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United Township at La Salle-Peru
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Cavaliers: L-P is looking for its fifth consecutive season-opening win. The Cavaliers beat United Township 34-14 in last year’s opener. … L-P has won 13 straight games against United Township. … Freshman Marion Persich will make his debut at quarterback. He’ll lead a young offensive group that lost its QB, top rusher and top receiver from last fall. Easton Moriarty, Brevyn Vogel and Adrian Arzola will see time at running back, while Noah Zebron and Mikey Hartman are back at receiver. Richie Santiago is the lone returner on the offensive line. Andy Medina moves from guard to tight end. … Defensively, the Cavs will rely on a veteran linebacker corps led by Medina, Danny Beavers and Joshua Bickford. Zebron and Hartman are back in the secondary.
About the Panthers: United Township hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001 and has had only one winning season since the Panthers went 5-1 during the spring 2021 season. … United Township was predicted to finish sixth among the seven teams in the Western Big 6 Conference preseason coaches’ poll. … Senior Christian Peterson takes over at quarterback for Matthew Kelley, who was second in the Western Big 6 in passing last fall and now plays at North Central College. Peterson played the majority of last year’s game against L-P after Kelley was injured. … Other key players for UT are senior WR/DB Cohen Parsons, junior RB Isaiah Navarrete, junior OL Tristan Wallareb and junior OL Eli Oppenheimer.
Friday Night Drive pick: La Salle-Peru
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St. Bede at Tri-Valley
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Bruins: St. Bede is looking for its fifth consecutive season-opening victory. The Bruins defeated Tuscola 34-25 in last year’s opener. … Junior Gino Ferrari takes over as quarterback for St. Bede after battling classmate AJ Hermes for the spot through the summer and camp. “We feel like Gino at QB and AJ in other positions on both sides of the ball gives us the best chance to win,” St. Bede coach Jim Eustice said. ... Sophomore Landon Marquez will be the feature back in the St. Bede offense this season after rushing for 303 yards and two touchdowns on 44 carries last fall. He’ll run behind a veteran offensive line that returns four starters. … The Bruins return eight starters on defense.
About the Vikings: Tri-Valley has been a powerhouse since Josh Roop took over as head coach in 2007 with 14 playoff appearances, a state championship and two runner-up finishes, including in 2022. The Vikings went 10-1 last year and have three straight double-digit win seasons. … Senior Cole Klein will play quarterback, running back and inside linebacker for the Vikings. He was named Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Class 2A All-State last year. … Tri-Valley returns seven starters on both sides of the ball. … The Vikings have won four straight season openers.
FND pick: Tri-Valley
Orion at Hall
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Red Devils: The opener will be the debut for new Hall coach Logan Larson, who was an assistant at Athens, which was Class 2A runner-up last season. … The Red Devils have not won a season opener since beating Fulton 21-7 to start the 2015 season. Hall has lost the past three openers to Orion and lost to Orion in five of the past seven openers. … The Red Devils were predicted to finish fifth in the Three Rivers Conference Mississippi Division in a preseason coaches’ poll. … Hall is young with only five seniors on the roster, but many of the Red Devils’ juniors saw time last season, including two-way starters Braden Curran (RB/DB) and Aiden Redcliff (RB/LB). … Hall returns Cameron Spradling, Jacob Mongan and Kaiden Kenny on the offensive line, and the three veterans will try to help the Red Devils establish the run.
About the Chargers: Orion has gone 12-19 since its last playoff berth in 2019. … Junior Kale Fuller returns for his third year as the quarterback for his dad’s Chargers. He completed 147 of 252 pass attempts for 2,038 yards and 23 TDs with three interceptions. Other returners on offense are senior RB Aiden Fisher (385 yards, five TDs), senior wide receiver Jake Bainbridge (55-872, 12 TDs) and junior wide receiver Owen Voorhees (40-765, eight TDs). Fisher is a three-year starter at linebacker with 110 tackles last year. … The Chargers were picked to place fourth in the Three Rivers Rock in a preseason coaches poll.
FND pick: Hall
Riverdale at Mendota
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Trojans: Mendota’s only win last season was a 35-14 victory over Riverdale in Week 6. The Trojans scored half of their season point total (70) in that win. … Mendota returns 10 starters on offense and eight on defense. The only starter being replaced is quarterback where Aden Tillman takes over. The junior saw some time last year at QB and also played running back and receiver. … The Trojans’ last season-opening win was a 24-14 victory over Erie-Prophetstown in 2021. Mendota started 3-0 that year en route to a playoff berth. … The Trojans were picked to finish last in the Three Rivers Mississippi in a preseason coaches poll.
