Steve Soucie’s Week 8 games to watch: Conference crowns on the line

Winning a conference championship doesn’t give you any marked advantage in the postseason scrum.

But they still mean something. And it’s a tangible accomplishment that can be heralded no matter what happens over the next two months.

There are 56 conferences around the state that meet that designation and there are a number of Week 8 games that will decide who takes home the conference hardware.

And there’s a lot of other contests in Week 8 that have no conference championship implications at all that will still hold a lot of value in how the playoff field is constructed.

89 teams are trying to hunt down that coveted fifth victory. Some of them have substantial obstacles in their way in trying to get it. 20 of them are playing an opponent that also has four wins.

65 more teams are trying to avoid a fifth loss. Although a fifth loss isn’t necessarily an elimination type situation as it has been in years past, no one wants to find themselves there, particularly one week before the regular season is completed.

All things considered there’s plenty of worthy scoreboard watching to do.

Here’s a look at some of the top games in Week 8:

Byron at Dixon, 7 p.m. Friday: These two seem to have been circling one another all season long. Clearly the top two teams in the Big Northern Conference, both squads are averaging over 40 points per game while allowing considerably less than 10 points per game to opponents. Something is going to have to give here.

Edwardsville at East St. Louis, 7 p.m. Friday: Edwardsville is typically the only team that can mount a serious charge at dethroning Southwestern Conference stalwarts the Flyers. It’s a particularly difficult challenge this year as only one opponent has managed to stay within three touchdowns all season. The Flyers, however, can’t get caught looking ahead to its Week 9 clash with nationally ranked IMG Academy.

Minooka at Oswego, 7 p.m. Friday: The Southwest Prairie Conference is always a wild one with many teams grappling to seize control of the league race on an average year. Oswego has set the pace this season, but just like it always seems to be, this game will be a heavy determiner on who ultimately hoists the conference crown.

Lyons at York, 7:30 p.m. Friday: Lyons can sew up the conference title here as they play a crossover game in Week 9, but York would like nothing more than to force the discussion into a three-way tie for the hardware.

Mount Carmel at Fenwick, 7:30 p.m. Friday: With Jack Elliott back in the fold the Caravan are still a substantial favorite in this one, but the fact remains that the Friars are putting together a pretty solid resume having lost just one game by a solitary point to Joliet Catholic back in Week 3.

Other games of note: Brother Rice at St. Laurence; St. Ignatius at Montini; Johnston City at Sesser-Valier; DePaul Prep at St. Francis; Tri-Valley at Eureka; GCMS at LeRoy; Wilmington at Manteno; Morris at Sycamore; Libertyville at Lake Forest; Hononegah at Belvidere North; Maroa-Forsyth at Williamsville; DuQuoin at Nashville; Lincoln-Way West at Lockport; Lincoln-Way East at Andrew; Sandburg at Naperville Central; Glenbard East at Glenbard South; Carrollton at Camp Point Central