Interstate 8

Morris (6-0, 3-0) at Ottawa 2-4 (0-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday at King Field

About Morris: Wilmington in Week 1 (27-20) and Peoria High in Week 3 (35-28) gave Morris stiff tests. Outside of those games, Morris has run roughshod over the rest of its schedule, including last week’s 37-14 victory over Rochelle that put Morris firmly in the driver’s seat of the I-8 championship race with Kaneland already beaten and other hopeful Sycamore to come in Week 8. The defense has been very good allowing just 16.2 points per outing, it’s true, but the Morris offense has been spectacular, putting up an even 37.0 points per game led by QB Brady Varner (693 yards on 49-of-81 passing; 267 yards rushing), RB Caeden Curran (897 yards rushing) and WR Logan Conroy (12 receptions for 205 yards).

About the Pirates: Ottawa has lost 27 straight games to Morris, its last victory in the series coming in 1972, the last in a run of 15 straight Pirates wins over Morris dating back to the early 1930s. To snap that skid and pull off the upset here, a Pirates defense surrendering an even 30.0 points per game will need to put in their best performance of the year against probably the best offense on their schedule. With that, an offense led by RB Archer Cechowicz (549 yards, 6.2 per carry), TE Owen Sanders (11 receptions, 179 yards) and QB Andrew Vercolio (241 yards passing) will have to regain its early-season form when it put up 35, 50 and 24 points in Ottawa’s opening three games of the fall.

Friday Night Drive pick: Morris

Illinois Central Eight

Streator (1-5, 0-4) at Wilmington (5-1, 3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday at Reents Stadium

On Shaw Local radio: Love 98.5 FM

About the Bulldogs: The Bulldogs are coming off what they have to feel is a missed opportunity in Week 6’s 28-14 homecoming loss to Herscher, a game in which Streator had the ball in a one-possession game and was driving in the fourth quarter until turning it over at midfield. Streator could easily be .500, but growing pains like that have it 1-5 heading into arguably the toughest third of its schedule. There are positives – the running of RB Leodies Jordan and QB Sam LeRette, WR Sharonn Morton’s receiving and the defensive play of Quintin Stevens and Aiiden Wilkinson, chief among them, but it will take a lot of them to keep up with the defending ICE champs.

About the Wildcats: Wilmington continues to dominate, last Friday running its winning streak to five games since a Week 1 loss at Morris. The Wildcats’ consistency in this stretch has been eye-popping – Wilmington is scoring between 41 and 49 points in all five of those wins and surrendering between 0 and 13, including shutouts of Manteno and Thornton the past two weeks. No surprise that defense (which allowed less than 25 yards from scrimmage last week) is complemented by a strong running game that averaged roughly 10 yards per carry in the 47-0 blanking of Thornton. RB Ryan Kettman continues to be unstoppable.

FND pick: Wilmington

Kishwaukee River

Sandwich (2-4, 2-2) at Woodstock (4-2, 2-2)

About the Indians: Sandwich is likely going to need to win out to qualify for the playoffs for a third straight season – a tough task with three opponents remaining with a combined 13-5 record. The Indians are coming off a 42-12 loss to Richmond-Burton, but it was a two-score game in the fourth quarter. Nick Michalek is closing in on his third straight 1,000-yard season after rushing for 255 yards and an 80-yard TD last week, returning a kickoff 85 yards for a score and also having nine tackles and two forced fumbles. Sandwich beat Woodstock 28-14 last season.

About the Blue Streaks: Woodstock increased its chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2009 last week by topping Plano 20-14. Junior LB Jaxson Hansen had 14 tackles, including a key fourth-down stop as the Reapers were driving late, to help secure victory for the Blue Streaks. QB Caden Thomson was 14-of-20 passing for 204 yards and three TDs. For the season, Thompson has completed 68% of his passes for 1,001 yards and 12 TDs. The Blue Streaks average 22.5 points a game and allow 21.8.

FND pick: Woodstock

— Joshua Welge contributed to this report

Heart of Central Illinois Medium

Ridgeview/Lexington (6-0, 1-0) at Fieldcrest (1-5, 0-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday at Veterans Park

About the Mustangs: A majority of the Mustangs’ victories have been of the relatively close variety, including by 15 points over 3-3 LeRoy, 14 over 5-1 Heyworth, seven over 1-5 St. Teresa, and last week’s 17-0 shutout of 3-3 Warrensburg-Latham. No matter who they’ve played, the Mustangs defense has been exceptional, surrendering just 5.7 per contest through six weeks.

About the Knights: Coming off its first win of the season, 48-0 over Walther Christian, the Knights finish with a tough stretch of schedule. Fieldcrest has shown the ability to move the football with a run-centered offense built around workhorse RB Lucas Anson (102 yards rushing, 21 receiving in last Saturday’s win) and QB Kash Klendworth (123 yards, three TDs passing vs. Walther). It will be a challenge to keep the offense rolling against this Mustangs’ defense, though.

