HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Week 1
Friday kicks off the 2021 fall season for Illinois high school football. Here is a sneak peek of schools across Central Illinois in action this week.
Week 1 football: August 27, 2021
Apollo Conference
Non-conference games
Taylorville hosts Mt. Vernon, Charleston hosts Robinson, and Lincoln hosts Clinton in homestand matchups, with kickoff starting at 7 p.m.
Mattoon and Effingham are on the road for their 7 p.m. matchups. Mattoon takes on Triad, while Effingham travels to Decatur to take on St. Teresa.
Mt. Zion is hosting Limestone for their 7:30 matchup. Also kicking off is Mahomet/Seymour, who is on the road against Canton.
Big Twelve
The Big Twelve has split contests between conference and non-conference action in the opening week.
Non-conference games
Two teams are on the road for non-conference action, while one is hosting.
Peoria’s Manual and Notre Dame take to the road for their first games of the season. Manual kicks off against Peotone at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Notre Dame kicks off against Metamora at 7:30 p.m.
Staying home this week is Normal West, as they host O’Fallon in their 7 p.m. gridiron battle.
Conference games
Eight conference schools are in action, with three cross-town matchups on the card.
Peoria High School heads across town to take on Richwoods. Then, Champaign Centennial heads over to Urbana to take on Urbana High. Finally, Normal Community takes on Bloomington High.
The only non-cross-town matchup is Champaign Central at Danville.
All games kick-off at 7 p.m.
Central Illinois
Non-conference games
All but two of the member schools in the Central Illinois Conference are on the road Friday night.
Central A&M hits the road to take on LeRoy. Shelbyville seeks to get a road win at Toledo Cumberland. Also, Clinton and Tuscola seek to do the same in their respective games against Lincoln and Arcola.
Closing out the road games is Warrensburg-Latham, who takes on Argenta-Oreana.
St. Teresa and Macon Meridian serve as Week 1 hosts in their matchups against Effingham and El Paso-Gridley for their respective games.
All games are set for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Central State Eight
Central State Eight is the only conference in our primary coverage area which have exclusively conference games.
Conference games
Rochester seeks to continue its winning ways as they take on Jacksonville. Normal University makes the commute to Decatur to take on MacArthur.
Additionally, Decatur Eisenhower makes the westbound trip to Springfield to take on Southeast High. Springfield travels to Chatham to take on Glenwood.
Lanphier heads across town to take on Sacred Heart-Griffin
All games have a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Prairie State Conference
Non-conference games
The two-school conference splits the bill on away and home games.
While Alton Marquette hosts Bethalto Civic Memorial, Nokomis hits the road.
Nokomis heads to Sullivan with a six-game winning streak from the spring session, outscoring opponents by a 236-34 margin.
Meanwhile, the Redskins of Sullivan/Okaw Valley have yet to emerge from a funk they are currently in, entering the game with a 36-game losing streak. Sullivan/Okaw Valley is also 0-2 in their career against Nokomis.
Both games kick off at 7 p.m.
Sangamo Conference
Conference games
Eight conference schools are in conference pigskin action.
First, Athens takes on the New Berlin co-op team with Franklin and Waverly. Then, Pittsfield takes on Pleasant Plains.
Auburn and Riverton are also on the road. Auburn takes on Maroa-Forsyth, and Riverton takes on North Mac in Virden.
The first kick will be at 7 p.m.
Non-conference game
Williamsville opens their 2021 season in non-conference action, as they host Union Grove. Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m.
South Central Conference
As the landscape of the South Central Conference changes, it throws some loops in scheduling for some member schools. 2021 marks the first season in conference history where teams have non-conference games on the schedule.
Conference games
Some of the scheduling complications for the conference schedule is mostly due to Bunker Hill and Mt. Olive choosing to co-op with Staunton indefinitely.
Moreover, this co-op hits the road to take on Piasa Southwestern.
The Vandalia Vandals makes the drive to Pana to take on the Panthers.
Finally, the Hillsboro Hiltoppers head to Greenville to take on the Comets.
All games will be at 7 p.m.
Week 1 football: August 28, 2021
South Central Conference
The South Central Conference is in action Saturday, as one conference game and one non-conference game are on the card.
Conference game
Gillespie at Litchfield, Saturday 7 p.m.
Non-conference game
Carlinville at Gibson City/Melvin/Sibley, Saturday 2 p.m.
Final football scores and stats may be submitted to us at jake.leonard@heartlandnewsfeed.com.
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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.
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