Week 3 brings the opening week of divisional games in the TRAC and at the end of the night we’ll be a third of the way through the regular season. Just three teams in the conference made it through the first two weeks undefeated – Princeton, Monmouth-Roseville and Erie-Prophetstown.
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 2
| Place | Picker | Record |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | Mitch | 10-2 |
| T1 | Ty | 10-2 |
| T3 | Greg | 8-4 |
| T3 | Jim | 8-4 |
Game of the Week: Newman (1-1, 0-0 TRAC Rock) @ Erie-Prophetstown (2-0, 0-0 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Erie-Prophetstown followed up its season-opening statement win over Kewanee with a 41-7 blowout victory against Hall last week. The Panthers led 28-0 at halftime and were never threatened in the game. Keegan Winckler has settled into the starting quarterback role nicely for Erie-Prophetstown to start his junior season. He’s thrown for two TDs and rushed for three scores through the first two weeks of the year. The Panthers defense has allowed just 6.5 points per game so far.
Newman bounced back from a Week 1 loss to Princeton with a decisive 42-0 rout of Mendota last Saturday. The Comets opened the scoring on a Daniel Kelly pick-six. Newman also scored on a 45-yard punt return from Cody McBride on its way to a 34-0 halftime lead. The Comets added a score early in the third quarter to get it to a continuous clock advantage.
Admittedly it’s only been two weeks, but Erie-Prophetstown and Newman feel like the biggest challenges for preseason favorite Rockridge in the Rock Division. The winner of this game will put itself in a great place to battle for a division championship and take a big step towards qualifying for a playoff spot.
Picks
Ty: Newman
Jim: Erie-Prophetstown
Greg: Newman
Mitch: Erie-Prophetstown
Mercer County (1-1, 0-0 TRAC Rock) @ Orion (1-1, 0-0 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Mercer County got its first TRAC win over Sherrard last week 34-14 at home. The Golden Eagles trailed 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, which when combined with the previous week’s second half against Monmouth-Roseville, had Mercer County being outscored 58-6 over three consecutive quarters. The Golden Eagles 34-0 run included two touchdown runs from Mason Gray, two TD passes from John Baldwin to Dakota Coppola and a Daylen Blaser pick-six. Head coach Tanner Matlick described last week’s game with Sherrard as a “must-win” for Mercer County. This week against Orion and next week’s game with Riverdale feel similar with a brutal stretch of Erie-Prophetstown, Newman, Rockridge and Princeton looming for the Golden Eagles in Weeks 5-8.
Orion suffered its first loss of the year to Monmouth-Roseville 60-26 last week. The Chargers trailed 52-13 at halftime and surrendered 422 rushing yards in the game. Kale Filler has passed for 567 yards in two games this year and is closing in on becoming Orion’s all-time leading passer. The rest of Orion’s schedule includes tests against Newman, Rockridge, Erie-Prophetstown and Kewanee, which makes this a game the Chargers need to win, too.
Even though it’s relatively early in the season, the playoff implications in this game are massive. The winner won’t clinch a postseason berth by any means, but the loser will face a very challenging path to five wins with both teams still having to play at least four of the league’s top-half later in the season.
Picks
Ty: Mercer County
Jim: Mercer County
Greg: Mercer County
Mitch: Orion
Rockridge (1-1, 0-0 TRAC Rock) @ Riverdale (1-1, 0-0 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Rockridge dropped the TRAC King of the Hill battle with Princeton last week 27-18. The Rockets and Tigers each scored three TDs in the first half, but Rockridge was 0-3 on PATs. Cullen Schwigen passed for three more TDs in Week 2. He connected with Owen Steele twice and Landon Wheatley on the other score. The Rockets turned the ball over twice in the second half of the loss.
Riverdale fell to Kewanee 27-18 in its home opener in Week 2. Despite the loss, the Rams keeping it competitive with the Boilermakers is a great sign after last week’s win over Mendota. Rockridge presents Riverdale with its biggest challenge all season. Caen Beckett and Gaege Heisen are both averaging more than five yards per carry for the Rams through two weeks.
