Playoff football is here.
Six TRAC teams have made it to November and will kick off their respective postseason runs this weekend. The conference’s playoff qualifiers are spread from 1A-4A with Newman, Rockridge, Erie-Prophetstown, Monmouth-Roseville, Princeton and Kewanee all still alive.
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 9
| Place | Picker | Record |
| 1 | Ty | 45-9 |
| 2 | Greg | 44-10 |
| 3 | Mitch | 41-13 |
| 4 | Jim | 40-14 |
3A First Round – No. 13 Oregon (5-4, 4-4 BNC) @ No. 4 Princeton (8-1, 4-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Princeton enters the 3A postseason field for the sixth consecutive year in 2024. The Tigers have routed teams over the final four weeks of the regular season following their only loss of the year in Week 5, a 31-3 setback to Monmouth-Roseville. Princeton has the second-highest scoring offense in the 3A playoffs, 42 points per game, behind defending state champion Byron, 50 points per game. Junior running back Casey Etheridge leads the Tigers’ offense with 1,274 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Backfield mate Ace Christiansen has run for 611 yards and nine TDs. After missing some time with a shoulder injury in the regular season, the Northwestern-bound Noah LaPorte is healthy for the playoffs. In seven games, LaPorte has caught 19 passes for 260 yards and three TDs. Princeton’s defense has allowed just 13.8 points per game and has forced 14 turnovers. Ian Morris, a senior linebacker, anchors the linebacking corps with a team-high 64 tackles.
Oregon is one of six playoff qualifiers from the Big Northern Conference this season. The Hawks locked up a postseason berth with a 57-14 win over Athens in Week 9. Oregon has two wins over playoff opponents, a 3-0 victory against Genoa-Kingston in Week 3, and a 21-13 takedown of Stillman Valley in Week 5. Against the top three teams in the Big Northern (Byron, Dixon and Rockford Lutheran) the Hawks went 0-3 and were outscored 112-7 in those games. Tight end/defensive end Josh Crandall has received offers from Illinois State and Western Illinois.
Since a run to the semifinals in 2019, Princeton has advanced to the quarterfinals every year since. With the winner facing a Chicago Public League team in the second round, there’s a favorable path to get to the quarterfinals where either Byron or Montini will likely be waiting.
Picks
Ty: Princeton
Jim: Princeton
Greg: Princeton
Mitch: Princeton
1A First Round – No. 11 Hope Academy (5-4, 5-2 CLCC) @ No. 6 Newman (7-2, 5-0 TRAC Rock) – Saturday 1 p.m.
Preview
Newman bookended its 2024 regular season with losses to Princeton and Monmouth-Roseville, both top-10 teams in 3A. The Comets lost to the Tigers 28-14 in Week 1 and fell to the Titans 21-0 in Week 9. Between those two losses, Newman won seven games in a row and the TRAC Rock championship outright. Despite the shutout loss last week, the Comets are averaging 29.3 points per game offensively this year, while the defense has given up 14.1 points per game. Daniel Kelly paces Newman’s defense with 117 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and four interceptions. As a team, the Comets have forced 19 turnovers. On offense, Briar Ivey leads a stable of solid running backs with 527 yards and seven touchdowns.
Hope returns to the 1A playoff field after a semifinal run last year that ended in a heartbreaking 30-28 loss to Lena-Winslow. The Eagles started the season 1-4 but have rattled off four straight wins to return to the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season. Hope finished third in the Chicagoland Christian Conference, behind champion Wheaton Academy and second-place Chicago Christian. Hope’s only win over a playoff team came in Week 3 against Aurora Christian, 22-9. The Eagles have the most opponent wins, or playoff points, in the 1A field with 47.
Newman is making its 35th playoff appearance in program history and 23rd in a row. The Comets feature one of the proudest traditions in the state – six state championships, two runner-up finishes, and an all-time postseason record of 71-28. Newman will try to snap a three-game playoff losing streak in this one.
