Cahokia is led by QB Nigel Gordon (1,636 yards passing/18 total TDs) and RB Machai Henderson (818 yards/12 TDs). Olney Richland played a heavily 3A schedule and that gave Jacksonville, who plays mostly 4A-5A schools, an advantage last week. Cahokia has played primarily 5A and up schools. The Crimsons best chance is to grind out drives, and they have to avoid turnovers. The Comanches appear to have peaked at the right time, scoring at least 34 points in 4 of the last 5 weeks. Cahokia 44 Jacksonville 27. Massey: Cahokia 42-18.
6A #8 East St Louis (7-3) at #1 Chatham (10-0) 2:00
A rematch of last year's 6A Quarterfinal, won by the Flyers 58-14. Many players from both teams return. East St Louis defeated Plainfield East 63-7 last week. When facing Illinois teams this season, they have outscored them by a 347-26 margin and have running clocked teams that have made both the 7A and 8A playoffs. The Flyers rotate 3 RBs, one of whom will be familiar to CS8 fans. Former Decatur MacArthur RB Myson Johnson Cook has rushed for nearly 600 yards and 10 TDs, not including the IMG game for which stats are not available in MaxPreps. East St Louis has also used 2 QBs at different time this season with both having had success. Having been at this game last year, two things stood out to me. First was the Flyers ability to break tackles and turn short plays into huge gains. Second was how quickly their defense closed to the ball and the hits which they then delivered (that made me wince from the safety of the sidelines). The Titans led 14-0 over Joliet Catholic last week and then held on to win a physical 17-12 contest. They own wins over 7A qualifier Edwardsville and twice have come back from multi score 4th quarter deficits to beat Rochester and SHG. 3-year starting QB Colten Knoedler has passed for nearly 2,200 yards and 31 TDs. RB Grady Mueller is over 800 yards rushing with 9 TDs, while WR Blake Lehnen has over 900 yards receiving and 14 TDs. Until last week, Chatham had scored at least 35 points in every game this season. Can the Titans shock the world? They've had a great season and will never quit, but I don't see them being able to hold the Flyers to a point level which would allow them to have a chance at an upset. No Illinois team has been able to hold the Flyers to less than 48 points so far. East St Louis 49 Chatham 19. Massey: East St Louis 46-14.
6A-#1 Chatham.
Friday high of 69, while Saturday has a high of 63 with a chance of rain.
Friday
4A #3 Rochester (9-1) at #11 Waterloo (7-3)
Rochester scored in the 1st minute against Taylorville and rolled to a 56-7 victory. Waterloo won on the road by scoring in the 4th Quarter to upset Mt Zion 14-13. In Week 2, Rochester trailed at Mt Zion much of the game before winning 28-24. Mt Zion led Waterloo 13-7 at half, but a little luck or better execution could have resulted in a lead as great as 24-7 for the Braves. Mt Zion had a TD negated by a penalty and passed on a chip shot FG to try to score a TD on the half's final play. The Bulldogs were able to deny the Braves the TD in what turned out to be a pivotal play. Both Waterloo's TDs came on long time-consuming drives, and they are run-first led by the 1-2 punch of Derez Sayles (1,170 yards/16 TDs) and Owen Niebruegge (715 yards/5 TDs). Waterloo executed this deliberate run strategy with success against SHG at home in the 2022 playoffs leading 16-7 before eventually falling 28-16 to the Cyclones. Particularly in the playoffs, the visiting team does not want to start slowly and fall behind early. Rochester's tempo on offense is very different than Waterloo's. QBs JP Leonard and Tanner Beal have combined for over 2,200 yards passing and 24 TDs, while RB Kaiden Stout has over 900 yards rushing and 12 total TDs. The key for the Rockets defense is to get off the field quickly and not allow the Bulldogs to dominate the time of possession. Rochester 35 Waterloo 14. Massey: Rochester 44-14.