About the Rams: Riverdale has not won a varsity game since beating Sherrard 28-14 in Week 9 of the 2021 season. The Rams went 0-9 last fall and did not field a varsity team in 2022. … Riverdale lost only two seniors from last year’s team. The Rams’ top returning players for the Rams are seniors Kolton Kruse (QB/LB) and Tyler Hasenour (TE/DE) and juniors Gaege Heinsen (RB/LB), Caen Beckett (RB/DB) and Jake Schradey (OL/DL). … Riverdale was picked to finish last in the Three Rivers Rock in a preseason coaches’ poll.
FND pick: Mendota
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Newman at Princeton
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Tigers: Princeton has won six straight Three Rivers Conference Mississippi Division titles, and the Tigers were predicted to win the championship once again in the BCR preseason coaches poll. … The Tigers have won four straight games over Newman, including shutouts in each of the last three seasons (20-0 in 2023, 37-0 in 2022 and 41-0 in 2021). … Princeton returns most of its top offensive weapons from last season, including tight end Noah LaPorte (517 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns in 2023), a Northwestern recruit, and running backs Casey Etheridge (1,897 yards, 29 TDs) and Ace Christiansen (738 yards, 8 TDs). … Three-year starting tackle Cade Odell will anchor the offensive line … Princeton’s defense returns several of its top tacklers, including Arthur Burden (84 tackles), Ian Morris (83 tackles) and Common Green (73 tackles).
About the Comets: Newman was picked to finished second in the Three Rivers Rock in a preseason coaches poll. … The Comets return several key defenders, including linebacker Daniel Kelly, who led the team in tackles in each of the past two seasons, and cornerback Cody McBride, who had three interceptions last year. … Senior Brady Williamson will be the Comets’ lead running back. … Evan Bushman returns for his third season as the team’s QB after throwing for more than 1,500 yards and 14 TDs last fall.
FND pick: Princeton
Bureau Valley at United
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Storm: Bureau Valley joins the Lincoln Trail-Prairieland Conference Large Division this fall and opens play with a crossover in Monmouth. … The Storm beat Erie-Prophetstown 26-7 in last year’s season opener. … Bureau Valley went 4-5 last fall a year after going 0-9. … Bryce Helms returns for his third season as the team’s starting quarterback. He also was an all-conference defensive back last year. … RB/LB Elijah Endress ran for 738 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.
About the Red Storm: United has a new coach in Andrew Goodwin, who was an assistant coach at Normal Community the last four seasons. … The Red Storm went 3-6 and 2-7 in 2022 following a Class 1A playoff appearance in 2021. … United started 2-0 last season before losing six of its final seven games.
FND pick: Bureau Valley
Meridian at Fieldcrest
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Knights: Fieldcrest opens play in the new Heart of Central Illinois Conference, which is a merger between the Heart of Illinois and Central Illinois conferences, at home. … The Knights opened last season with a 20-19 victory over Dwight. … Fieldcrest went 4-5 last year after going 1-17 combined the previous two seasons. … The Knights return a strong nucleus with four-year starter Eddie Lorton (RB/DB) and three-year starters Jackson Hakes (FB/DL), Jordan Carey (OL/DL) and Cooper Haugens (OL/DL). Lorton rushed for 927 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall.
About the Hawks: Meridian is 3-15 over the past two years after making the playoffs in 2021. … The Hawks last won a season opener in 2021. … Junior quarterback Devin Leffler returns after throwing for 1,271 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall, while senior OL/LB Paul Ralston was second-team All-Central Illinois Conference last season.
FND pick: Fieldcrest
Ridgewood at Amboy co-op
When: 7 p.m. Friday
About the Clippers: Amboy opens with a rematch of last year’s Illinois 8-Man Football Association state title game, which the Clippers won 74-22. Amboy also beat Ridgewood 48-42 during the regular season last fall. … The Clippers return quarterback Eddie Jones, who threw for over 1,200 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, and running back/linebacker Quinn Leffelman, who rushed for 913 yards and 18 touchdowns while making 83 tackles (33 solo) with 14 sacks and 15 tackles for loss.
About the Spartans: Ridgewood is 19-5 since joining eight-man football for the 2022 season with two of the losses coming to Amboy last season. … The Spartans have won both of their season openers in eight-man football, winning 44-0 last year and 54-14 in 2022.
FND pick: Amboy