Before the year started, Week 5 in the TRAC seemed like it would be the headliner of the nine-week regular season schedule and it’s certainly lived up to it heading into tonight’s action. On both sides of the conference, the presumptive top-two teams will battle with control of the division title races on the line. Monmouth-Roseville hosts Princeton in the Mississippi Division and Rockridge plays at Newman in the Rock Division. Even outside of those two high-profile matchups, there are multiple toss-up games on the proverbial conference undercard this week, too.
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 4
| Place | Picker | Record |
| 1 | Ty | 22-2 |
| T2 | Jim | 19-5 |
| T2 | Mitch | 19-5 |
| 4 | Greg | 18-6 |
Game of the Week: Princeton (4-0, 2-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Monmouth-Roseville (4-0, 2-0 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Monmouth-Roseville is 4-0 for the first time in school history after last week’s 49-10 win at Mendota. The Titans scored six touchdowns in the first half to hold a 42-0 advantage at the break. Payton Thompson carried the ball six times for 118 yards and two TDs. Nick Huston added 46 rushing yards and a score for the Titans. Entering the season, Monmouth-Roseville was expected to compete with Kewanee as the top challenger for Princeton in the Mississippi Division. The Titans beat the Boilermakers two weeks ago and have been able to remain undefeated heading into one of the biggest regular season games the program has played since Monmouth and Roseville High Schools consolidated.
Princeton beat Kewanee in the 126th meeting between the schools 44-15 in Week 4. Casey Etheridge rushed for 190 yards and four TDs for the Tigers to help his team hold on to the traveling trophy the programs play for. Ian Morris was also a big part of the win for Princeton on defense and special teams. He returned a fumble for a TD and kicked a school-record 45-yard field goal for the Tigers in the game. The Princeton defense has allowed just 11.75 points per game through four weeks and those opponents include Rockridge and Newman. The Tigers have had no problem with Northwestern University wide receiver commit Noah LaPorte missing the past couple of weeks with an injury.
The Princeton-Monmouth-Roseville clash should ultimately decide the division championship in the TRAC Mississippi. When you add that it’s Homecoming at Coach Dobry Field and both seem like premier 3A teams this season, it’s shaping up for a big-time atmosphere in Monmouth for this one. The Tigers beat the Titans twice last year – once in the season opener and once in the second round of the playoffs. Monmouth-Roseville has Sherrard at home next week, while Princeton hosts Hall in Week 6. The Titans and Tigers are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the conference.
Picks
Ty: Princeton
Jim: Princeton
Greg: Princeton
Mitch: Princeton
Rockridge (3-1, 2-0 TRAC Rock) @ Newman (3-1, 2-0 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Rockridge won its second straight game with a 41-0 blanking of Erie-Prophetstown last week. The Rockets led 14-0 at halftime and outscored the Panthers 27-0 in the second half. Quarterback Cullen Schwigen continued his strong sophomore campaign by completing 15 of 21 pass attempts for 286 yards and three TDs. Owen Steele, Liam Steele and Landon Wheatly all caught TD passes in the win. Rockridge’s defense gave up just six first downs and 103 yards of total offense.
Newman is on a three-game winning streak after beating Orion 54-21 in Week 4. The game was tied 14-14 at the end of the first quarter, but the Comets scored 40 consecutive points over the second and third periods to take a 54-14 continuous clock advantage into the fourth. The Newman defense forced three turnovers, while the offense racked up 536 yards of total offense. Quarterback Evan Bushman went 10-13 for 239 yards and four TDs in the win. Briar Ivey added 116 rushing yards and two scores for the Comets.
The winner of this one will take control of the Rock Division race with just Weeks 6 and 7 remaining before the champions are crowned. Newman beat Rockridge 14-7 in Week 1 last season. The Rockets will look to take a big step towards winning the program’s third straight TRAC title before another road game at Orion next week. Newman is trying to defend home field ahead of next week’s road trip to Mercer County. Rockridge and Newman have both only lost to Princeton and both teams have won their other three games by wide margins.
Picks
Ty: Rockridge
Jim: Rockridge
Greg: Newman
Mitch: Rockridge
Mercer County (3-1, 2-0 TRAC Rock) @ Erie-Prophetstown (2-2, 0-2 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Mercer County has won three in a row after dispatching of Riverdale 36-7 last week. The Golden Eagles scored less than two minutes into the game and never relinquished the lead. John Baldwin connected with Daylen Blaser on two long touchdown passes – a 29-yarder and a 72-yarder. Baldwin finished with 189 yards and two TDs on 13-21 passing. Blaser had seven receptions for 121 yards to go along with the two scores. Mason Gray carried the ball 22 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns to round out a balanced Golden Eagles’ offense. Defensively, Mercer County gave up 108 yards of total offense and just two yards rushing.
Erie-Prophetstown took its second consecutive loss in a 41-0 defeat to Rockridge in Week 4. The Panthers played without Demetree Larsen and Connor Keegan, both two-way starters. Keegan is the team’s leading receiver with nine catches for 107 yards and one TD. Larsen was a first-team all-conference player on both sides of the ball last year. This season he has 213 all-purpose yards and two TDs. Without both, the Panthers’ offense struggles mightily against a stout Rockridge defense. Erie-Prophetstown mustered just 103 yards of total offense in the loss, but both are expected to be back this week.
