Morris Herald-News Week 9 Football Preview Capsules

Kishwaukee River/Interstate Eight White Conference

Morris (7-1) at Sycamore (8-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Last matchup: Morris 28, Sycamore 21 (2021 Fall)

About Morris: Morris caps the season with a very intriguing regular season finale that should prepare them nicely for a postseason run that might end up with them being a part of the Class 4A field rather than Class 5A field. Other than in its lone loss of the season to Richmond-Burton, Morris has been absolutely explosive in the first half of football games. It certainly seems unlikely that Morris will be able to get off to such a forceful start against Sycamore, but getting off on the right foot in some regard could be very pivotal. A win would mean a share of the conference title for Morris.

About the Spartans: Sycamore hasn’t dropped the hammer quite as angrily as Morris has in some of its comparative conference matchups this season, but the Spartans have been just as effective in displaying their dominance. They have however surrendered a few more points in those games which might be a small sign to an edge Morris might have on defense. But in any case the gaps between these two teams look very, very small and a key turnover or two might make all the difference for either side.

Friday Night Drive Pick: Morris

Southwest Prairie Conference

Minooka (5-3) at West Aurora (1-7)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Last matchup: Minooka 20, West Aurora 14 (2021 Fall)

About the Indians: Minooka got into a classic defensive scuffle with Yorkville and came up short in a 7-0 loss in Week 8 and while no one likes to come up short at any point in time that outcome is certainly a positive for the Indian defense. There aren’t many teams playing better defense than Minooka is right now and on that short list happened to be its opponent on that night. Obviously, more offense is needed but with the defense playing as well as it has the strain on the offensive unit could be kept to a minimum.

About the Blackhawks: West Aurora’s record is a little deceptive as it has been competitive in most of its games, particularly early in them, before fading late in several contests. Minooka would be well-served to not look ahead though because the Blackhawks have shown the propensity to hold teams down. In fact, back in Week 6, West Aurora fell 10-0 to Yorkville in a defensive scuffle that very much resembled what Minooka just went through in Week 8.

Friday Night Drive Pick: Minooka

Illinois Central Eight Conference

Coal City (5-3) at Streator (2-6)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Last matchup: Coal City 41, Streator 6 (2021 Fall)

About the Coalers: Coal City suffered through the same experience that most opponents do when locking horns with Reed-Custer. The Coalers did experience some success through the air, but only after the running game was completely shut off. That’s Coal City’s preferred method of moving the football so QB Braden Reilly was asks to shoulder more of the load than usual. The ideal is to have closer to a balance of run and pass something the Coalers hope to establish this week before entering the Class 4A playoffs.

About the Bulldogs: Streator got roughed up against Wilmington in Week 8 and the Wildcats did all of their damage on the ground. That’s an unfortunate parallel the Bulldogs now face as an opponent is coming to town that very much wants to get its running game heading back in the right direction. Streator may be able to do some things through the air with able armed QB Christian Benning and Coal City has some issues this season on occasion in pass defense.

Friday Night Drive Pick: Coal City

Vermilion Valley Conference

Dwight (2-6) at Seneca (8-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Last matchup: Seneca 42, Dwight 6 (2021 Fall)

About the Trojans: Dwight has served as a thorn in Seneca’s side a few times in the past, but this might look like too big of a mountain for the Trojans to try and climb here. Dwight has struggled defensively against the conference’s stronger teams, having held just one opponent (Watseka) to under 28 points this year. Four opponents have scored more than 45, which isn’t an ideal recipe against an opponent that is scoring points in bunches.

About the Fighting Irish: Seneca hasn’t had an undefeated regular season since 2000 when it reached the Class 3A quarterfinal round. They are aiming to do it again this season and looked poised to do so behind a running game that has been extremely potent in every game thus far. An underrated element in Seneca’s toolbox has been its defense and the Fighting Irish are coming off a Week 8 shutout of Clifton Central, who is typically one of the more potent teams in the Vermilion Valley Conference.

riday Night Drive Pick: Seneca