WRMJ Week 6 TRAC Preview & Picks With View From The West

September 25, 2026 Ty Taylor Local Sports

Week 6 brings another week of divisional play as teams will continue to battle for positioning in conference championship races this weekend.

For the second straight week, the TRAC slate is headlined by a 2A top-10 match-up with No. 10 Rockridge hosting No. 8 Erie-Prophetstown.

Around the rest of the league, Kewanee and Princeton renew the state’s longest-running high school football rivalry; Riverdale is looking for its first-ever 6-0 start at Mercer County; Monmouth-Roseville and Mendota are both trying to find traction heading into the final three weeks of the regular season; Newman and Orion meet up in a Saturday standalone game, and Hall is receiving its first win of the season, a forfeit over Sherrard.

WRMJ’s Ty Taylor and Jim Taylor are joined by View from the West Podcast co-hosts Greg Armstrong and Mitch Stoermer,  Matt Randazzo, and Brian Stocking to preview and predict this week’s action.

Standings after Week 5

PlacePickerRecord
T1Dazzo21-8
T1Ty21-8
T3Jim20-9
T3Mitch20-9
T3Stocking20-9
6Greg18-11

 

 

Game of the Week: Erie-Prophetstown (5-0, 2-0 TRAC Rock) @ Rockridge (4-1, 1-1 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.

For the second straight week, Rockridge (No. 10) is part of a battle between two top-10-ranked 2A teams, with undefeated Erie-Prophetstown (No. 8) coming to town for Homecoming.

Rockridge suffered its first loss of the season in a 26-7 defeat at the hands of Riverdale last week. The Rockets opened the scoring on a 19-yard TD pass from Cullen Schwigen to Wyatt Osborn with 1:50 left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. Riverdale answered with a score of their own less than a minute later, trimming Rockridge’s lead to 7-6 with 0:50 left in the first quarter. The Rockets held on to that one-point lead until the 6:58 mark of the third quarter, when the Rams scored on a fourth-down play with a 33-yard TD pass. Riverdale pulled away with a pair of long TD runs in the fourth quarter. Rockridge’s offense has been limited to just three total offensive touchdowns the last two weeks. The Rockets hit the road to play Orion next week.

Erie-Prophetstown dispatched of Orion 39-6 last week to stay unbeaten on the season. The Panthers scored the first 20 points of the game and were in control from that point on. Senior quarterback Evan Steimle threw for three TDs and rushed for another score. Tristan Hovey and Noah Wetzell added rushing TDs in the win for Erie-Prophetstown, while Caleb Brown hauled in two TD catches and Lane Decker also made a TD reception. Defensively, the Panthers have allowed only 12.4 points per game through the first five weeks of the season. Erie-Prophetstown returns home in Week 7 to take on Mercer County.

Picks

Ty: Rockridge

Jim: Rockridge

Greg: Rockridge

Mitch: Erie-Prophetstown

Dazzo: Rockridge

Stocking: Rockridge

 

Riverdale (5-0, 2-0 TRAC Rock) @ Mercer County (1-4, 0-2 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.

Riverdale is looking for its first-ever 6-0 start as Mercer County is hoping to snap a four-game losing streak on Homecoming at George Pratt Memorial Field.

Riverdale got its signature win last week, defeating Rockridge at home 26-7 on Homecoming. Trailing 7-0 late in the first quarter, Lucas Dunbar scored on a 50-yard TD run to cut the deficit to 7-6. The Rams took their first lead on a 33-yard TD pass from Abram Krier to Jackson Tegeler, who returned from a Week 1 injury in the game, on a fourth-down play with 6:58 to play in the third quarter. Riverdale put the game away on a pair of explosive TD runs in the fourth quarter. Dunbar raced to the end zone from 51 yards out early in the fourth, and Krier delivered the knockout punch with an 80-yard TD run with 7:49 left in the game. Riverdale is averaging more than 11 yards per carry as a team so far in 2026. The Rams play at Newman next week.

Mercer County came up short against Newman in a 22-3 decision last week. The Golden Eagles took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 34-yard field goal by Cannon Link, but two turnovers late in the first half proved to be costly. Mercer County had an interception returned for a touchdown and, two offensive plays later, lost a fumble deep in its own territory, setting up a 22-yard TD drive for Newman. In 94 seconds of game time, the Golden Eagles’ 3-0 lead transformed into a 16-3 deficit. For the second straight week, the Golden Eagles’ defense allowed just two offensive TDs to its opponent, but Mercer County’s offense was limited to 165 yards of offense in the loss. Mercer County will play at Erie-Prophetstown next week.