Rockridge will try to begin its quest for a third straight divisional crown with a road win in Week 3.
Picks
Ty: Rockridge
Jim: Rockridge
Greg: Rockridge
Mitch: Rockridge
Sherrard (0-2, 0-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Princeton (2-0, 0-0 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Princeton defeated Rockridge on the road last week 27-18 to stake an early claim as the best team in the league. The Tigers allowed an early score, but responded with three straight rushing touchdowns to take a 21-6 lead. Ace Christiansen scored twice and Casey Etheridge added a TD, too. Princeton held a 21-18 halftime lead and forced two turnovers in the second half. Ian Morris connected on field goals of 29 yards and 37 yards in the third quarter to extend the lead. Through two weeks, Princeton has allowed one rushing yard after limiting Newman to negative 39 yards on the ground in Week 1 and holding Rockridge to 40 rushing yards in Week 2.
Despite Sherrard’s 34-14 loss to Mercer County last week, the Tigers feel like they took a step forward from Week 1. Sherrard led 14-0 at the end the first quarter and was tied 14-14 with the Golden Eagles at halftime. Mercer County scored 20 more points in the second half to pull away. Carter Brown threw a pair of touchdown passes to Zach Knox and Harrison Curry early. Garrett Woodward had over 140 all-purpose yards in the loss. The Tigers have winnable games waiting against Hall and Mendota the next two weeks, but this week’s matchup with a vaunted Princeton team wraps up a killer start to the schedule for a shorthanded Sherrard team.
Princeton is looking for its seventh straight TRAC division championship this season.
Picks
Ty: Princeton
Jim: Princeton
Greg: Princeton
Mitch: Princeton
Kewanee (1-1, 0-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Monmouth-Roseville (2-0, 0-0 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Monmouth-Roseville picked up another dominant win in Week 2, defeating Orion 60-26. The Titans led 52-13 at halftime. Payton Thompson rushed for 222 yards and four TDs on just eight carries in the game. Monmouth-Roseville racked up 433 rushing yards as a team to boost the team’s average to 399 yards on the ground per game. The Titans have outscored opponents 110-4o through two games and haven’t thrown a pass yet, but face its biggest test of the young season with Kewanee.
Kewanee held on to beat Riverdale 27-18 on the road last week, which seemed necessary with the Boilermakers having to play Monmouth-Roseville this week and Princeton next week. Coming into the season, Kewanee and Monmouth-Roseville were picked to finish second and third in the Mississippi Division, respectively. The Titans were picked second by media and third by conference coaches, while the Boilermakers were selected second by coaches and third by media. Kewanee remains hard to get a true read on, but the next two weeks should help with that.
The Monmouth-Roseville-Kewanee battle has big implications in the TRAC Mississippi race, as both teams will try to keep pace with Princeton throughout the year.
Picks
Ty: Monmouth-Roseville
Jim: Monmouth-Roseville
Greg: Monmouth-Roseville
Mitch: Monmouth-Roseville
Mendota (0-2, 0-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Hall (0-2, 0-0 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Hall has started the year with consecutive lopsided losses after last week’s 41-7 defeat at the hands of Erie-Prophetstown. The Red Devils trailed 34-0 through three quarters and didn’t score its lone touchdown until after trailing 41-0 in the fourth. Hall will look to turn things around with a favorable matchup this week with Mendota, followed by a road game against Sherrard next week.
Mendota struggled again last week, falling to Newman 42-0 on the road. The Trojans trailed 34-0 at halftime and have been outscored 65-12 across two games.
It’s a similar outlook for both teams in this one – Hall and Mendota are both looking for their first win of the season against the most favorable opponent on their schedules.
Picks
Ty: Hall
Jim: Hall
Greg: Mendota
Mitch: Hall
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.