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La Salle-Peru (1-0) at Plano (1-1)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Last matchup: La Salle-Peru 40, Plano 8 (2019)
About the Cavaliers: L-P turned in a dominant defensive performance in the opener, limiting Rochelle to 40 rushing yards and not allowing a completed pass in a 29-0 victory. L-P stopped the Hubs for 2 yards or less on 10 of 27 rushing plays. L-P’s Trevon Hunter intercepted a pass to set up a touchdown. … Offensively, the Cavaliers relied on their ground game with Matt Carrico running for 118 yards and a pair of TDs, while QB Tyler Hartman ran for 81 yards and a score. Sean Whitfield scored a 21-yard TD on an option pitch. … L-P’s win over Plano last season was split over two days with the game starting on Friday night and being finished Saturday due to inclement weather. … L-P is 3-2 in Week 2 under Medina.
About the Reapers: Plano opened the season with a 20-7 victory over Ottawa before losing 35-12 to Morris in Week 2. … The Reapers had a rough start against Morris as the Redskins scored on their first possession then recovered a fumble on Plano’s first play and scored again, putting the Reapers in a 14-0 hole just 3:07 into the game. … Anthony Licea broke free for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 in the first quarter against Morris. He finished with 85 yards on 20 carries. … Plano also scored on a 34-yard pass from Dez Corral to Kameron Williams.
FND Pick: La Salle-Peru
St. Bede (2-0) at Erie-Prophetstown (0-1)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Last matchup: St. Bede 24, Erie-Prophetstown 23 (2019)
About the Bruins: St. Bede has been stingy on defense, allowing just six points this season, which came on a 71-yard touchdown run on the fifth play of the opener. … The Bruins have scored 27 points in both games. … QB Braden Damerell has throwing for 320 yards and touchdowns while running for a pair of scores. … Tyreke Fortney displayed his big-play ability in Week 2, catching a 70-yard TD and running for a 51-yard scored. … Ethan Sramek has been a strong between the tackles runner for the Bruins, running for 104 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, an average of 6.1 yards per carry. … Griffen Heuser has caught a TD pass in each game. … The last three games between St. Bede and E-P have been decided by one point with the Bruins winning 24-23 in 2019 and 27-26 in 2017 and the Panthers winning 17-16 in 2018. … It is St. Bede’s first of four consecutive road games after opening with back-to-back games at the Academy.
About the Panthers: E-P opened the season in Week 2 after canceling its opener against Princeton. … The Panthers scored both of their touchdowns in the final minute of the first half against Kewanee. Kolby Franks threw a 3-yard touchdown to Jakob Grunder with 48 seconds left in the half. Brody Naftzger then intercepted a pass and returned it 60 yards to the Kewanee 4, setting up a 4-yard TD pass from Franks to Grunder with 10 seconds left. … The Panthers allowed Kewanee to score with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter.
FND Pick: St. Bede
Bureau Valley (0-1) at Hall (0-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Last matchup: Hall 47, Bureau Valley 12 (2019)
About the Storm: Bureau Valley had a tough opener, losing 42-0 to defending Class 2A state champion Newman. … The Storm managed just 49 yards of offense against the Comets and did not complete a pass in three attempts. … Newman ran for 248 yards against BV but did not have a run longer than 15 yards. … BV had one turnover – an interception – in the opener after averaging three per game in 2019. … The Storm are down to 35 players with three out due to injuries.
About the Red Devils: Hall has played two games, losing 27-6 to St. Bede and 49-3 to Princeton. … The Red Devils are down 28 players with senior Jack Savitch lost for the season due to injury. Junior Caleb Savitch may return Saturday from a high ankle sprain. … After rushing for 234 yards in Week 1 – including 115 yards and a touchdown by Mac Restich – the Hall ground game was bottled up by Princeton as the Red Devils were limited to 23 rushing yards. … Hall defense allowed Princeton to run for 380 yards. … The Red Devils are 5-2 all-time against Bureau Valley. Last year’s 47-12 Hall win was the first meeting between the Red Devils and Storm in five years.
FND pick: Hall
Oregon (0-1) at Mendota (0-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Oregon 20, Mendota 12 (2019)
About the Hawks: Oregon had a strong start to the season with a 24-16 loss to Byron, the Class 3A runner-up in 2018 and 2019. The Hawks scored on their first possession when quarterback Breccan Berns ran in from 19 yards out. Wylee Rice scored Oregon’s other TD with 6:34 left. … Oregon is 6-0 against Mendota since the Trojans joined the Big Northern in 2012. This is the last meeting between the teams as BNC foes as Mendota is leaving for the Three Rivers Conference in 2021-22.
About the Trojans: Mendota struggled defensively in its opener, allowing North Boone quarterback Logan Emanuel to throw for five touchdowns and run for another in the Trojans’ 49-7 loss. … The Trojans had some special teams lapses against the Vikings as Will Doetz returned a kickoff 83 yards for a score and Mendota averaged 8 yards on two punts. … Mendota QB Ted Landgraf threw for 53 yards and ran for 55 yards, while Damien Magallanes ran for 27 yards on 10 attempts and caught six of Landgraf’s seven completed passes for 45 yards. … North Boone intercepted MHS four times.
