The phrase "the more things change, the more they stay the same" in some ways could describe the "new" Illinois Central Eight Conference and its teams' schedules.

Former Interstate Eight Conference members Coal City, Herscher, Lisle, Manteno, Peotone, Reed-Custer, Streator and Wilmington formed the ICE, prompting fellow I-8 members Sandwich and Plano to group up with six schools from the now defunct Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference to create a new-look I-8. The old Interstate Eight featured both a Large and Small Division, while the ICE will be one division from top to bottom.

Through the shuffling, the Illinois Central Eight were not forced to fill empty spots on their schedules, as the Interstate Eight's mandatory seven games against conference foes easily converted to a seven-game ICE slate. Furthermore, filling those spots was as simple as adding a game with a league team that they previous meet at times in crossovers, with all of them now counting toward the league standings.

Every ICE team's schedule opens with two nonconference games, then closes with seven straight conference tilts.

Here is a look at some of the new games that will effect the ICE football teams this coming fall:

Coal City

The Coalers — who have made the postseason 29 times since 1987, including a state title in 1993 — finished 2018 with a 10-2 mark (4-0, I-8 Large champions) and advanced to the Class 4A playoff quarterfinals before falling to Richmond-Burton.

Coal City, like Manteno and Streator, lost both the Sandwich Indians and Plano Reapers in the conference revamp. They have added home matchups with Kankakee Bishop McNamara (Week 2) and Peotone (Week 4). Bishop Mac was the Class 4A runner-up in '18, the Class 3A champion in '15 and has made the playoffs eight of the last 11 seasons, while Peotone defeated the Coalers by six in their last meeting in 2017.

"We open up with Morris again this season, and then we added Kankakee Bishop Mac in Week 2 for our two nonconference games. We lost traditions, obviously, with Sandwich and Plano, games that have been competitive on our schedule which helps us, so that will be a change.

"With all the (ICE) teams already being in the (old) Interstate Eight, there really isn't any team league-wise that we will be that unfamiliar with," said Coal City head coach Dan Hutchings. "There won't really be any differences in how we approach the season. We'll take one game at a time, and right now the focus moving forward is on Morris and getting ready for them in Week 1."

A key game in the ICE, this year's title may come down to the Coalers' Week 8 home tilt with Wilmington.

Herscher

The Tigers have made the playoffs the past five seasons and nine of the last 12. In 2018 they finished 8-5 overall and advanced to the Class 3A semifinals before falling to Byron.

Herscher needed only to add one game to its schedule, replacing Plano with Streator. The Tigers topped the Bulldogs 69-28 in 2017.

Lisle

The Lions won their first eight games in 2018 — including going 4-0 to capture the I-8 Small Division crown, their first league championship since 1981 — before falling in the regular-season finale to Coal City. Lisle then made it all the way to the Class 3A quarterfinals before ending its 10-2 season with a loss to Byron.

The new opponent on this season's schedule for the Lions will be when they travel to take on Elmwood Park in Week 2. Elmwood Park finished 8-3 overall, second in the Metro Suburban Red Conference and reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Manteno

The Panthers saw a streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances come to an end in 2018, finishing 1-8 on the year. Manteno has replaced Sandwich and Plano on the schedule with a trip down to Canton (Week 1) and a home date with Morris (Week 2).

Canton — from the Mid-Illini Conference — won its opener last season, but then dropped its final eight contests. Morris finished its season 4-5, including an 0-4 mark in the NIB 12 before leaving for the Interstate Eight.

Peotone

In 2017, the Blue Devils finished 9-2 and made the Class 3A playoffs, but '18 saw an up-and-down year leave them at 4-5.

Peotone lost Plano on its schedule, and will now have a Week 4 date with Coal City in its place. The Coalers earned a two-touchdown victory when the teams last met in '17. The Blue Devils retain Streator and Manteno, now as conference games counting in the standings instead of crossovers.

Reed-Custer

The Comets finished 2018 at 2-7 and haven't made the playoffs since 2009. Since its last postseason appearance, Reed-Custer is 12-67 overall and were 5-19 in the I-8 Small Division the last five seasons.

Reed-Custer lost Sandwich from its ledger of games via the conference switch and also dropped 2018 Week 2 opponent Chicago Brooks, but added a road game with Dwight (Week 2) and will host Streator in Week 4 in ICE play. The Bulldogs picked up a 38-7 win over the Comets in the teams' last meeting in 2015.

Streator

The Bulldogs ended 2018 at 3-6, the second consecutive season without a playoff berth after reaching the Class 5A postseason in 2016 — its first since 2008.

Streator lost opponents Sandwich and Plano on the schedule with the conference move, and they will be replaced with road contests against former I-8 Small foes Reed-Custer (Week 4) and Herscher (Week 7). The Bulldogs defeated Reed-Custer 38-7 in 2015, while the Tigers topped Streator 69-28 in '17.

"We have played everybody on this coming season's schedule in the recent past, maybe not at home or on the road, but we've played them. So really there isn't much change for us at all, and this conference is really good. Coal City is going to be stacked, Wilmington is going to be solid, and everyone else is going to be good. This group of teams, regardless of the conference name, is going to be competitive from top to bottom," said Streator head coach Brian Hassett.

"We've played Reed-Custer and Herscher with the crossovers before — so really, they are somewhat common opponents. Not much is going to be different."

Wilmington

The Wildcats haven't missed the playoffs since 1995 — head coach Jeff Reents' second year— with a Class 3A runner-up finish in 2003 and a 3A state championship in 2014. In 2018, Wilmington was 6-4, but over the past five seasons the Wildcats are an eye-popping 51-8.

Filling the spots left by I-8 crossover foes Sandwich and Plano last season, Wilmington will now have nonconference games against Evergreen Park at home to open the season and then travel to Oak Lawn Community in Week 2. Evergreen Park was 7-5 in '18 and reached the Class 5A quarterfinals, while Oak Park Community ended last season at 2-7. Both teams are from the South Suburban Red Conference.