Game of the Week

Kankakee (1-2) at Normal Community (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Kays: Following a pair of losses to juggernauts Nazareth and Lincoln-Way East to open the season, Kankakee did three weeks’ worth of scoring in its 82-6 win at Thornridge last week. Cedric Terrell III ran for three touchdowns and caught another, giving him a total of five through three weeks, and another multi-score game could be the difference Friday. Zayden Henley also found the end zone twice last week, and if the running game can draw attention from the Normal secondary, Terrell III and several other receivers can find space deep.

About the Ironmen: A perennial contender in the Class 7A postseason, the Ironmen are one of the toughest schools to play at south of the Daily Journal area. They’ve opened the year with a trio of Big Twelve Conference games, slugging Richwoods, Normal West and Urbana by a combined 130-35 margin. They’ve lost almost all of their core from the 2023 state semifinalist and 2024 quarterfinalist teams, but still have plenty of juice to go toe-to-toe with one of the state’s most athletic teams.

FND pick: Kankakee

Nonconference

Bradley-Bourbonnais (3-0) vs. St. Mary’s South Side Catholic Prep (St. Louis) (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday (Millikin University, Decatur)

About the Boilermakers: Few teams have made as big a statement through the first third of the year as Bradley-Bourbonnais, as the Boilermakers have won their first three games by a combined 118-12 margin. Ellis Johnson’s been a magician at quarterback, throwing for eight touchdowns already. There’s no doubt the talent at wide receiver has helped, but so has the stout play of their offensive line. Joel Morrical is the anchor at right guard, but the entire unit has made life comfortable in the pocket for Johnson and given the backfield tandem of Ky’ren Edmon and Issac Allison plenty of holes.

About the Dragons: Following a 33-7 loss to IHSA small-school power IC Catholic in Week 1, St. Mary’s South Side has earned a pair of comfortable wins, 34-10 at Kansas City’s Lincoln College Prep and a 33-21 win across the state border at O’Fallon. Junior running back Kingston Miles is the straw that stirs their offensive drink, but as the Boilermakers have shown through three dominant defensive weeks, finding chunk plays on the ground is easier said than done.

FND pick: Bradley-Bourbonnais

Chicagoland Christian Conference

Chicago Christian (1-2) at Bishop McNamara (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Knights: The defending IHSA Class 2A State champions, an almost entirely new nucleus has found some early-season struggles for Chicago Christian, including a 49-14 loss in the conference opener to Wheaton Academy. Joshua Crawford is averaging 100 rushing yards and a rushing score a game to serve as the team’s offensive focal point, but they’ll likely need more than the 50 passing yards per game they’re getting to keep pace with the red-hot Fightin’ Irish.

About the Fightin’ Irish: It’s homecoming at Bishop McNamara this week, and the Fightin’ Irish are eager to show their alumni that one of the state’s proudest programs is back. Julius May has found the end zone at least once in each game, sitting at eight scores and 473 yards already. He’s one of a few potent skill players, as he can either be the thunder to Malachi Lee’s lightning or the lightning to Jordan Callaway’s thunder in McNamara’s triple option look. Quarterbacks Karter Krutsinger and Micah Lee each had touchdown passes last week, indicating that QB rotation will continue.

FND pick: Bishop McNamara

Illinois Central Eight Conference

Manteno (2-1, 0-1) at Reed-Custer (2-1, 1-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Panthers: Manteno came close to pulling its record to 3-0 on the season but was turned back at the goal line in the game’s waning seconds against Herscher. The Panthers have been pretty solid to start the season, with QB Connor Harrod serving as a dangerous run/pass threat.

About the Comets: Reed-Custer is already significantly ahead of the pace set recently by the program with its second victory of the year in Week 3 (Reed-Custer was 1-8 a year ago). Dominic Alaimo is providing big efforts on both sides of the football, anchoring down things on the defensive line and also serving as the Comets’ leading rusher.

FND pick: Manteno

Wilmington (2-1, 1-0) at Herscher (2-1, 1-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Wildcats: Wilmington stacked up another near 400-yard rushing game in its win over Peotone in Week 3, establishing once again that the Wildcats are back on point after their season-opening loss to Morris. RB Ryan Kettman needed just 10 carries to rack up 150-plus yards and three touchdowns, and there’s clearly no reason for the Wildcats to deviate from the blueprint that has sustained them.

About the Tigers: Herscher picked up what could turn out to be a pivotal win for them as it turned away Manteno in the waning seconds to keep themselves about the .500 mark. Herscher recognizes that they are playing the gold standard in the Illinois Central Eight, but believes that with playmakers like RB Alec Draper and RB/WR Mason Roberts, they are ready to give it a fighting shot.

FND pick: Wilmington

Coal City (2-1, 1-0) at Streator (1-2, 0-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Coalers: Coal City stepped up in terms of opponent school size with its open date, playing an 8A team in Bloom, but the Coalers played like the bigger dog in the fight, rolling to a 49-0 victory. They bounced back from a very disappointing, narrow loss to Richmond-Burton in Week 2. Coal City has already demonstrated a propensity for a good run-pass balance offensively, and that’s something that could really perplex future opponents, accustomed to a more run-heavy attack from the Coalers.

About the Bulldogs: Streator tried to mount a fourth-quarter rally against Reed-Custer in Week 3 but fell just short when Reed-Custer’s defense soldiered up just in time. After a season-opening victory against Decatur Eisenhower, Streator’s defense has had some problems keeping opposing offenses from scoring in bunches, and this week’s opponent probably won’t give Streator ample opportunity for correcting that.