FND Pick: Oregon
Kewanee (1-0) at 3A No. 3 Princeton (2-0)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Last matchup: Princeton 49, Kewanee 7 (2019)
About the Boilermakers: Kewanee quarterback Will Bruno scored on a sneak with 1:04 left in last week’s opener to lift the Boilermakers to a 21-14 victory over Erie-Prophetstown. He also threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns. … The Kewanee defense recovered four fumbles against the Panthers. … The Boilermakers allowed E-P to score twice in the final 48 seconds of the first half on a pair of TD passes, the second set up by a 60-yard interception return. … The Boilermakers went 7-4 and reached the second round of the Class 4A playoffs last season. … Key players for Kewanee are TB Tayvian Taylor, RB/DB Melcon DeJesus and DL Kazeer Johnson.
About the Tigers: Princeton has rolled through the first two weeks of the season, winning by an average margin of 33.5 with a 35-14 win over Lena-Winslow and 49-3 rout of Hall. … The Tigers have had a strong ground game with Ronde Worrels (199 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Augie Christiansen (145 yards, 2 TDs). … QB Tyler Gibson has thrown for 249 yards and three scores with Teegan Davis catching two TDs against Hall. … Drew Harp (11 tackles) led a PHS defense that held Hall to 23 rushing yards. … Princeton has scored 49 points in each of the last two games against Kewanee. … The Tigers lead the all-time series 61-56-4.
FND pick: Princeton
2A No. 5 Fieldcrest (2-0) at 3A No. 9 (Coaches)/7 (AP) Eureka (2-0)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Last matchup: Fieldcrest 21, Eureka 17 (2019)
About the Knights: Fieldcrest has relied on a stingy defense this season as the Knights held state-ranked Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley to two touchdowns in a 21-14 win in Week 1 before blanking Deer Creek-Mackinaw 17-0 in Week 2. … The Knights forced four turnovers against Dee-Mack – two interceptions and two fumbles. … QB Cory Land has thrown for 272 yards and four TDs and scored on a sneak in Week 1. … Jaxon Cusac-McKay has racked up 265 rushing yards while catching five passes for 58 yards and a score. … Henry Lorton has grabbed five passes for 148 yards and three TDs. … Fieldcrest’s win over Eureka in 2019 was the Knights’ first since the Hornets joined the HOIC in 2016.
About the Hornets: Eureka features a high-powered offense behind quarterback Matt Martin. In last week’s 43-0 rout of El Paso-Gridley, Martin completed 11-of-15 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns while running for 105 yards and a TD. … Jett Bachman (88 yards) and Micah Senior (82 yards) each caught two TD passes against EPG. … The Hornets beat Deer Creek-Mackinaw 30-14 in Week 1. … Eureka won the first three meetings with Fieldcrest 47-0, 21-13 and 21-17.
FND Pick: Fieldcrest
Lowpoint-Washburn/Henry-Senachwine (0-1) at South Beloit (0-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Last matchup: First meeting
About the Wildcats: L-W/H-S was off in Week 2 after losing 46-16 to Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland in Week 1. … In Week 1, Kyle Beltramea scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. … Defensively, Jesse Knecht had a fumble recovery, pass defended and a sack, while Gavin Fitton recorded two sacks and a fumble recovery in Week 1.
About the Sobos: Chris Hummer completed 6-of-12 for 134 yards and a touchdown in South Beloit’s 58-14 loss to Hiawatha in Week 2. … Fernando Balderas ran 17 times for 67 yards and a score last week. … The Sobos allowed Hiawatha to rack up 508 total yards, including 437 on the ground.
FND Pick: South Beloit
Forreston (0-1) at Amboy-LaMoille (0-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Last matchup: Forreston 40, Amboy-LaMoille 7 (2019)
About the Cardinals: Forreston lost 14-12 in overtime last week. … Jordan Neuschwander caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Lukas Lingel on the first play from scrimmage against Milledgeville. … Milledgeville tied the game at 6-6 early in the fourth quarter then scored first in overtime and made the two-point conversion. Neuschwander countered with a TD for Forreston, but the two-point conversion was stopped. … Forreston has won all four meetings with the Clippers since A-L joined the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference in 2016. The Cardinals have won those four games by an average of 40.3 points.
About the Clippers: The Scott Payne era at A-L started well as the Clippers built a 13-6 halftime lead against Eastland-Pearl City. However, the Clippers were outscored 24-0 in the second half of the 30-13 loss. … Sean Fitzgerald ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries for A-L, while Lane Boehle tossed a 37-yard TD pass to Trevor Vaessen. … The Clippers have scored more than a touchdown only once in four meetings with Forreston since joining the conference in 2016.
FND Pick: Forreston