WRMJ Week 7 TRAC Preview & Picks With View From The West

October 2, 2026 Ty Taylor Local Sports

With Week 7 arriving, we are starting to close in on the end of the regular season and divisional champions being crowned.

In the Rock Division, Riverdale can clinch a share the championship this week, while Kewanee can do the same in the Mississippi Division.

Other notable headlines around the conference this week include Erie-Prophetstown looking to bounce back after its first loss of the season last week against Mercer County, Princeton and Mendota each having a chance to pick up their third win against each other, and Rockridge closing in on a first-round bye in the postseason.

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 6

PlacePickerRecord
T1Dazzo26-8
T1Ty26-8
T3Jim24-10
T3Mitch24-10
T3Stocking24-10
6Greg23-11

 

Game of the Week: Riverdale (6-0, 3-0 TRAC Rock) @ Newman (4-2, 2-1 TRAC Rock) – Saturday 1 p.m.

Newman hosts Riverdale in the lone Saturday game in the conference this week, where the Rams could continue their historic undefeated run to 7-0 or the Comets could keep their conference title hopes alive.

Riverdale rolled to its first-ever 6-0 start to a season with a 40-7 win over Mercer County last week. The Rams raced out to a 26-0 lead and held a 40-0 advantage in the third quarter. Lucas Dunbar rushed for 105 yards and two TDs, which allowed him to surpass the 1,000-yard mark on the season. Abram Krier also ran for two scores and threw a TD pass to Jackson Tegeler in the win. Camden Hartman opened the scoring for Riverdale with a 37-yard TD run on the Rams’ opening drive of the night. With a win, the Rams would clinch at least a share of the TRAC Rock championship. Riverdale will host Erie-Prophetstown next week.

Newman utilized a late fourth-quarter touchdown to defeat Orion 14-12 last week. Trailing 12-8 with under three minutes left in the game, Danny Welty found the end zone on a 1-yard TD run to put the Comets ahead 14-12 with 2:30 remaining. Newman trailed for a majority of the game, but was able to pull out a win with its fourth quarterback of the season taking snaps in the second half. The Comets were held scoreless until the 3:57 mark of the third quarter when Jackson Graham motored for a 63-yard TD run. Newman hits the road to take on Rockridge in Week 8.

Picks

Ty: Riverdale

Jim: Riverdale

Greg: Riverdale

Mitch: Riverdale

Dazzo: Riverdale

Stocking: Riverdale

 

Mercer County (1-5, 0-3 TRAC Rock) @ Erie-Prophetstown (5-1, 2-1 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.

Erie-Prophetstown is looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season last week, while Mercer County aims to snap a five-game losing streak in Week 7.

Erie-Prophetstown saw its season-opening five-game winning streak snapped in a 27-14 road loss to Rockridge last week. The Panthers led 14-7 in the second quarter before the Rockets scored the final 20 points. Erie-Prophetstown was outscored 13-0 in the second half after the game was knotted at 14-14 at halftime.  The Panthers’ two scoring plays came on long passes – a 73-yard TD pass from Evan Steimle to Caleb Brown and a 40-yard TD pass from Steimle to Lane Decker. Erie-Prophetstown will play at Riverdale next week.

Mercer County fell 40-7 to Riverdale last week at home. The Golden Eagles fell behind 26-0 at halftime and faced a deficit as large as 40-0 in the third quarter. Eli Boswell scored a rushing TD in the fourth quarter for the Golden Eagles. Mercer County was limited to 119 yards of total offense last week. The Golden Eagles are looking to snap a five-game losing streak this week. Mercer County returns home to play Orion in Week 8.

Picks

Ty: Erie-Prophetstown

Jim: Erie-Prophetstown

Greg: Erie-Prophetstown

Mitch: Erie-Prophetstown

Dazzo: Erie-Prophetstown

Stocking: Erie-Prophetstown

 

Rockridge (5-1, 2-1 TRAC Rock) @ Orion (2-4, 0-3 TRAC Rock) – Friday 7 p.m.

Rockridge and Orion clash this week to renew a longtime local rivalry.

Rockridge rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 27-14 victory over previously unbeaten Erie-Prophetsown in Week 6. The Rockets scored the final 20 points of the game after trailing 14-7 in the second quarter and outscored the Panthers 13-0 in the second half. Thomas Sowards rushed for 205 yards and two TDs in the win, while Cullen Schwigen added a rushing score and a 47-yard TD pass to Daniel Bell for the Rockets. Rockridge will host Newman in Week 8.

