Divisional play continues in Week 4 of TRAC football tonight. Newman, Monmouth-Roseville, and Mercer County’s division-opening wins last week were the biggest statements made around the league as we begin to near the halfway point of the regular season.
WRMJ’s Ty Taylor and Jim Taylor are joined by Greg Armstrong and Mitch Stoermer from View from the West Podcast to preview and predict this week’s action.
Standings after Week 3
| Place | Picker | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ty | 16-2 |
| 2 | Mitch | 14-4 |
| T3 | Greg | 13-5 |
| T3 | Jim | 13-5 |
Game of the Week: Erie-Prophetstown (2-1, 0-1 TRAC Rock) @ Rockridge (2-1, 1-0 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Rockridge bounced back from its Week 2 loss to Princeton with a 48-27 win over Riverdale last week. The Rockets led 41-6 at halftime and 48-6 midway through the third quarter. Rockridge got production from all its offensive playmakers. Jacob Freyermuth rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns – he also returned an interception for a TD. Cullen Schwigen was 10-17 passing for 136 yards and three TDs. His passing TDs were thrown to Landon Wheatley, Owen Steele, and Trevor Dye.
Erie-Prophetstown suffered its first loss of the year to Newman 41-13 last week. The Panthers opened the scoring on a 48-yard TD pass early in the second quarter from Keegan Winckler to Connor Keegan to go ahead 7-0. Erie-Prophetstown then surrendered 41 unanswered points to the Comets to let the game get away. The Panthers struggled to stop the run in this game, as Newman rushed for 283 yards in the contest.
Rockridge will look to get off to a 2-0 start in the Rock Division on Homecoming heading into next week’s showdown at Newman. Erie-Prophetstown is trying to get things headed back in the right direction ahead of, what’s shaping up to be, a huge game against Mercer County in Week 5. This matchup is the only game in the conference this week where both teams have winning records.
Picks
Ty: Rockridge
Jim: Rockridge
Greg: Rockridge
Mitch: Rockridge
Riverdale (1-2, 0-1 TRAC Rock) @ Mercer County (2-1, 1-0 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Mercer County bulldozed its way past Orion in a 56-41 shootout win last week. The Golden Eagles totaled 614 yards of total offense and rushed for 526 yards in the game. Junior running back Mason Gray broke the program’s single-game rushing yardage record with 371 yards and five TDs in the win. John Baldwin added 127 yards and two TDs on just six carries from his quarterback position. The Golden Eagles have righted the ship after a rocky first five quarters of the season, which saw Mercer County lose to Monmouth-Roseville 50-14 and trail Sherrard 14-0 at the end of the first quarter in Week 2. Since that point, the Golden Eagles have scored 90 points in just seven quarters.
Riverdale was handed its first lopsided loss of the season by Rockridge last week, 48-27. The Rams scored on their first play from scrimmage on a 70-yard TD pass from Kolton Kruse to Jackson Tegeler to pull within 7-6. Riverdale then allowed 41 unanswered points and didn’t score again until late in the third quarter. Gaege Heinsen rushed for 66 yards on 10 carries in the loss. The Rams have dropped back-to-back games to Kewanee and Rockridge after beating Mendota 23-12 to open the season.
With four straight challenging games up next for Mercer County, this matchup with Riverdale is another game the Golden Eagles need to have heading into a battle with Erie-Prophetstown next week. Meanwhile, the Rams have three games after this you could definitely argue are winnable, including next week against Orion, so this one has big postseason implications for both teams.
Picks
Ty: Mercer County
Jim: Mercer County
Greg: Mercer County
Mitch: Mercer County
Orion (1-2, 0-1 TRAC Rock) @ Newman (2-1, 1-0 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Newman used a big second half to rout Erie-Prophetstown 41-13 last week. The Comets rattled off 41 straight points after allowing the first touchdown of the game early in the second quarter. Newman held a 14-7 lead at halftime and outscored the Panthers 27-6 in the second half. The Comets found a lot of success when they went to the wishbone on offense, as Newman rushed for 283 yards in the win. 13 different players carried the ball for the Comets in the game, led by Briar Ivey, Daniel Kelly, and Cody McBride. Ivey scored three TDs and rushed for 58 yards, Kelly picked up 81 yards and a TD, and McBride rushed for 64 yards and a score. After allowing 28 points to a high-powered Princeton offense in a Week 1 loss, Newman has given up just 6.5 points per game over the past two weeks.
Orion dropped its second straight game in a 56-41 loss to Mercer County last week. In back-to-back losses to Monmouth-Roseville and Mercer County, the Chargers gave up a combined 116 points, 1,036 yards of total offense and 948 rushing yards in just two games. Orion’s offense bounced back from a slow start last week, scoring 41 points across the final three quarters. Kale Filler broke the career passing yardage record for the Chargers in the loss, throwing for 281 yards and four touchdowns. Owen Voorhees caught 13 passes for 146 yards last week.