FND pick: Ridgeview/Lexington

Chicagoland Prairie

St. Bede (2-4, 0-2) at Seneca (6-0, 2-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Bruins: The 2025 season got off to a promising start for St. Bede with a running-clock win over Bureau Valley, but it’s been tough sledding since, and the Chicagoland Prairie stretch of schedule hasn’t offered any relief. Dual-threat QB Gino Ferrari and RB Carson Riva have been the two main weapons for the Bedans, who have proven able to put up points in bunches when clicking in their two wins, but just haven’t clicked against good competition, held to two or fewer TDs in all four of their defeats. St. Bede lost to Seneca in last year’s meeting 36-12.

About the Fighting Irish: Seneca has already clinched a share of the Chicagoland Prairie title and will look to wrap it up outright for the third straight year – the entire history of the conference – with a win here. Except for one close win at Genoa-Kingston, the Irish have completely dominated opponents, for the fall outscoring opponents by an average score of 45-14. Seneca has seven ballcarriers with more than 100 yards rushing on the year, led by RB Cam Shriey (843, 10.4 per carry) and QB Gunner Varland (431, 9.0 per tote). DL Landen Venecia has six tackles for loss plus a QB sack.

FND pick: Seneca

Nonconference

Marquette (3-3) at Elmwood/Brimfield (3-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday in Elmwood

About the Crusaders: Marquette comes into this matchup of 3-3 teams .500, true, but it must be pointed out the three losses are quality defeats – to 4-2 Aurora Christian, 7-0 Edgar (Wisc.) and last week’s 43-26 loss to 6-0 Seneca. The Cru nevertheless finds themselves needing probably two wins to make a 13th consecutive postseason with 4-2 Knoxville and 0-6 Morrison ahead after this one. In addition to an always-potent running game and hard-nosed defense, Marquette has increasingly been able to count on the emergence of QB Anthony Couch (193 yards, four TDs passing vs. Seneca).

About the Trojans: A run-first team through the first two-thirds of the schedule, Elmwood/Brimfield has fed RBs Layne Johnson and Myles Alger, both hovering around the 500-yard mark for the season. Like Marquette, the co-op is a playoff regular, making either the Class 2A or 3A field in 18 of the past 21 postseasons. The Trojans have alternated wins and losses all season, their signature win in Week 1 over now 4-2 Knoxville; their only loss to a team not 6-0 or 5-1 coming last week to 3-3 West Hancock, 42-34. The Trojans currently sit in fourth place in the eight-team Lincoln Trail-Prairieland Large.

FND pick: Marquette

Dwight (3-3) at Walther Christian (2-4)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

About the Trojans: Dwight snapped a three-game losing streak with last Saturday’s 48-14 handling of St. Bede to salvage one win during the Chicagoland Prairie portion of the schedule. Another Saturday game here begins a three-game nonconference stretch that will determine whether the Trojans can get back into the playoffs. Dwight likely needs a pair of wins out of games versus 2-4 Walther Christian, 3-3 Warrensburg-Latham and 4-2 Oregon.

About the Broncos: A former member of the Chicagoland Prairie, Walther Christian vacated to go independent, but kept Dwight on the schedule. The Broncos’ two victories have come via forfeit against a Wisconsin team and Week 5’s 36-0 shutout of one-win Westmont. In its other four games, Walther Christian has been outscored by an average score of 41-7.

FND pick: Dwight

8-Man Football Association

West Central (5-1) at FCW (4-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday at Flanagan

About the Heat: The Heat enter this contest on a five-game winning streak, not having lost since Week 1’s 42-0 shutout at the hands of West Carroll. Since then, West Central has won all sorts of games – high-scoring, low-scoring, close, blowouts – but the one thing they all have in common is that none of those wins have come against a team that currently sits above .500. To be fair, though, the same could be said about the Falcons. The running of Graham Kelly (160 yards in last week’s 26-18 win over Galva) and Cooper Gibb (100 yards) has powered the Heat attack.

About the Falcons: Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland comes into Flanagan-Cornell’s homecoming on a two-game winning streak, including last week’s 54-14 handling of winless West Prairie. The FCW offensive skill-position triumvirate of QB Brezdyn Simons and RBs Logan Ruddy and Leelynd Durbin has been especially impressive as the Falcons have put up 100 points over that two-game stretch and are averaging 39.6 per outing for the season. FCW’s final two regular-season opponents after this one (Peoria Heights and Bushnell-Prairie City) are both 1-5, meaning the Falcons, with a win here, would be in great position to lock up a first-round I8FA home playoff game.

FND pick: FCW