Orion allowed a late score to Newman last week in a 14-12 road loss. The Chargers led for a majority of the game after opening the scoring on a 17-yard TD run by quarterback Blake Arnold with 8:33 to play in the second quarter. Orion held a 6-0 advantage at halftime. After Newman pulled ahead 8-6 late in the third quarter, the Chargers scored on their ensuing drive, which was capped by a 1-yard TD run by Arnold, to get back in front 12-8 with 11:48 left in the game. Orion’s defense allowed a touchdown with 2:30 left, and the Chargers’ ensuing drive ended with an interception, which sealed the game. Orion will play at Mercer County next week.

Picks

Ty: Rockridge

Jim: Rockridge

Greg: Rockridge

Mitch: Rockridge

Dazzo: Rockridge

Stocking: Rockridge

 

Kewanee (3-3, 2-0 TRAC Mississippi) @ Hall (1-5, 0-2 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.

Coming off a convincing win over Princeton last week, Kewanee looks to continue its dominant run in the Mississippi Division against Hall, which is coming off a bye week in Week 6.

Kewanee defeated Princeton 21-6 in the 128th all-time meeting between the long-time rivals last week. The Boilermakers opened the scoring just past the midway point of the second quarter on an 82-yard TD pass from Cruse Cernovich to Chris Crowe to take a 7-0 lead. Kewanee extended the lead late in the second quarter when Cernovich connected with Crowe for a 7-yard TD. Ace LaFalloette extended the Boilermakers’ lead to 21-0 in the third quarter with a 35-yard TD run. With a win, Kewanee would clinch at least a share of the TRAC Mississippi championship. The Boilermakers host Monmouth-Roseville next week.

Hall picked up its first win of the season via forfeit last week after not finding a game for the open date on its schedule left by Sherrard. The Red Devils will look to parlay that into a win on the field at home this week before hitting the road to play Princeton in Week 8.

Picks

Ty: Kewanee

Jim: Kewanee

Greg: Kewanee

Mitch: Kewanee

Dazzo: Kewanee

Stocking: Kewanee

 

Princeton (2-4, 1-1 TRAC Mississippi) @ Mendota (2-4, 1-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 7 p.m.

In a matchup of a pair of two-win teams, Princeton and Mendota are both searching for their third wins of the season to officially punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Princeton suffered its second straight loss in Week 6, falling to Kewanee 21-6 on the road. The Tigers were held scoreless until the 5:17 mark of the fourth quarter on a 1-yard TD run by Jack Oester, which trimmed the deficit from 21-6. Princeton was limited to 211 yards of total offense in the loss. The Tigers are looking to get back on track this week ahead of next week’s matchup with Hall at home.

Mendota fell behind early in a 32-7 loss at home to Monmouth-Roseville last week. The Trojans trailed 16-0 at the end of the first quarter and 24-0 at halftime. Mendota avoided a shutout loss with a TD on its final drive of the night, while trailing 32-0, when Javier Hernandez threw a 27-yard TD pass to Dylan Welch. Mendota will receive a forfeit win next week to cross the three-win threshold to qualify for the playoffs. The Trojans will return to the field at home against Newman in Week 9.

Picks

Ty: Princeton

Jim: Mendota

Greg: Princeton

Mitch: Princeton

Dazzo: Princeton

Stocking: Mendota

 

Little Village (4-2) @ Monmouth-Roseville (3-3, 2-1 TRAC Mississippi) – Friday 5:30 p.m.

Monmouth-Roseville was able to find an opponent to replace the open date Sherrard left on its schedule and will welcome a Chicago Public School, Little Village, to town for an early 5:30 p.m. kickoff on Friday.

Monmouth-Roseville evened up its record on the season with a 32-7 win over Mendota last week. The Titans scored on their first three drives of the night to build a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter. Monmouth-Roseville would balloon its lead to as large as 32-0 in the fourth quarter. Landon Montroy led the Titans with 139 rushing yards and two TDs in the win. Kane Johnson rushed for a score and threw a 28-yard TD pass to Zane Mason in the win. Monmouth-Roseville travels to Kewanee in Week 8.

Little Village, a public high school in Chicago, has won three games in a row after a 1-2 start to the season. The Phoenix have played one non-Chicago school so far this year, Quincy, which they lost to 63-8 in Week 2.

Picks

Ty: Monmouth-Roseville

Jim: Monmouth-Roseville

Greg: Monmouth-Roseville

Mitch: Monmouth-Roseville

Dazzo: Monmouth-Roseville

Stocking: Monmouth-Roseville

 

WRMJ’s coverage of the TRAC is powered by…