Week 8 football preview: Playoff positions on line

Posted on October 17, 2019
Bloomington High School quarterback Ben Wellman warms up before the Purple Raiders’ Homecoming game with Urbana. (Steve Suess/WJBC)

By Greg Halbleib

While some area high school football teams try to improve their playoff seed, others are needing to win to simply have a chance at a postseason berth in this next-to-last week of the regular season.

Bloomington (3-4, 3-3 Big Twelve) has no margin for error as the Purple Raiders host Peoria (6-1, 5-1) in the Week 8 featured game of the WJBC Friday Night High School Football Extravaganza.

Live reports every quarter hour are from Champaign Centennial (0-7, 0-6 Big Twelve) at Normal Community (6-1, 6-0), Normal West (5-2, 5-1 Big Twelve) at Champaign Central (3-4, 3-3), U-High (2-5, 2-5 Central State Eight) at Springfield (5-2, 5-2) and Central Catholic (3-4, 3-4 Illini Prairie) at Illinois Valley Central (7-0, 7-0).

Scene-setters start the Extravaganza at 6:05 p.m. with live updates and scores every quarter hour and post-game until 11 p.m. Updates can also be found on the WJBC Sports Twitter feed (@SportsWJBC, #WJBCHSFB).

Week 8 schedule (all Fri. 7 p.m.):

Big Twelve:
Peoria at Bloomington
Normal West at Champaign Central
Champaign Centennial at Normal Community
Danville at Peoria Richwoods
Peoria Manual at Urbana
Illini Prairie:
Central Catholic at Illinois Valley Central
St. Thomas More at Pontiac
Monticello at Prairie Central
Rantoul at Tolono Unity
Olympia at St. Joseph-Ogden
Central State Eight:
U-High at Springfield
Decatur MacArthur at Decatur Eisenhower
Sacred Heart-Griffin at Jacksonville
Springfield Southeast at Chatham Glenwood
Rochester at Springfield Lanphier (Sat. 2 p.m.)
Heart of Illinois Large:
El Paso-Gridley at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
Eureka at Fieldcrest
Deer Creek-Mackinaw at Tri-Valley
Heart of Illinois Small:
Fisher at Ridgeview-Lexington (at Colfax)
Heyworth at LeRoy
Apollo:
Mattoon at Lincoln
Central Illinois:
Okaw Valley at Clinton
Lincoln Prairie:
Blue Ridge at Arcola
Non-Conference:
Dwight-Gardner-South Wilmington at Hoopeston Area
Tremont at Peoria Heights
Eight-Man:
South Fulton at Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland (at Woodland)

Sports Director Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected]. 

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