Week 4 brings another unfavorable matchup for an Orion defense that has struggled to stop the run ahead of next week’s matchup with Riverdale. Newman will try to take care of business on Homecoming this week before welcoming Rockridge to Roscoe Eades Stadium in Week 5 with the driver’s seat of the Rock Division title race on the line.
Picks
Ty: Newman
Jim: Newman
Greg: Newman
Mitch: Newman
Hall (1-2, 1-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Sherrard (0-3, 0-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Sherrard was handed a 60-0 loss by Princeton last week. Sherrard hung around through the first quarter, trailing 7-0. Princeton went on to outscore Sherrard 39-0 in the second quarter to put the game away at halftime. It’s no secret that Sherrard’s schedule was frontloaded with games against 2A No. 5 Rockridge and 3A No. 3 Princeton in the first three weeks, so there are some winnable games on the horizon. The Tigers, though, continue to deal with a ton of injuries. Last week, three more two-way starters had to be taken out of the game, including quarterback Carter Brown. Brown is expected to play this week.
First-year Hall head coach Logan Larson picked up his first win last week over Mendota 62-27. It was a back-and-forth game until midway through the third quarter when Hall trailed by a point, 21-20. The Red Devils then scored 42 straight points to eventually make it a continuous clock game. Braden Curran paced the Hall offense scoring four total TDs and rushing for 150 yards on nine carries, while catching two passes for 53 yards.
It’s homecoming at Clifford King Field as Sherrard looks to turn things around in Week 4 before taking on Mendota next week. Hall is trying to pick up back-to-back wins going into next week’s game with Kewanee.
Picks
Ty: Sherrard
Jim: Sherrard
Greg: Hall
Mitch: Hall
Princeton (3-0, 1-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Kewanee (1-2, 0-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Princeton rolled Sherrard at home last week 60-0. Princeton dominated in all three phases – scoring on every drive with the exception of kneel downs, limiting to Sherrard to just 77 yards of total offense, and blocking a punt in the win. Will Lott was 4-5 passing for 77 yards and three TDs in the win. The Tigers had five different players score rushing TDs in the game – Casey Etheridge, Ace Christiansen, Ayden Agushi, Eli Burlin and Alex Winn. Princeton’s defense is allowing 10.5 points per game through three weeks.
Kewanee watched a late lead slip away in a 24-21 loss to Monmouth-Roseville in Week 3. The Boilermakers led 21-17 at halftime and held that advantage until the Titans scored the game-winning touchdown with 3:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. Kewanee’s final drive was derailed with a pair of penalties that eventually led to a turnover on downs in the final minute. Alex Duarte rushed for 160 yards and two TDs in the loss for the Boilermakers. Colson Welgat was 11-21 passing for 168 yards and a TD. Kewanee’s two losses have come by a combined 10 points to Monmouth-Roseville and Erie-Prophetstown.
This game marks the 126th meeting between Princeton and Kewanee – the state’s longest football rivalry. The Tigers lead the all-time series 64-57-4. Princeton looks to keep the traveling trophy and remain unbeaten heading into next week’s de facto TRAC Mississippi championship game at Monmouth-Roseville. It will take a great effort for Kewanee to avoid a 1-3 start, but the Boilermakers schedule lightens up in the coming weeks, starting with a game at Hall in Week 5.
Picks
Ty: Princeton
Jim: Princeton
Greg: Princeton
Mitch: Princeton
Monmouth-Roseville (3-0, 1-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Mendota (0-3, 0-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Monmouth-Roseville is off to the school’s first-ever 3-0 start after coming from behind to defeat Kewanee 24-21 last week. Nick Huston scored on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line to put the Titans ahead with 3:36 left in the game. That was the only scoring play in the second half. Huston finished with 52 yards and the game-winning TD. Payton Thompson added 171 yards on the ground and a score for Monmouth-Roseville. Ivan Godina kicked a 24-yard field goal at the end of the first half to cut the deficit to 21-17 at the time. The Titans are averaging 387 rushing yards per game through three weeks and have already eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards as a team on the season with 1,161.
Mendota remained winless with a 62-27 loss to Hall last week. The Trojans led 21-20 early in the third quarter before surrendering 42 unanswered points and getting routed. Quarterback Aden Tillman was 10-15 passing for 168 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for 100 yards in the loss.
This game is the furthest possible trip in the conference. Monmouth-Roseville will travel nearly 250 miles and more than four hours round trip to take on Mendota. The Titans will try to remain undefeated heading into next week’s clash with Princeton. Mendota has a home game with Sherrard waiting in Week 5.
Picks
Ty: Monmouth-Roseville
Jim: Monmouth-Roseville
Greg: Monmouth-Roseville
Mitch: Monmouth-Roseville
Visit our TRAC webpage to stay updated with the conference throughout the season.