Picks
Ty: Newman
Jim: Hope Academy
Greg: Newman
Mitch: Newman
2A First Round – No. 9 Eastland-Pearl City (7-2, 6-2 NUIC) @ Rockridge (7-2, 4-1 TRAC Rock) – Saturday 2 p.m.
Preview
Rockridge closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak after losing to Newman 15-7 in overtime in Week 5. During that stretch, the Rockets grabbed their signature win of the regular season in a 28-18 road win over previously undefeated and state-ranked Monmouth-Roseville in Week 8. Quarterback Cullen Schwigen put together a brilliant regular season by completing 123-213 passes for 1,753 yards with 17 TDs and four interceptions. He’s rushed for 599 yards and 12 TDs, too. A deep and talented receiving corps is led by Owen Steele and Landon Wheatley, who both have 400+ yards for the year. Rockridge’s defense is allowing 13.6 points per game and gave up 20+ points just twice in the regular season.
Eastland-Pearl City enters the playoffs battle-tested out of the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference. The Wildcatz finished third in the conference behind Lena-Winslow and Durand-Pecatonica, which were the only two teams to beat them. Eastland-Pearl City beat two playoff teams in the regular season: Galena and Stockton. Most of the Wildcatz’s offensive success comes on the ground as they’ve attempted only 30 passes all season. Draven Zier is the team’s leading rusher with 886 yards and eight TDs. Junior linebacker Will Birchen is the NUIC’s leading tackler with 129 tackles and nine tackles for loss on the season for an EPC defense that has given up 17.4 points per game.
In nine seasons as the head coach at Rockridge, Sam Graves has never missed the postseason and is 7-1 in the first round of the playoffs. Rockridge and Eastland-Pearl City have met in the playoffs twice, a 44-21 Eastland-Pearl City win in the 2014 quarterfinals and a 42-13 Rockridge win in the 2016 first round. The Wildcatz are making their first playoff appearance since 2018.
Picks
Ty: Rockridge
Jim: Rockridge
Greg: Rockridge
Mitch: Rockridge
2A First Round – No. 15 Erie-Prophetstown (5-4, 2-3 TRAC Rock) @ No. 2 Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin (9-0, 9-0 VVC) – Saturday 2 p.m.
Preview
Erie-Prophetstown returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 this season. After falling to 3-3 with a loss to Riverdale in Week 6, The Panthers assured themselves a postseason spot with back-to-back wins over Orion and Mendota before falling in a lopsided loss to Princeton in the regular season finale. The Panthers’ only win over a playoff team came in Week 1 over Kewanee, 13-6.
Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin made it through the regular season spotless in the Vermilion Valley Conference. The Blue Devils scored wins over five playoff qualifiers – Clifton Central, Westville, Salt Fork, Momence and Oakwood. The only one-score game BHRA played was a 21-20 Week 2 victory against Westville. The Blue Devils outscored their opponents 399-126 in the regular season and have the highest-scoring offense in the 2A field at 44.3 points per game. Senior running back Evan Parish heads the BHRA offensive attack with 1,413 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Anderson Thomas has completed 68-100 passes for 1,042 yards, 16 TDs and two interceptions.
Erie-Prophetstown is making its sixth all-time playoff appearance in 2024. The Panthers are 2-5 in program history in the postseason and face a tough test in the first round. BHRA is in the playoffs for the 15th straight year. The Blue Devils lost a controversial first-round game to Farmington last year that came down a BHRA wide receiver being ruled out of bounds in the end zone on a potential game-winning TD on the final play of regulation.
Picks
Ty: Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin
Jim: Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin
Greg: Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin
Mitch: Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin
4A First Round – No. 15 Kewanee (5-4, 3-2 TRAC Mississippi) @ No. 2 Richland County (9-0, 7-0 LIC) – Saturday 3 p.m.
