Illinois 8-Man Football Association

Milledgeville (3-0) at Polo (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Missiles: They rolled past AFC 64-5 last week to get their third straight 3-0 start. A 30-14 loss to Polo last year was their only regular-season loss. They avenged that setback in the Battle for the Blacktop game with a 28-14 win in the playoffs. Milledgeville opened the season with a 30-22 road win over two-time defending 8-man state champion Amboy. Sophomore Kyson Francis has made a leap at QB and Karter Livengood has been impactful at multiple positions.

About the Marcos: They won a competitive contest with West Carroll last week 30-20 after leading 16-14 at halftime. Mercer Mumford led the Marcos with 215 yards rushing, two TDs, 40 yards receiving and two two-point conversions. JT Stephenson had two more rushing scores for Polo with 42 passing yards. In last year’s regular season matchup, former Marco Gus Mumford had 30 rushes for 141 yards and two TDs, along with 141 passing yards and two scores.

FND pick: Milledgeville

Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland (2-1) at Amboy co-op (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Warriors: FCW is 1-1 on the field. The Warriors received a forfeit victory in Week 1, lost 40-20 to Polo in Week 2 and defeated Galva 60-25 last week. Logan Ruddy ran the ball 21 times for 211 yards and five touchdowns against Galva, while Leelyn Durbin rushed for 110 yards and a TD on 16 carries.

About the Clippers: After losing its opener, Amboy has outscored its last two opponents 120-18, including a 56-6 win over Bushnell-Prairie City last week. Against BPC, Jose Lopez ran for two TDs, Caiden Heath ran for a TD and recovered a fumble for a score, Colt McCoy had a rushing TD and a kick return TD and Tanner Welch threw a TD pass to Cody Winn and scored a rushing TD. The Clippers beat the Warriors 46-14 last season.

FND pick: Amboy

West Carroll (2-1) at River Ridge (1-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Thunder: They lost 30-20 to Polo last week, though it was a much closer game than last year’s 52-6 and 66-0 losses. Ryker Budimliga and Roger Laborn each caught TDs for the Thunder and Cohen Good ran for another. Winter Harrington and Brody Smith each threw TDs for WC.

About the Wildcats: They lost 50-14 to Ridgewood, beat B-PC 40-38 and fell 46-20 to Orangeville last week. They lost 64-14 to West Carroll in Week 1 last season and finished 8-3.

FND pick: West Carroll

Three Rivers Rock

Newman (3-0, 1-0) at Orion (2-1, 1-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Comets: Ranked third in the latest Associated Press Class 1A poll, they beat E-P 49-14 last Saturday. Morrison transfer Asher Ernst had two interceptions in the win, including one on E-P’s opening drive. Another Morrison transfer, Rylan Alvarado, had two rushing TDs. George Jungerman had two rushing scores, Danny Welte ran for another and Parker Strommen also caught a TD. Newman will face another proficient passer on the road next week in Cullen Schwigen and Rockridge.

About the Chargers: They beat Mercer County 47-20 as their all-time leading passer and son of coach Chip Filler, Kale Filler, was 17 of 24 passing for 272 yards and 6 TDs. His 6 passing TDs tied a school record. Owen Vorhees had 11 catches for 193 yards, 5 TDs and a rushing TD. They lost 54-21 at Newman last season.

FND pick: Newman

Big Northern Conference

Dixon (2-1, 2-1) at North Boone 3-0, 2-0

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Dukes: They beat Rock Falls 70-0 after scoring on every offensive drive. Dixon also held the Rockets to 24 yards on 28 plays and forced three turnovers. Landon Knigge had 157 yards and five touchdowns on just five carries. He is up to 441 yards rushing on the season.

About the Vikings: They have started the season with road wins over Winnebago, Rock Falls and St. Bede. All three victories were by seven points or less. lost to Dixon 55-0 last season. Connor Chamberlain led the team with 147 yards rushing and a TD against St. Bede.

FND pick: Dixon

Rock Falls (0-3, 0-3) at Oregon (2-1, 2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Rockets: They’ve lost big to the top teams in the conference in Byron and Dixon, but fell just 21-14 to North Boone. Oregon won last year’s matchup 55-19. Their last on-the-field win was a 41-35 victory over Winnebago in Week 9 of the 2023 season.

About the Hawks: They lost 35-7 to top-ranked Byron last week. The Tigers led 21-0 at halftime as Oregon’s lone score was a Cooper Johnson rushing TD in the third quarter.

