East St. Louis rolls into quarterfinals while Collinsville, Breese Central, Waterloo fall
The second weekend of the 2022 high school football postseason took place Saturday afternoon and evening at community stadiums throughout Illinois and the metro-east.
Here is a brief round-up of some local games.
Fairbury Prairie Central at Roxana, Class 3A
No. 1 seed Fairbury Prairie Central (10-0) eased past No. 9 seed Roxana 41-20.
The Shells finished the season at 7-4.
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Waterloo, Class 4A
The 10th-seeded Bulldogs put up a spirited effort but ultimately fell to the No. 2 seed Cyclones 28-16.
Waterloo (7-4) led 16-14 in the third quarter but saw Sacred Heart-Griffin (11-0) score consecutive touchdowns to prevail.
The Cyclones now advance to the quarterfinals.
Breese Central at Rochester, Class 4A
The No. 5 seed Cougars saw their season end at 8-3 following a 42-0 loss to No. 4 seed Rochester.
The Rockets improved to 10-1 and now advance into the quarterfinals.
East St. Louis at Normal Community West, Class 6A
The No. 6 seed Flyers had little difficulty dispatching the Wildcats, rolling to a 40-0 victory.
East St. Louis won its eighth-straight game while improving to 9-2. No. 3 seed Normal Community West finished at 9-2.
The Flyers now will face either No. 7 seed Crete Monee (8-2) or No. 2 seed Chicago Simeon (10-0) in the quarterfinals.
East St. Louis jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter Saturday and never looked back. TaRyan Martin had touchdown runs of 71 and 23 yards while Larevious Woods added a 4-yard scoring run in the opening quarter.
Woods added two more scoring runs and Martin another while the Flyers defense posted their fifth shutout of the season and second-straight in the playoffs.
Martin finished with 280 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Woods added 108 yards on 19 carries as well.
Collinsville at Chicago Brother Rice, Class 7A
The No. 8 seed Kahoks saw their season conclude with a 44-15 loss to No. 24 seed Chicago Brother Rice.
“Tonight we started off on the wrong foot,” Collinsville coach Colton Rhodes said. “We made plenty of mistakes in the first half. We gave up some big plays on the ground and in the air.”
The Kahoks trailed 20-0 at halftime but then got an injection of momentum to start the second half when Kolby Anderson scored a touchdown to make it 20-7. However, Collinsville could not build off that score.
“The mistakes we were making came back after that,” Rhodes said. “It just wasn’t our night on the football field. Sometimes that happens.”
Collinsville ended at 9-2 while the Crusaders improved to 7-4 and now advance to the quarterfinals.
The Kahoks were looking for their first-ever quarterfinal appearance after winning the first playoff game in program history the week prior. Despite falling short on that goal, the program’s continued progress elated Rhodes.
“I’m incredibly proud of the kids and the entire staff and everybody around in the program,” Rhodes said. “We’ve turned Collinsville football around the last two years . This year, we took a giant leap with getting our first-ever playoff win. We’re really happy to have an opportunity build on this in the future.”
Rhodes noted the Kahoks lose several seniors on both sides of the ball but still return key personnel.
“It’s a bright future for Collinsville,” he said. “This (senior) class paved the way and showed Collinsville can be a successful program and that it’s not impossible for us. I think Collinsville football will stay relevant for years to come.”
Loyola Academy at Edwardsville, Class 8A
Edwardsville saw its season end following a 49-21 loss to Loyola Academy.
The No. 23 seed Tigers finished at 7-4, while the sixth-seeded Ramblers improved to 10-1 and now advance into the quarterfinal round.
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 6:00 PM.