Saturday
4A #2 Carterville (10-0) at #10 SHG (7-3) 1:30
Carterville won last week at home 42-14 over Alton Marquette, while SHG went on the road and defeated QND for a second time 27-18. Carterville's strongest opponent was Week 1 when they faced 5A playoff qualifier Marion. The Lions won by a very close 35-34 margin. Marion had a QB who put up some big numbers this season and that was the most points Carterville has allowed. Two of their opponents, Murphysboro and Harrisburg, who are both perennial playoff teams were only 4-5 and 3-6 and the Lions faced only two Illinois teams that qualified for the playoffs during the regular season. Carterville faced Rochester in the 2022 Quarterfinals, a game won by the Rockets 41-28. That team's biggest area of strength was the Offensive Line. The 2025 Lions pass only about 11 times a game and their running attack is led by RB Jonathan Miller (1,353 yards/17 TDs). While no one else has rushed for more than 360 yards, Carterville does have three other players with at least 7 rushing TDs. SHG is led by QB Cam Brinkman, who has thrown for over 2,000 yards and run for almost 800 more. He has a total of 34 TDs on the season. Getting WR/K Drew Ward back after an injury in the Rochester game also gave the Cyclones a lift last week as he kicked 2 FGs. Like Waterloo, Carterville wants long time-consuming drives, while SHG has more of a big play threat offense. SHG 42 Carterville 20. Massey: SHG 41-14.
4A #16 Jacksonville (6-4) at #9 Cahokia (8-2) 2:00
Congratulations to Jacksonville, who was the highest seed in any class to win last week. Unfortunately for them, they have to go on the road again this Saturday to face Cahokia, rather than getting a home game. The Crimsons looked to have the Week 10 game against Olney Richland County well in hand at halftime, leading 34-12. They struggled in the 2nd half and held on to win 41-39 in a game not decided until the last minute. Jacksonville relies almost exclusively on the run, attempting fewer than 40 passes on the season. They do have multiple running options, with four different backs having between 585 and 860 rushing yards and a total of 33 TDs. Their QB, while not having rushed for a large yardage total, also has 10 TDs. The Comanches have lost only to a Missouri team and to 5A qualifier Sycamore 30-28. They beat Centralia on the road 44-22 in Week 10, their 2nd win over the Orphans this season. Cahokia is led by QB Nigel Gordon (1,636 yards passing/18 total TDs) and RB Machai Henderson (818 yards/12 TDs). Olney Richland played a heavily 3A schedule and that gave Jacksonville, who plays mostly 4A-5A schools, an advantage last week. Cahokia has played primarily 5A and up schools. The Crimsons best chance is to grind out drives, and they have to avoid turnovers. The Comanches appear to have peaked at the right time, scoring at least 34 points in 4 of the last 5 weeks. Cahokia 44 Jacksonville 27. Massey: Cahokia 42-18.
6A #8 East St Louis (7-3) at #1 Chatham (10-0) 2:00
A rematch of last year's 6A Quarterfinal, won by the Flyers 58-14. Many players from both teams return. East St Louis defeated Plainfield East 63-7 last week. When facing Illinois teams this season, they have outscored them by a 347-26 margin and have running clocked teams that have made both the 7A and 8A playoffs. The Flyers rotate 3 RBs, one of whom will be familiar to CS8 fans. Former Decatur MacArthur RB Myson Johnson Cook has rushed for nearly 600 yards and 10 TDs, not including the IMG game for which stats are not available in MaxPreps. East St Louis has also used 2 QBs at different time this season with both having had success. Having been at this game last year, two things stood out to me. First was the Flyers ability to break tackles and turn short plays into huge gains. Second was how quickly their defense closed to the ball and the hits which they then delivered (that made me wince from the safety of the sidelines). The Titans led 14-0 over Joliet Catholic last week and then held on to win a physical 17-12 contest. They own wins over 7A qualifier Edwardsville and twice have come back from multi score 4th quarter deficits to beat Rochester and SHG. 3-year starting QB Colten Knoedler has passed for nearly 2,200 yards and 31 TDs. RB Grady Mueller is over 800 yards rushing with 9 TDs, while WR Blake Lehnen has over 900 yards receiving and 14 TDs. Until last week, Chatham had scored at least 35 points in every game this season. Can the Titans shock the world? They've had a great season and will never quit, but I don't see them being able to hold the Flyers to a point level which would allow them to have a chance at an upset. No Illinois team has been able to hold the Flyers to less than 48 points so far. East St Louis 49 Chatham 19. Massey: East St Louis 46-14.
