Illinois football's version of madness — the Illinois High School Association playoffs — began statewide for 256 teams spread across eight classes.
In central Illinois, 10 of our 20 schools moved on the second round — including Washington, Metamora, Notre Dame and Farmington from the Tri-County.
Here are all the updates from games from Friday and Saturday.
Playoff coverage: JS-area scores | Statewide schedule | Our predictions | 7 matchups to watch
5:40 p.m. — Who's moving on?
Overall, 10 teams from the Journal Star area advanced with first-round wins including six on Saturday: Metamora, Farmington, Olympia, Princeton, Annawan/Kewanee Wethersfield and Oneida ROWVA/Williamsfield. They join Washington, Peoria Notre Dame, Stark County and Monmouth-Roseville, who won on Friday.
Take a look at all the scores, plus the second-round matchups right here.
5:25 p.m. — Farmington scores late to rally for win
Farmington scored with 44 seconds remaining to grab a 28-23 win over Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin in a first-round Class 2A playoff game in Farmington.
BHRA drove down inside the Farmington red zone, completing a pass and spiking the ball with a second remaining. The Blue Devils' final pass went incomplete in the back of the end zone, sending Farmington into a second-round meeting with Mendon Unity or Bloomington Central Catholic, who meet 7 p.m. Saturday.
4:35 p.m. — Dramatic finish in Morton game
Morton fell short of New Lenox Providence 21-14, its potentially game-tying drive ending at the 5 when the Celtics intercepted a pass to seal it.
The Potters (8-2) hung with the Catholic power and had the ball inside the 10 with 30 seconds remaining, looking for the game-tying touchdown at Carper Field on Saturday. Instead, the Celtics forced their fifth turnover of the game to advance.
3:32 p.m. — Metamora moves on
The Redbirds pulled away in the second half to defeat Decatur MacArthur 36-14 in the Class 5A first round.
Metamora won a first-round playoff game in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2009-10. They travel to face Highland in the second round next weekend.
2:48 p.m. — Dee-Mack season coming to a close
After winning its final three games to make the postseason, Deer Creek-Mackinaw will bow out in first round of the Class 1A playoffs.
Annawan/Wethersfield leads Dee-Mack 41-0 in the third quarter of their game in Kewanee, which likely will be Annawan's eighth straight victory. Dee-Mack was in the playoffs for the 30th time as a program.
2:35 p.m. — Morton scratching back
Much like Peoria High had to tangle Friday with Joliet Catholic, the Morton football team also drew a tough Catholic power in the first round.
New Lenox Providence jumped to a quick 14-0 lead over the Potters on Saturday in their lass 5A first-round game. NLP scored on its first possession and then converted a fumble into another score.
Morton bounced back with a 54-yard TD pass Jude Hart to Luke Schaff, who fumbled, fell down, scrambled to recover the ball, and ran in the last 5 yards. Morton now trails 14-6 at 6:13 of the first quarter.
1:56 p.m. — Back and forth at Malone
The host Metamora Redbirds have grabbed a 15-14 lead just before halftime of a Class 5A game that has been trading points.
The Redbirds are riding a five-game win streak and are looking to win back-to-back first-round games for the first time since 2009-2010.
1:08 p.m. — We're back!
Tons of playoff action today as the rest of the Journal Star area kicks off first-round playoff games across the state.
We have our Adam Duvall out at Malone Field for Metamora's game against Decatur MacArthur in the Class 5A first round.
Dave Eminian is pulling double duty today, taking in the "other" football with Notre Dame's sectional victory over Dunlap in boys soccer sectional championship. He'll slide over to Morton to check out the Potters open the Class 5A playoffs against New Lenox Providence.
10 p.m. — That's a wrap for Friday
We had four Journal Star-area teams move on with victories Friday night: Washington, Notre Dame, Stark County and Monmouth-Roseville. Meanwhile, Dunlap, Peoria High, Eureka, Kewanee and Princeville lost their postseason openers.
Return to this space Saturday afternoon as we bring you updates from \afternoon games around Peoria.
9:49 p.m. — Peoria High playoff ends early
A tough draw ended Peoria High's playoff season in the first round.
The Lions (7-3) lost to state power Joliet Catholic (7-3) 40-16 in a Class 5A opener at Peoria Stadium. —one season after playing in the 5A state championship game.
JCA is in the playoffs for the 44th time and has won a state-best 15 championships in its history.
9:41 p.m. — Irish eyes are smiling
No. 14 seed Notre Dame (6-4) went on the road and knocked off No. 3 seed Kewanee (8-2) in a Class 4A first-round game, 28-13.
The Irish had lost three in a row to enter the playoffs, but rebounded to earn the program its first playoff win since 2015. PND had lost six playoff games in a row.
9:29 p.m. — Stark County pulls away
Stark County remained unbeaten and moved into the Class 1A second round with a 34-20 win over conference rival Princeville.
