Scouting Shaw’s Illinois 8-Man Football Association teams: 2024 football season preview

TEAM PREVIEWS

Alden-Hebron Giants

Coach: John Lalor

2023 record: 3-6

Schedule: Aug. 31 at Orangeville, Sept. 6 vs. Milledgeville, Sept. 13 at Rockford Christian Life co-op, Sept. 20 vs. West Carroll, Sept. 27 a Polo, Oct. 4 vs. South Beloit, Oct. 11 at River Ridge, Oct. 18 vs. Hiawatha, Oct. 25 at Ashton-Franklin Center

Worth noting: Lalor is back after resigning as head coach after the 2019 season. Lalor, a 1980 A-H grad, turned the program around in his previous 17-year stint, going 103-67 and making the playoffs 12 times in 13 seasons from 2003 to 2015. The Giants will operate out of a hybrid wing-T offense to run the ball more effectively. QB Ben Vole, who was selected to the I8FA All-State Team in his final season, led the Giants in rushing just ahead of current senior RB/LB Wyatt Armbrust (447 yards on 48 carries and eight TDs). Armburst and Zach Lillie, who also plays OL, are three-year starters at LB. A-H also will have RB/S Caleb Linneman and RB/LB Jack Stewart as options. Junior JP Stewart takes over at quarterback. Stewart had 13 catches for 260 yards and five TDs last year at WR. TE/DE Fabian Carreno had 446 receiving yards and five TDs. OL/DL Logan Crowell will move to nose guard. “Main takeaway from summer is we are still a very young football team, but have gained speed and size with out new players,” Lalor said. “The kids really committed to working hard in the offseason, and this bunch really has good chemistry.”

Amboy/LaMoille Clippers

Coach: Scott Payne

2023 record: 13-0 (I8FA state champion)

Schedule: Aug. 30 Ridgewood Co-op; Sept. 7 at West Prairie/Southeastern; Sept. 13 Galva; Sept. 21 at Bushnell-Prairie City; Sept. 27 at Ridgewood Co-Op; Oct. 4 at Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland; Oct. 11 Peoria Heights; Oct. 18 at Biggsville West Central; Oct. 25 Bushnell-Prairie City.

Worth noting: Among the eight-man state champions’ key returning pieces are QB Eddie Jones and tailback Quinn Leffelman, who was an Illinois 8-Man Football Association All-State selection. Jones passed for over 1,200 yards with 22 touchdowns and one interception, while Leffelman had 913 rushing yards with 18 touchdowns, also tallying 83 tackles (33 solo), 14 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Amboy won nearly every game in blowout fashion; a 48-42 win over Ridgewood and 32-20 victory over Milledgeville were the closest regular season contests. Amboy beat Ridgewood 74-22 in the 8-man state title game, and opens the season with a rematch of that championship tilt.

Ashton-Franklin Center Raiders

Coach: Dave Smith

2023 record: 1-8

Schedule: Aug. 30 at Milledgeville; Sept. 6 Rockford Christian Life; Sept. 13 at West Carroll; Sept. 20 Polo; Sept. 27 at South Beloit; Oct. 4 River Ridge; Oct. 11 at Hiawatha; Oct. 18 Orangeville; Oct. 25 Alden-Hebron.

Worth noting: First-year coach Dave Smith takes over a Raiders program that went 7-11 the last two years following three straight 0-9 seasons. AFC’s last winning season came in 2012 when it went 5-4. Smith’s top players include seniors Ben Rockwood (DL/DE), Brock Lehman (LB/RB), Nolan Reuff (LB/QB), and juniors Lane Messer (DL/OL) and Musi Mimini (DT/OL).

Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland Falcons

Coach: Todd Reed

2023 record: 8-3

Schedule: Aug. 30 at West Prairie; Sept. 6 Peoria Heights (at Flanagan); Sept. 13 Ridgewood Co-Op (at Woodland); Sept. 20 West Prairie (at Woodland); Sept. 27 at Bushnell-Prairie City; Oct. 4 Amboy/LaMoille (at Flanagan); Oct. 11 at West Central; Oct. 18 at Ridgewood Co-Op; Oct. 25 Galva (at Flanagan).

Worth noting: The big question facing this year’s Falcons is whether last season’s return to the I8FA postseason was a blip created by a strong senior class or a return to the FCW co-op’s status as a perennial playoff contender. Coach Reed and his Falcons feel strongly it is the latter, led by another large and talented 12th-grade class featuring the likes of WR/DBs Zandar Radke and Connor Reed; OL/DLs Aydan Radke (a 2023 I8FA all-stater), Blake Ruddy, Calix Stout, Adam Westerhold, Cohen Schneider and Elijah Detwiler; and QB/DB Seth Jones, who is being given the opportunity to showcase his strong arm a bit more this year. “Having two back-to-back strong senior classes is an awesome thing to have in small-school football,” Coach Reed said. Juniors Leelynd Durbin, Logan Ruddy and Cole Bradbury will be asked to take over at a position of incredible strength of last year’s team, the running back corps.

