Here’s a look at Week 8 of the IHSA/I8FA football season across The Times coverage area.

Interstate 8

Ottawa (2-5, 0-5) at Rochelle (4-3, 2-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Pirates: The Pirates’ losing streak has hit five games since a 2-0 start, with only the two losses to archrival La Salle-Peru – 41-24 in Week 3 and 28-14 two weeks ago – close contests. Putting together consistent offense (the Pirates are averaging 10.4 points per game during this five-game stretch) and finding defensive stops (Ottawa is surrendering 40.4 per contest against fellow I-8 teams) have eluded a Pirates squad that still has razor-thin playoff chances if they can upset the Hubs and then defeat winless Granite City in Week 9. RB Archer Cechowicz stands at 599 rushing yards this season on 5.9 per attempt to lead an Ottawa rushing attack that is still outgaining opponents 169.4-153.6 per Friday night.

About the Hubs: Rochelle, which leads the I-8 in playoff points (opponents’ combined wins, the first tiebreaker for playoff spots/seeding) with 40, is looking for a win here to all but lock up a postseason berth. The Hubs are coming off a hard-fought, emotional win over Kaneland, 21-20, in a game the team dedicated to severely injured RB Dylan Manning. It was a typical Rochelle game otherwise, with the Hubs’ wing-T attack eating up over 70% of the game clock. In Manning’s absence, it was RB Roman Villalobos who starred with three rushing touchdowns. Ottawa leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1948, per records kept by Ottawa High historian/statistician Dan Eilts, 10-9.

Friday Night Drive pick: Rochelle

Kishwaukee River

Woodstock North (4-3, 3-2) at Sandwich (2-5, 2-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Thunder: Woodstock North saw its season-best three-game winning streak end with a 21-0 loss to Richmond-Burton last week. The Thunder defense kept R-B’s explosive triple-option attack in check, as the Rockets’ longest run from scrimmage was only 14 yards. But the Thunder offense managed only seven first downs, five coming on their final drive of the game when they were down three TDs. North QB Parker Halihan carried 12 times for 54 yards, while FB David Randecker rushed for 58 of his 66 yards in the second half. One more win will put the Thunder in a good position to earn an at-large playoff berth.

About the Indians: Sandwich is coming off a 42-26 loss at Woodstock, a game in which the Indians gave up 35 points in the second half after leading 14-7 at the half. Stopping opponents has been a lingering issue for the Indians, as Woodstock was the fourth opponent to top 40 points. Nick Michalek is on the stretch run of a sensational career. The Sandwich senior rushed for 198 yards and a TD last week, putting him over 1,000 yards rushing for the third straight season. Jeffrey Ashley rushed for 97 yards and a TD last week. Sandwich beat Woodstock North 42-35 last season.

FND pick: Woodstock North

• Joshua Welge contributed to this report

Heart of Central Illinois Medium

Fieldcrest (1-6, 0-2) at GCMS (5-2, 2-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday in Gibson City

About the Knights: After securing its first win of the season, Fieldcrest fell last Friday 43-8 to undefeated Ridgeview/Lexington. RB Lucas Anson put in another fantastic effort in the loss, handling 27 carries and taking them for 120 yards. He also scored the Knights’ only touchdown on a 20-yard reception, with the ensuing two-point conversion briefly giving Fieldcrest an 8-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Knights close in Week 9 at 3-4 Warrensburg-Latham.

About the Falcons: Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley ventured outside the Heart of Central Illinois superconference for the first time last week, taking a 35-13 loss at the hands of the Illinois Central Eight’s Manteno. The 13 points scored were the Falcons’ lowest total of the season, with the team averaging 27.7 per contest. RB Jacob Chase and QB Tucker Mueller are the centerpieces of a balanced offense that is complemented by strong-legged K Mason Doman.

FND pick: GCMS

Nonconference

Dixon (6-1) at Streator (1-6)

When: 7 p.m. Friday at Doug Dieken Stadium

On Shaw Local radio: Love 98.5 FM

About the Dukes: The last time the Dukes visited Streator in 2013, they scored a 29-27 win over the Bulldogs in a matchup of 2-6 teams. Dixon has come a long way since it and Streator jointly left the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference looking for greener pastures, with the Dukes having made the playoffs every year since, including a Class 4A quarterfinal run last fall. In last week’s 50-15 crushing of Winnebago, RB Landon Knigge ran for 250 yards and five touchdowns, but he’s far from the only weapon for a Dukes offense averaging 47.6 points per contest. The defense isn’t bad either, allowing just 7.3 points per game – 28 of its 51 points allowed coming in the Dukes’ lone loss to undefeated Byron.

About the Bulldogs: Streator is mired in a six-game losing streak and has two teams with winning records – 6-1 Dixon and 4-3 Manteno – remaining on its schedule. There have been positive signs even outside of the Bulldogs’ two competitive efforts during that stretch (a 28-21 loss to Reed-Custer in Week 3, a 28-14 home loss to Herscher in Week 6), but consistency has continued to elude the team despite its having dangerous weapons such as WRs Sharonn Morton and LA Moton, RB Leodies Jordan and QB Sam LeRette. After a shutout last week at the hands of powerhouse Wilmington, Streator is averaging 14.3 points per Friday. Not great, but the real issue has been a defense surrendering an Illinois Central Eight Conference-worst 36.6 points per outing.