SC (10-0) didn't have the game in hand until late, needing late heroics to shake off the Princes (5-5), who had lost to SC 48-28 in Week 7.
9:24 p.m. — Dunlap season ends in dramatic fashion
Dunlap's season came to an end in double overtime, as the Eagles lost to Blue Island Eisenhower 42-41 on the road in a Class 6A first-round game.
The Eagles (6-4) pulled within a point in the second OT, but their two-point conversion failed and sent them to a first-round loss.
The Eagles had rallied against the hosts, sending their game to overtime tied at 28-28 after trailing 21-7 early.
8:56 p.m. — Notre Dame takes a lead
Notre Dame (5-4) gets a quarterback keeper to take a lead over Kewanee (8-1) headed into the fourth quarter of a Class 3A first-round game.
8:35 p.m. — Defensive battle at Peoria Stadium
Host Peoria High has a battle going with state power Joliet Catholic, which leads the Class 5A first-round game 11-8 at halftime on a rainy night at Peoria Stadium.
8:22 p.m. — Dunlap surges to the lead
The Eagles have rallied from. a14-point deficit to grab a 28-21 lead on Blue Island Eisenhower in the third quarter. Dunlap's Gabe Munoz scored a fake punt with 2:40 left in the third quarter of the Class 6A first-round game.
8:17 p.m. — Stark County comes back
The unbeaten Rebels have grabbed a 14-12 halftime lead in their Class 1A first-round game against league rival Princeville (5-4), which had jumped to a 12-0 lead.
7:54 p.m. — Peoria High strikes first
Peoria High running back Maliek Ross has 95 rushing yards on 15 carries through one quarter of a Class 5A first-round game against playoff stalwart Joliet Catholic.
This is the 15-time state champ's first trip to Peoria since a quarterfinal loss to Richwoods in 2010.
7:46 p.m. — Here comes Dunlap
The Eagles have fought back in their first-round game on the road at Blue Island Eisenhower. Dunlap has scored 14 unanswered points to pull within 21-20 at halftime of the Class 6A game.
7:40 p.m. — Princeville putting Stark County on upset alert
Princeville (5-4) leads unbeaten Stark County 12-0 in the second quarter of their Class 1A first-round game.
These LincolnLand Conference-Small Division rivals met in Week 7 with the Rebels winning 48-28.
Stark County is on a three-game skid in the playoffs, having not won since the 2016 first round. Princeville is 0-2 all-time against SC in the playoffs.
7:22 p.m. — Dunlap falls behind early
The Eagles have fallen behind 21-7 after one quarter of their Class 6A first-round game at Blue Island Eisenhower.
Dunlap came into this game 1-9 in its last 10 first-round games — their lone win in the Eagles' run to the Class 5A state championship game in 2017.
7:30 p.m. — What a start for Washington
Masyn Burke returned the opening kickoff nearly 100 yards for a touchdown to kickstart Washington in its Class 6A first-round game against Danville.
Kainon McQueary added a 20-yard TD run later and the Panthers have grabbed a 14-0 lead on the Big 12 visitor.
Peoria-area playoff teams
Here are the 10 teams in the Tri-County area that are either in the playoffs. You can find their matchups here.
- Washington (8-1, 6A), Morton (8-1, 5A), Farmington (8-1, 3A), Metamora (7-2, 5A), Peoria High (7-2, 5A), Dunlap (6-3, 6A), Peoria Notre Dame (5-4, 4A), Eureka (5-4 3A), Deer Creek-Mackinaw (5-4, 1A) and Princeville (5-4, 1A).
IHSA football playoffs:Everything you need to know ahead of the bracket announcement
Congrats to Washington, the best helmet in Peoria!
The Journal Star asked fans to pick the top high school football helmet in the Peoria area — and you answered.
Washington of the Mid-Illini Conference won the vote for top helmet, edging out Farmington in a back-and-forth battle over the five days of voting. All the details here.
Do you have a great video clip?
Have a cool play you'd like to see honored by the Illinois High School Association or included in this space?
To send a highlight to the IHSA, submit a video to FridayNight5@ihsa.org or via social media with the hashtag #FridayNight5. Each Tuesday, the IHSA releases the top five plays, culminating with the "Undeniably Dairy Play of the Week."
The school with the top play each week will receive a $250 gift certificate from Dick’s Sporting Goods for their football program.
Hey, and if you send a play the way of the IHSA — send it our way, too. We want to see your highlights or pictures here! Send your videos and photos to sports@pjstar.com or tag us on X.com at @pjstarsports.
All the Peoria high school football coverage
•We have every score from the 2023 season, plus links to every story. Click here for the full list.
•Dig into the Journal Star's preview coverage of the 2023 season.We have top players, returning coaches and much, much more. Find nearly 25 stories right here.
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