The meat of Mercer County’s schedule has arrived with Newman, Rockridge and Princeton looming in the next three weeks. With one loss already, Week 5 feels like another game the Golden Eagles need to have to feel good about a shot at qualifying for the postseason. If Mercer County can win on the road, it will keep pace with the winner of Rockridge-Newman trying to chase down a division championship in its first year in the league. Erie-Prophetstown’s remaining schedule is much more forgiving than Mercer County’s, as the Panthers have already played Rockridge and Newman. Princeton awaits in Week 9, but Weeks 6-8 for Erie-Prophetstown are favorable matchups with Riverdale, Orion and Mendota.
Picks
Ty: Mercer County
Jim: Erie-Prophetstown
Greg: Mercer County
Mitch: Mercer County
Riverdale (1-3, 0-2 TRAC Rock) @ Orion (1-3, 0-2 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Orion fell to Newman 54-21 last week, its third consecutive loss. The defensive struggles continued for the Chargers, allowing 50+ points for the third straight game. With 536 yards allowed to the Comets, Orion’s defense has given up an average of 56.6 points and 524 yards per game in the last three weeks. Orion’s lack of size and roster of just 24 makes it difficult to turn things in the right direction on that side of the ball. Kale Filler threw for two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss last week. Owen Voorhees returned his third kick of the year for a score and also caught an 86-yard touchdown pass for the Chargers.
Riverdale also enters on a three-game losing streak off the back of a 36-7 loss to Mercer County in Week 4. The Rams lone score came on a 73-yard TD pass from Kolton Kruse to Caen Beckett. Outside of that play, Riverdale had just 35 yards of total offense the rest of the game. The Rams fumbled inside their 20-yard line on their first drive of the game, which set up Mercer County’s first score. Riverdale’s defense forced two takeaways in the loss to the Golden Eagles.
Orion will be searching for a way to stop the bleeding on Homecoming in advance of next week’s difficult matchup with Rockridge. For Riverdale, it’s a similar outlook, as the Rams will try to get momentum moving back in the right direction before they take on Erie-Prophetstown in Week 6. The postseason chances for both teams are slim at best, but the loser of this game will almost certainly be on the outside looking in.
Picks
Ty: Riverdale
Jim: Riverdale
Greg: Riverdale
Mitch: Riverdale
Sherrard (1-3, 1-1 TRAC Mississippi) @ Mendota (0-4, 0-2 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Sherrard held on for its first win of the season over Hall 20-14 in Week 4. Carter Brown rushed for two TDs for the Tigers, including the game-winning score in the third quarter. Garrett Woodward added a rushing score in the win. The go-ahead touchdown was set up by a 68-yard pass play from Brown to Jackson Jones. Sherrard’s defense came up with a pair of stops late in the fourth quarter to seal the win and snap a three-game losing skid.
Mendota suffered another lopsided loss last week, falling to Monmouth-Roseville 49-10. The Trojans trailed 42-0 at halftime and faced a 49-0 deficit at the end of the third quarter. Mendota has been outscored 176-49 through four weeks. The Trojans are the only winless team remaining in the league.
It was no secret that Sherrard’s schedule was frontloaded coming into the season and the Tigers being able to gut out a win while shorthanded last week was a good sign. Sherrard will try to get to 2-3 and regroup before another test against Monmouth-Roseville next week. Mendota will be trying to take a step forward before taking on Kewanee in Week 6.
Picks
Ty: Sherrard
Jim: Sherrard
Greg: Sherrard
Mitch: Sherrard
Kewanee (1-3, 0-2 TRAC Mississippi) @ Hall (1-3, 1-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.
Preview
Kewanee fell in its rivalry game with Princeton 44-15 last week. After trailing 16-0 at halftime, the Boilermakers rallied to cut the deficit to 23-15 with 3:01 left in the third quarter. Kewanee saw the game slip away as the Boilers were outscored 21-0 in the fourth. Kewanee’s scoring plays were a 60-yard TD run by Ben Taylor and a 1-yard TD run by Alex Duarte. Kewanee’s three losses have come to Princeton, Monmouth-Roseville and Erie-Prophetstown. Those teams have a combined record of 10-2.
Hall dropped a back-and-forth game with Sherrard 20-14 last week. The Red Devils had a 14-12 lead at halftime but were held scoreless in the second half. Aiden Redcliff rushed for 56 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Three turnovers derailed Hall’s chances of trying to come from behind to beat Sherrard in the second half.
Both teams are 1-3, but Kewanee has definitely played a much more challenging schedule to this point. The Boilermakers are just a few plays away from being 3-1 with a seven-point loss to Erie-Prophetstown and a three-point defeat to Monmouth-Roseville on Kewanee’s ledger. Even with three losses already, the Boilermakers playoff odds are in good shape. It’s conceivable Kewanee could run the table the rest of the regular season with its biggest test coming in Week 8 against Newman. The Boilermakers have a chance to get on a roll with Hall this week and then Mendota in Week 6. Hall has a difficult road ahead with games against Princeton and Monmouth-Roseville the next two weeks and Rockridge waiting in Week 9.
Picks
Ty: Kewanee
Jim: Kewanee
Greg: Kewanee
Mitch: Kewanee
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.