FND pick: Dixon

Knoxville (4-3) at Marquette (4-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday at Gould Stadium

About the Blue Bullets: The Blue Bullets have struggled since a 3-1 start, losing two of their last three, including Week 7’s 42-19 setback at the hands of a six-win Macomb squad. Its other loss came to 7-0 Farmington, and Knoxville does have a couple of wins over playoff hopefuls, such as 4-3 West Hancock (35-28 in Week 3) and 3-4 Illini West (32-22 in Week 6, a game in which the Blue Bullets trailed 22-8 at the half). RBs James Long and Braydon Walters are the primary weapons for Knoxville, though QB Bradley Cummings has shown the ability to hit the big play. Knoxville has 5-2 Stark County in Week 9 and likely needs a win here or in that one to make the playoffs after a 2-7 2024.

About the Crusaders: After a bit of a slow start, excepting the first play from scrimmage (a 45-yard Anthony Couch-to-Blayden Cassel touchdown connection), the Crusaders put things together to absolutely dominate Elmwood-Brimfield 51-6 last Friday. Couch (6-of-11 passing for 109 yards; 48 yards and a TD rushing), RB Grant Dose (128 yards, four TDs), and the entire offensive line were exceptional, as was a defense that allowed only 136 yards from scrimmage, 3.0 yards per play. It could be the Crusaders are hitting their stride, as in their last four contests – a stretch that includes a loss to undefeated Seneca as well as two other playoff hopefuls, Elmwood-Brimfield and Dwight – Marquette is outscoring its opponents by an average score of 42-19.

FND pick: Marquette

Warrensburg-Latham (3-4) at Dwight (4-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Cardinals: Warrensburg-Latham is struggling through a three-game losing streak against a few of the stronger teams in the Heart of Central Illinois Conference. But before that, W-L collected a somewhat comfortable win over Shelbyville in Week 4, the same Shelbyville team that beat Dwight 51-48 in Week 3.

About the Trojans: Dwight has scored each of its victories – including a Week 7 win over Walther Christian – rather easily. But those three on-field wins (the fourth was a forfeit victory) have come against opponents that have amassed just five victories between them. On the other hand, Dwight has given up a bunch of points in three losses. So it will be interesting to see which version of the Trojans shows up against a middle-of-the-road opponent. The Trojans almost certainly need one more win to get back to the playoffs and have 4-3 Oregon waiting for them in Week 9.

FND pick: Warrensburg-Latham

- Steve Soucie contributed to this report.

St. Joe-Ogden (4-3) at Seneca (7-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Spartans: SJO got off to a 3-0 start with lopsided wins over now 4-3 Prairie Central, 3-4 Paxton-Buckley-Loda and 1-6 IVC. Since then, the Spartans have gone 1-3, the lone win coming over winless Rantoul in Week 5, surrounded by losses to playoff-bound Tolono Unity (40-10), Monticello (28-21), and last week to Bloomington Central Catholic (67-28). QB Kodey McKinney is on track to threaten for a 2,000-yard passing season and had 14 touchdowns going into the loss to BCC. His top targets to this point have been Kaden Wedig, Lane McKinney and Tim Blackburn-Kelley in an offense that’s averaging 35.0 points per game.

About the Fighting Irish: Seneca steamrolled another opponent in Week 7, rushing for 488 yards out of their power-T to overwhelm Chicagoland Prairie Conference rival St. Bede 48-16. For the season, Seneca is outscoring opponents by an average score of 45-14. This one could be trickier for the Fighting Irish, however, as the defense has had some struggles defending the pass recently, including surrendering 111 passing yards to St. Bede QB Gino Ferrari and the previous week 193 with four passing touchdowns to Marquette QB Anthony Couch. Already a pass-first team, St. Joe-Ogden most certainly will try to take advantage of that.

FND pick: Seneca

8-Man Football Association

FCW (4-3) at Peoria Heights (1-6)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Falcons: Just as illness and injuries didn’t do Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland any favors in last week’s 40-32 home loss to 6-1 West Central, so too did that loss not do any favors to the Falcons’ hopes of drawing a favorable first-round matchup and quite possibly a Week 10 home game in the I8FA playoffs. Still, the opportunity is there for FCW to get well down the stretch with a pair of one-win teams on the docket, starting with Peoria Heights. Expect the Falcons to keep it simple and rely on their defense, their offensive line, and the three-headed rushing attack of QB Brezdyn Simons and RBs Logan Ruddy and Leelynd Durbin to get what should be a playoff-clinching fifth victory.

About the Patriots: Peoria Heights scored its lone victory of the season, 36-16 over West Prairie/Southeastern, back in Week 4. Before and after that have come a pair of three-game losing streaks in which the Patriots have been outscored by an average tally of 54-11. Peoria Heights lost 38-8 to FCW in 2024, hasn’t been to the playoffs since a 2015 appearance playing 11-man football, and has just one postseason win in program history (1982 over Knoxville).

FND pick: FCW