Preview
Kewanee is back in the 4A playoffs in 2024 after picking up its fifth win in a 44-34 victory over Orion in Week 9. The Boilermakers didn’t beat a playoff team in the regular season the combined record of the opponents Kewanee beat was 10-35. However, the Boilermakers lost to Erie-Prophetstown by six points, fell to Monmouth-Roseville by three, and held a one-point halftime lead on Newman before losing 34-14. Senior running back Alex Duarte has rushed for 1,369 yards and 21 TDs on the season. This season, he broke the all-time and single-season rushing TD record and became the all-time points-scoring leader for the Boilermakers football program.
Richland County is one of the top stories in the state after turning an 0-9 season last year into an undefeated regular season in 2024. The Tigers won the Little Illini Conference by defeating Casey-Westfield 35-20 in a battle of unbeatens in Week 8. Richland County also has a 33-6 win over Mt. Carmel, which finished last year as the 3A state runner-up. Junior quarterback Gavyn Cothern is 52-89 passing for 919 yards, 14 TDs and five interceptions. Cothern has rushed for 1,523 yards and 19 TDs from the QB spot. Senior running back Dirks Weiler has racked up 1,064 rushing yards with 13 TDs on the ground for the Tigers. Richland County has the third-highest-scoring offense in 4A at 45.6 points per game.
Kewanee is in the postseason for the second consecutive season. The Boilermakers are 6-13 all-time in the playoffs. Richland County is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022. The Tigers have a 4-16 record in the postseason. Richland County is one of three teams in the state that qualified for the playoffs after going winless last season.
Picks
Ty: Richland County
Jim: Richland County
Greg: Kewanee
Mitch: Richland County
3A First Round – No. 11 Paxton-Buckley-Loda (6-3, 5-3 IPC) @ No. 6 Monmouth-Roseville (8-1, 5-0 TRAC Mississippi)
Preview
For the first time in school history, Monmouth-Roseville has qualified for the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The Titans closed the regular season by blanking Newman 21-0 to pick up their eighth win, which is the most regular season wins in school history. Monmouth-Roseville won the TRAC Mississippi outright and beat three playoff teams in the process, including, most notably, Princeton 31-3 in Week 5. The Titans also beat playoff-bound Kewanee. Monmouth-Roseville’s offense scores 39.7 points per game and has amassed 2,880 yards rushing. Senior running back Payton Thompson has accounted for 1,312 rushing yards and 15 TDs. The Titans’ defense has allowed opponents to score 14.2 points per game.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda is in the playoff field for the ninth straight season. The Panthers took third place in the Illini Prairie Conference behind St. Joseph-Ogden, Monticello and Tolono Unity. Paxton-Buckly-Loda lost to all three of those teams in consecutive weeks to close the regular season on a three-game losing streak after starting 6-0. In its three losses, PBL was outscored 131-20. The Panthers hold an overtime win against Bloomington Central Catholic, 22-21 in Week 3. Due to injuries, the Panthers have had to play four different quarterbacks throughout the season. Senior running back Robert Boyd-Meents is the biggest offensive threat for PBL. He’s rushed for 1,137 yards and 13 TDs.
The Titans will be looking to win a first-round game for the second year in a row in the matchup with the Panthers. Paxton-Buckley-Loda lost to Princeton 44-7 in the first round last year.
Picks
Ty: Monmouth-Roseville
Jim: Monmouth-Roseville
Greg: Monmouth-Roseville
Mitch: Monmouth-Roseville
WRMJ’s coverage of the TRAC is presented by:
- Midwest Bank, with locations that include Aledo, Andalusia, Monmouth, and Moline
- Local COUNTRY Financial representatives Tracy Bigham, Jason Potter, and John Waugh in Aledo, Brent Bigham in Edgington, and Julie Hessler in Orion.
- Breedlove’s Sporting Goods in Kewanee
Visit our TRAC webpage to stay updated with the conference throughout the season.