Hiawatha Hawks

Coach: Kenny McPeek

2023 record: 4-6

Schedule: Aug. 30 at Rockford Christian Life; Sept. 6 West Carroll; Sept. 13 at Polo; Sept. 20 South Beloit; Sept. 27 at River Ridge; Oct. 4 Orangeville; Oct. 11 Ashton-Franklin Center; Aug. 18 at Alden-Hebron; Aug. 25 Milledgeville.

Worth noting: The Hawks have a pretty good core offense between junior quarterback Aiden Cooper and senior running back Tommy Butler. But for as punishing a runner Butler is, he’s even more of a force at linebacker for the Hawks. He’s also got a pair of solid blockers in senior Mike Bryowsky and sophomore Sam Gomoll. Gomoll and senior Braeden Ross should also be key factors on the Hawks’ defensive line. It’s also worth pointing out that after years of schedule uncertainty at both the 11-man and 8-man levels, the 8-man North Conference is a closed loop with 10 teams in it, the only one of the four 8-man conferences with that many teams.

Milledgeville Missiles

Coach: Jason Wroble

2023 record: 9-2

Schedule: Aug. 30 Ashton-Franklin Center; Sept. 6 at Alden-Hebron; Sept. 14 at Orangeville; Sept. 20 Rockford Christian Life; Sept. 27 at West Carroll; Oct. 4 Polo; Oct. 11 at South Beloit; Oct. 18 River Ridge; Oct. 25 at Hiawatha.

Worth noting: The Missiles lost all-state QB and I8FA’s all-time leading passer Connor Nye to graduation, but return a stable of productive tailbacks in Micah Toms-Smith, Spencer Nye, and Konner Johnson, along with tight end and pass rusher Karter Livengood. Milledgeville reached the second round of the 8- man playoffs last year before losing 35-23 to Polo in the quarterfinals.

Polo Marcos

Coach: Ted Alston

2023 record: 9-3

Schedule: Aug. 30 South Beloit; Sept. 6 at River Ridge; Sept. 13 Hiawatha; Sept. 20 at Ashton-Franklin Center; Sept. 27 Alden Hebron; Oct. 4 at Milledgeville; Oct. 11 Rockford Christian Life; Oct. 18 at West Carroll; Oct. 26 at Orangeville.

Worth noting: The Marcos look to reload after losing QB Brock Soltow to graduation; he was the two-time SVM Football Player of the Year with three straight all-state seasons. Polo reached the 8-man semifinals before losing 40-6 to eventual state champion Amboy. Among Polo’s top players are seniors Noah Dewey (WR/DB), Jeffrey Donaldson (OL/DL), Logan Nelson (OL/DL), Billy Lowry (RB/DB) and Gus Mumford (QB/DB).

West Carroll Thunder

Coach: Abelardo Sustaita

2023 record: 0-9

Schedule: Aug. 30 River Ridge; Sept. 6 at Hiawatha; Sept. 13 Ashton-Franklin Center; Sept. 20 at Alden-Hebron; Sept. 27 Milledgeville; Oct. 4 at Rockford Christian Life; Oct. 12 at Orangeville; Oct. 18 Polo; Oct. 25 at South Beloit.

Worth noting: The Thunder hope to snap a 24-game losing skid that dates back to the 2019 campaign after moving to 8-man this season. First-year coach Abelardo Sustaita has some returning pieces to work with, including senior QB Winter Harrington, along with classmates Aden Wiest (OL/DL), Conner Townsend (FB/LB), Noah White (OL/DL), and Giovanni Gallagher (TE/DT). West Carroll finished 5-5 in 2019, and its last winning season was in 2017 (7-4).

5 CAN’T-MISS MATCHUPS

Week 1 – Ridgewood Co-Op at Amboy-LaMoille: This is not only a rematch of last season’s I8FA state championship – a game won 74-22 by a dominant Amboy/LaMoille squad – but also the first of two matchups between the Spartans and Clippers this season, as they are scheduled to meet again in Week 5.

Week 2 – Peoria Heights at FCW: This could be a big game against a rising eight-man program for FCW’s hopes for back-to-back I8FA playoff appearances, but is also worth highlighting as it’s the night Flanagan will be celebrating its 1974 Class 1A state championship Falcons.

Week 3 – AFC at West Carroll: While AFC struggled to a 1-8 record in the eight-man ranks last season, West Carroll limped to an 0-9 record in its final season playing the traditional 11-man game. This looks like one both teams are likely circling as winnable.

Week 6 – Polo at Milledgeville: Two of the top teams in eight-man last season meet at the home of the Missiles in what seems likely to have major impact on the I8FA playoff bracket when its released three weeks later. They split their two meetings in 2023.

Week 8 – Hiawatha at Alden-Hebron: Two teams that finished just below the .500 mark last season will meet in this late-season matchup that could prove to be make-or-break for one, the other or both’s playoffs hopes.