FND pick: Oregon

Western Big 6 Conference

Sterling (1-2, 0-1) at United Township (3-0, 1-0)

When: 6:45 p.m. Friday

About the Golden Warriors: They opened Big 6 play with a 36-20 loss to Moline last week, but made some big plays in the passing game. Junior quarterback Brady Berlin had the best game of his young varsity career, throwing for 229 yards on 19 of 27 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Two of those TDs went to Jack Saathoff, including a highlight-reel 28-yarder in the corner of the end zone. Saathoff finished with six catches for 91 yards. Maurice De La Cruz also had a 27-yard catch and run for a score.

About the Panthers: They beat Galesburg 56-16 last week. Isaiah Navarrete had 140 of UT’s 337 rushing yards on just 12 carries. QB Jonathan Drake had 177 yards passing with two scores on 8 of 10 completions. Navarrete and Leo Sim each caught TDs. UT held Galesburg to 40 yards rushing on 20 carries. The Panthers have 17 players back with starting experience, including three all-Big 6 first-team selections in seniors Eli Oppenheimer (OL/DL), Tristan Wallarab (OL/DL) and junior Leo Sim (DB/RB). UT is hoping to snap a 24-year playoff drought this season.

FND pick: United Township

Northwest Upstate Illini

Forreston (2-1, 2-1) at Morrison (0-3, 0-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Cardinals: They had a 36-28 comeback win over Fulton last week as Kayden Loomis had 117 yards rushing and four TDs on 27 carries. Forreston trailed 13-8 at halftime and 21-16 after three quarters. Forreston has four different players with at least 120 yards rushing.

About the Mustangs: This is their first 0-3 start since going 0-4 to open the 2021 season. They’ve scored just 21 points against some of the top teams in the conference in Galena, E-PC and D-Pec. They won last year’s matchup 28-12.

FND pick: Forreston

Stockton (3-0, 2-0) at Fulton (0-3, 0-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Blackhawks: They are ranked No. 2 in the latest AP Class 1A poll. They followed up an impressive 38-14 win over Lena-Winslow with a 48-8 win over Dakota. They won last year’s matchup 38-20. This is their first 3-0 start since they went 9-0 in 2016 before losing 43-42 to open the playoffs.

About the Steamers: They lost 36-28 to Forreston last week. This is their first 0-3 start since they went 5-5 in 2015. QB Braedon Meyers leads the team with 153 yards rushing. He’s thrown for 491 yards and four TDs. Landen Leu leads the team with 126 yards receiving. Wyatt Connor leads the team with 31 tackles.

FND pick: Stockton

Rockridge (3-0, 1-0) at Erie-Prophetstown (2-1, 0-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Rockets: They’ve opened the season with wins over Sherrard, Princeton and Riverdale. QB Cullen Schwigen has thrown for 647 yards and 14 TDs on 29 of 54 passing.

About the Panthers: They fell 49-14 to Newman last Saturday after wins over Kewanee and Hall. E-P’s lone scores last week were TD passes of 43 and 31 yards from Keegan Winckler to Gaven Adams. Newman held Winckler to fewer than 40 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Tristan Hovey had just five carries for 34 yards.

FND pick: Rockridge

Nonconference

Fennimore (WI) (4-0) at Eastland-Pearl City (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Golden Eagles: They’ve outscored their opponents 146-51 this season. They beat 0-4 Benton/Scales Mound 35-7 last week.

About the Wildcatz: They took their first loss 27-16 to 3-0 Galena last week. E-PC was shut out in the first half and outscored 19-8 in the fourth quarter. Brecken Hayden had a 48-yard rushing TD for E-PC and Draven Zier led the team with 147 yards on the ground with a TD.

FND pick: E-PC

Lincoln Trail-Prairieland Large

Macomb (3-0, 2-0) at Bureau Valley (0-3, 0-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Bombers: Macomb beat Illini West 27-6 last week. The Bombers have outscored their opponents 97-26. Macomb has not allowed more than 14 points in a game. QB Kaden Knupp has completed 20 of 37 passes for 405 yards and two TDs with two interceptions while rushing for 179 yards and two TDs on 25 carries. Drake May has run for 301 yards and seven TDs on 44 attempts. The Bombers won last year’s meeting 41-7.

About the Storm: Bureau Valley has been outscored 127-24 in three games, including a 31-8 loss to Knoxville last week. The Storm have scored one TD in each of their three games. Tucker Shane scored on a run in the third quarter against Knoxville.

FND pick: Macomb