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The 2021 prep football season will be past the halfway point when the final horn goes off on Week 5 games on Saturday.
It’s a good time to take a look at who’s going to make the playoffs among BCR and area teams and who’s not.
Three Rivers Conference
Princeton (4-0): The easy one to predict is Princeton. The Tigers are 4-0 heading into Friday’s showdown with longtime rival Kewanee with the winner likely to go on to win the TRAC East title. Kewanee will be the best team the Tigers have faced thus far and likely the rest of the way. The No. 2 ranked Tigers would become playoff eligible with a win Friday. The pick here is the Tigers will run the table and go 9-0 after a 6-0 spring campaign.
Kewanee (4-0): The Boilermakers face a stiff challenge with Princeton Friday and finish out with four more programs with winning traditions, albeit with struggles at times this year, lying ahead in Hall, Mendota, Rockridge and Newman. The Boilermakers have all the makings to finish out 8-1 or 7-2.
St. Bede (3-1): The Bruins are another sure-fire playoff pick after gaining their first win over Newman in 10 years. They will pick up their fourth win on Homecoming Day Saturday over Riverdale. The Bruins could very easily finish out 7-2, if not 8-1, with Princeton being their biggest test ahead, and at the least will go 6-3. St. Bede was 5-1 this spring and now have won 8 of their last 10.
Mendota (3-1): The Trojans started 3-0 for the first time since 2011 before falling at Princeton 28-7 last week. Mendota stands to pick up its fourth win Saturday vs. Hall with a highly favored contest with Sherrard the next week followed by dates with Kewanee, Newman and St. Bede. I see the Trojans gaining two more wins, if not three, and making the playoffs for the first time since 2011 when it went 8-3.
Monmouth-Roseville (3-1): The Titans have won three straight to rev up their playoff hopes. They could win two more games to become playoff eligible, but they could also lose four out of their last five with games remaining with Rockridge, Orion, E-P and Princeton.
The playoff picture is more up in the air with these Three Rivers teams with just two wins so far:
Bureau Valley (2-2): The Storm face a tough road ahead of them to reach the magic five win mark with games with St. Bede, E-P and Princeton coming up. A win over Newman, which has been struggling, would be just what the doctor ordered for the Storm.
E-P (2-2): The Panthers score a big 50-48 win over 2A state-ranked Rockridge last week and have a favorable schedule remaining, including games with winless Riverdale and Morrison. The pick here is they finish 5-4 and get in.
Orion (2-2): The Chargers have beaten the teams they should have beaten, and like E-P, have games left with two winless teams - Morrison and Sherrard. Orion is another team that can and will slip in at the playoffs at 5-4.
Rockridge (2-2): If you can figure out the Rockets, good luck. They beat Newman 27-14 Week 2 and Riverdale 52-12, convincingly, Week 3 before losing at E-P. Rockridge also faces winless Morrison and Sherrard and should find a fifth win from its other three games to sneak in at 5-4.
Not going to make it: While 10 of the 14 TRAC members have reason to remain hopeful, these four do not - Hall (1-3), Morrison (0-4), Riverdale (0-4) and Sherrard (0-4).
Scouting the area
LaSalle-Peru (3-1): The Cavaliers earned a COVID-19 forfeit win over Sandwich to notch their third win last week. They face a tough matchup with Sycamore (3-1) this week and Morris (4-0) in Week 8, but could pick two more wins against the likes of Woodstock North (0-4), Woodstock (2-2) and Kaneland (2-2), in Week 9.
Annawan-Wethersfield (3-1): The Titans will face two straight unbeaten teams in Abingdon and Knoxville, but then face three 1-3 teams to close out the year - Stark County, ROWVA and Mercer County - and will surely win at least six games, if not more.
Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio (2-2): The Clippers scored a big 60-14 win No. 1 ranked Biggsville West Central in 8-man football, which has its separate from the IHSA playoffs.