With three weeks left in the regular season, here’s where Illinois Valley football teams stand in their quest to make the IHSA (or for eight-man teams, the I8FA) playoffs.

Locked in

Morris 6-0 (30 playoff points)

Six wins gets you into the field of 256, meaning Morris has already locked up a spot. Now the Interstate 8 Conference’s first-place team will try to lock up the I-8 title and an excellent postseason seed by winning out against a schedule containing 2-4 Ottawa, 3-3 Sycamore and 3-3 Byron Center, Mich.

Seneca 6-0 (18 playoff points)

The Fighting Irish have a berth all locked up. This week at home against 2-4 St. Bede, they can wrap up a third consecutive Chicagoland Prairie Conference title. Then it’s 4-2 St. Joe-Ogden and 0-6 Carlyle. If Seneca wants a good seed, it will likely need to win out, as what looked like a tough nonconference schedule before the season began has not played out that way, hence the low number of playoff points (opponents’ combined wins, the first tiebreaker after record when seeding potential playoff teams).

Sitting comfortably

8-man: Amboy/LaMoille/Ohio 5-1 (23 playoff points)

Making the cut for the Illinois 8-Man Football Association playoff bracket has historically been a little more forgiving to 5-4 and 4-5 teams than the IHSA brackets, meaning the defending champion Clippers for all intents and purposes are already in. They can put it away and better their seed down the stretch as they host 3-3 Ridgewood and 0-6 West Prairie before a Week 9 visit to 5-1 West Central.

Almost there

8-man: Flanagan/Cornell/Woodland 4-2 (22 playoff points)

As stated above, four wins might just be enough to get the Falcons into the I8FA field. A win in any of their remaining games – home against 5-1 West Central, at 1-5 Peoria Heights or back in Flanagan versus 1-5 Bushnell-Prairie City – would likely ice it, with every additional win making a Week 10 home playoff game for FCW more and more possible.

Work to do

Marquette 3-3 (30 playoff points)

The Crusaders, thanks to a tough schedule, could end up with enough playoff points to be in the running if 4-5 teams get invited to Week 10, but a far surer path would be to win at least two of their remaining games. Coming up for the Cru: a visit to 3-3 Elmwood-Brimfield, a visit from 4-2 Knoxville and a trip to 0-6 Morrison.

Hall/Putnam Co. 3-3 (27 playoff points)

The Red Devils have two potential paths to the playoffs, but both look like tough traversing. Hall/PC’s quickest would be an upset of 6-0 Monmouth-Roseville this Friday paired with either a Princeton loss to Mendota or a successful tiebreak for the Three Rivers Mississippi’s automatic bid. The Red Devils’ likeliest path with a loss this weekend would be winning out at 4-2 Port Byron Riverdale and 6-0 Rockridge. Getting in at 4-5 doesn’t look impossible for Hall/PC, but it also doesn’t look very likely.

Princeton 3-3 (27 playoff points)

It’s unusual to see the Tigers still having “work to do” as we enter the last third of the regular season. Technically, Princeton could get in this weekend via the Three Rivers Mississippi’s automatic bid with a win Friday against 2-4 Mendota, a Hall upset of first-place Monmouth-Roseville and emerging from a three-way tiebreak. More likely, the Tigers need to win two of their final three games, with 1-5 Mercer County and 4-2 Erie-Prophetstown on tap after Mendota.

Dwight 3-3 (25 playoff points)

Last week’s win at St. Bede made the picture a lot rosier for the Trojans to get in, but there’s still – as the name of this section suggests – lots of work to do. A pedestrian number of playoff points means Dwight likely needs to win two of its three remaining contests, with 2-4 Walther Christian, 3-3 Warrensburg-Latham and 4-2 Oregon waiting. That 51-49 loss to Shelbyville in Week 3 still stings when it comes to Dwight’s playoff hopes.

La Salle-Peru 2-4 (32 playoff points)

The Cavaliers aren’t in that “Hail Mary time” category yet, but will fall there unless they can pull off upsets each of the next two weeks – at 3-3 Sycamore and home versus 5-1 Kaneland. The Interstate 8 Conference title is also a possibility, but not a likely one. If 4-5 teams get in and the Cavaliers can get to four wins, they’re projecting to have enough playoff points to at least be in the conversation.

Sandwich 2-4 (31 playoff points)

The Indians have enough playoff points to maybe get in with four wins if 4-5s are invited, but it’s a path with very shaky footing. More sure footing can be found by winning out and getting a 5-4 at-large bid, but that path also looks treacherous, with 4-2 Woodstock, 4-2 Woodstock North and 5-1 Marengo waiting ahead.

Hail Mary time

Mendota 2-4 (26 playoff points)

After an 0-9 2024, the Trojans have already made a nice leap this season. To leap all the way to the playoffs, however, would require at least two and most likely three wins against a remaining schedule that includes 3-3 Princeton, 4-2 Erie-Prophetstown and 1-5 Mercer County.

St. Bede 2-4 (23 playoff points)

The Bruins are probably in if they can win out and – due to their low number of playoff points – almost certainly out with a single loss down the stretch. Coming up? 6-0 Seneca, 4-2 Peoria Notre Dame and 1-5 Decatur St. Teresa.

Ottawa 2-4 (22 playoff points)

Any path to the field of 256 for the Pirates probably requires them winning out against 6-0 Morris, 3-3 Rochelle and 0-6 Granite City. It’s true 4-5 teams might sneak in, but Ottawa’s less-than-pedestrian number of playoff points thanks to two winless and one 1-5 team on the schedule makes the Pirates’ getting in with four wins awfully unlikely.

Fieldcrest 1-5 (33 playoff points)

The Knights kept their razor-thin playoff hopes alive with their first win of the season in Week 6, but need to win out against 6-0 Ridgeview/Lexington, 5-1 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley and 3-3 Warrensburg-Latham to have even a long shot at an at-large bid.

Bureau Valley 1-5 (31 playoff points)

Same story as Fieldcrest. The Storm stayed technically alive with last week’s win at Lewistown, but would need to pull off three straight upsets – against 2-4 Illini West, 3-3 West Hancock and 6-0 Farmington – to have even a chance at an at-large big if 4-5 teams are invited to dance.

Streator 1-5 (30 playoff points)

The playoff paths are rapidly closing for the Bulldogs, who need to win all three of their remaining games against 5-1 Wilmington, 5-1 Dixon and 3-3 Manteno to have even a long shot at making the field of 256.