Picks

Ty: Riverdale

Jim: Riverdale

Greg: Riverdale

Mitch: Riverdale

Dazzo: Riverdale

Stocking: Riverdale

 

Orion (2-3, 0-2 TRAC Rock) @ Newman (3-2, 1-1 TRAC Rock) – Saturday 1 p.m.

Newman is back at home this week, entertaining Orion in the conference’s lone Saturday afternoon game in Week 6.

Newman got back in the win column with a 22-3 road victory over Mercer County in Week 5. Facing a 3-0 deficit late in the second quarter, Maceo Williams intercepted a pass and returned in 40 yards to give the Comets their first lead of the night, 8-3, with 4:52 left in the first half. Two defensive plays later, Newman recovered a fumble at the Mercer County 22-yard line and two plays after that, Rylan Alvardo scored on a 19-yard TD run to put the Comets up 16-3. Newman iced the game on a 43-yard TD pass from Tim Pappocia to John Rowzee with 2:06 left in the fourth quarter. Newman’s defense allowed just 165 yards of total offense last week, and on the season, the Comets have given up only 8.2 points per game. Newman is at home against Riverdale next week.

Orion was handed its second straight loss in a 39-6 defeat at the hands of Erie-Prophetstown last week. The Chargers fell in to a 20-0 hole in the first half. Oroin’s lone scoring play came with 0:48 to play in the first half when Blake Arnold connected with Charley Arnold on a 15-yard TD pass to make it a 20-6 game. However, the Chargers would allow a 42-yard TD pass with 0:13 left in the second quarter and trailed 27-6 at the half. The Chargers host Rockridge in Week 7.

Picks

Ty: Newman

Jim: Newman

Greg: Newman

Mitch: Newman

Dazzo: Newman

Stocking: Newman

 

 

Princeton (2-3, 1-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Kewanee (2-3, 1-0 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.

The state’s longest-running high school football rivalry is renewed in Week 6 when Kewanee hosts Princeton for the 128th all-time meeting between the two schools, which play for a traveling trophy.

Kewanee snapped a two-game losing streak last week with a 42-14 rout of Mendota at home. The Boilermakers trailed 14-13 at halftime and then outscored the Trojans 29-0 in the second half. Kewanee junior running back Ace LaFollette had a huge night, rushing for 296 yards and five TDs on just 14 carries. The Boilermakers’ three losses have come by a combined 12 points in 2026. Kewanee plays at Hall next week.

Princeton fell 46-8 to Portage Northern (MI) last week. The Tigers, which elected to play an out-of-state opponent with more than double its enrollment instead of taking a forfeit win over Sherrard, deserve credit for that choice. Princeton trailed 34-0 at halftime and saw the deficit grow to as large as 46-0 early in the fourth quarter. Princeton will travel to Mendota next week.

Picks

Ty: Kewanee

Jim: Kewanee

Greg: Kewanee

Mitch: Kewanee

Dazzo: Kewanee

Stocking: Princeton

 

Monmouth-Roseville (2-3, 1-1 TRAC Mississippi) @ Mendota (2-3, 1-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.

Monmouth-Roseville and Mendota are each looking to gain some momentum heading into the final three weeks of the regular season on Friday.

Monmouth-Roseville beat Hall 30-14 last week. The Titans never trailed in the game after opening the scoring on a 37-yard TD pass from Kane Johnson to Lars Bergren to jump ahead 8-0. 19 seconds later, Hall answered with a 54-yard TD pass to cut Monmouth-Roseville’s lead to 8-6. Landon Montroy found the end zone in the final seconds of the first quarter to extend the advantage to 16-6, which was the score at halftime. In the second half, the Titans scored on a 5-yard TD run by Johnson and a 23-yard pass from Johnson to Andrew Snyder. Monmouth-Roseville will host Little Village out of Chicago next week in place of the open date left by Sherrard.

Mendota struggled in the second half of a 42-14 loss to Kewanee last week. The Trojans held a 14-13 lead at halftime, but were then outscored 29-0 in the second half. Outside of last week’s loss to the Boilermakers, Mendota has given up just 20.3 points per game in its other four contests.

Picks

Ty: Monmouth-Roseville

Jim: Mendota

Greg: Monmouth-Roseville

Mitch: Monmouth-Roseville

Dazzo: Monmouth-Roseville

Stocking: Monmouth-Roseville

 

 

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