Josh Stone, a 1997 Oregon High School grad, takes over as AFC coach after being mentored by veteran coach Dave Smith last season. Dixon grad and former quarterback Jacob Shafer also joins the Raiders coaching staff this season.

Rockford Christian and Schlarman Academy both recently announced they will be cancelling their upcoming 8-man football seasons, leaving a question mark in the schedule for their opponents.

State-ranked and undefeated Dixon and Byron face off in the Big Northern Conference game of the year, Sterling can bounce back against Rock Island, Newman heads to Kewanee, West Carroll hosts Polo and Amboy heads to West Central in 8-man in this week's Sauk Valley football slate.

Newman can clinch the outright Three Rivers Rock title with a win over Riverdale, second-ranked Dixon has a long roadtrip to 6-0 Johnston City, Sterling heads to Big 6 favorite Quincy (6-0) and Rock Falls plays Oregon on Homecoming in the Week 7 Sauk Valley football slate.

The Dukes led 64-0 at halftime. The previous scoring high was a 70-0 win over Polo in 1925

Third-ranked Dixon heads to Winnebago, Sterling goes for a fourth straight win, Newman heads to Mercer County and Polo heads to Milledgeville in a matchup of two 5-0 teams in 8-player in the Week 6 Sauk Valley football slate.

Dixon can stay undefeated with a win over Rockford Lutheran, Sterling hits the road to Wisconsin, E-PC can continue their best start since 2018, Newman hosts Rockridge and 4-0 West Carroll hosts 4-0 Milledgeville in this week's Sauk Valley slate.

Fourth-ranked Dixon heads to Genoa-Kingston, Fulton and Oregon hope to get back to .500, E-PC hosts Forreston, Newman hosts Orion, E-P plays at Rockridge, Sterling heads to Galesburg and West Carroll can get to 4-0 in the Week 4 Sauk Valley football slate.

A preseason look at Shaw Local's eight teams playing eight-man football in 2024 – West Carroll, Polo, Milledgeville, Hiawatha, Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland, Ashton-Franklin Center, Alden-Hebron and Amboys/LaMoille.