FND pick: Coal City

Vermilion Valley Conference

Oakwood (3-0) at Clifton Central (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About Oakwood: While Westville and Clifton Central have enjoyed slightly higher profiles up to this point, Oakwood joins them to form a trio of undefeated VVC teams through the one-third mark of the season. The next two weeks will say a lot about the Comets, as they visit Clifton Central this week and host Westville next week. Their offense hasn’t been quite as high-powered as Westville’s (42 points per game to the Tigers’ 55.3), and the defense has been slightly less dominant than Clifton Central’s (15.7 ppg to Central’s 7), but they’ve shown to be just as dangerous as both.

About Clifton Central: Just like Bradley-Bourbonnais and Bishop McNamara, Clifton Central has seen dominance come in all phases of the game, culminating in a 3-0 start. Brady Shule’s flung 11 touchdown passes, 10 in the last two games, but look for the running game to get more involved. Evan Cox had a season-high 81 yards and found the end zone in last week’s 48-0 drubbing of Georgetown-Ridge Farm, and as long as the backfield continues to eat up yardage, not only will the offense be more diverse and tough to stop, but they’ll be able to put away close games like Friday’s could end up being.

FND pick: Clifton Central

Hoopeston (0-3) at Momence (0-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Cornjerkers: Following a gut-wrenching 21-20 loss to Iroquois West in the opener, Hoopeston’s had a struggle in its last two games, losing them by a combined 81-6 margin. The offense has sputtered, racking up seven turnovers, putting the defense at a disadvantage. A Momence defense that’s undergone a personnel facelift has yet to find consistency this year, something the Cornjerkers will look to take advantage of.

About Momence: They opened the season against what looks to be the top three teams in the VVC, but even against top-notch competition, nobody in Momence is pleased with the losing streak they’ve opened the season with. That speaks volumes to the progress and culture shift the program has undergone as of late, spearheaded from the player side by fourth-year quarterback Erick Castillo. He’s not had too much time to be comfortable in the pocket yet, but has still amassed 455 passing yards and six touchdowns. As the line gets more settled in, expect the offense to reach a new gear and a winning streak to come to Momence.

FND pick: Momence

Watseka (1-2) at Salt Fork (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Warriors: Beginning with last week’s 48-13 loss at Oakwood, the schedule is starting to get quite daunting for Watseka. This week’s trip to Salt Fork is the second of six straight games against returning playoff teams. To ensure a spot in this year’s postseason field, the Warriors will need to win at least three of them and defeat Hoopeston in Week 9. Junior Frankie Shervino has blossomed into the bruising type of runner that can shine in their offense. If he can find a teammate or two to join him in rushing scores Friday, one of those wins could come this week.

About the Storm: Salt Fork was the unlucky team to see Westville in Week 1, but since that 54-13 season-opening loss, the Storm have rallied back to win their last two by a combined 88-7 margin over Hoopeston and Iroquois West. Things get a little tougher against the Warriors this week, but recent history indicates good things ahead for Salt Fork. They’ve won the previous two meetings 47-6 last year and 42-0 in 2023.

FND pick: Salt Fork

Iroquois West (1-2) at Bismarck-Henning (1-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Raiders: After finding themselves on each side of one-point finals in the first two weeks, Iroquois West ran into a buzzsaw of a Salt Fork team in Week 3. As they quickly turn the page from their 47-7 defeat, they’ll now visit the defending conference champions and one of the VVC’s toughest road environments. The senior running back duo of Christian Gaytan and Julian Melgoza will have to be able to both keep the Raiders up in the time of possession battle by sustaining drives, and also hit some home runs to keep pace on the scoreboard.

About the Blue Devils: The first two weeks were tough, taking blowout losses to Clifton Central and Westville, but the Blue Devils picked up some momentum with a resounding 40-6 win against Hoopeston. While the numbers are slightly deceiving since the teams didn’t meet at all during the Raiders’ back-to-back postseason trips in 2021 and 2022, in the four meetings between the two teams in the past decade, Bismarck-Henning has won all four, with their 50 points per game average marking the Raiders’ total in all four of those contests.

FND pick: Bismarck-Henning

Illinois 8-Man Football Association

Milford/Cissna Park (3-0) at Martinsville (1-2)

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

About the Bearcats: It’s the second straight year Milford/Cissna Park has started the season 3-0, and the seventh such time they’ve done so since becoming a charter member of the I8FA in 2018. Junior receiver Skylar Estay continued his breakout junior season with an area-best 136 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown catches in last week’s 42-24 win at Oblong. As more and more skill players come into their own on the other side of the darts from quarterback Dierks Neukomm, the Bearcats’ offense will only become more fearsome as the season goes on.

About the Blue Devils: There’s been just one postseason since Martinsville joined the I8FA during the COVID pandemic in which they didn’t make the playoffs, but a home loss to the high-flying Bearcats could put that stat in jeopardy. They walloped Dugger Union 42-16 last week for their first win of 2025. Against St. Anne’s balanced offense in the season opener, the Bluestreaks struggled to the tune of a 30-0 loss. Like the Cardinals’ Grant Pomaranski, Martinsville will be tasked with stopping another dual-threat three-year starting quarterback in Neukomm.

Editor’s note: Peotone and St. Anne will receive forfeit wins this week.