Teams that will be going south in 3A

by Steve Dunford 

I have made a lot of chicken scratches over the last few days trying to figure out who is in let alone where.  That will come to pass in the next few hours.

With West Frankfort and Harrisburg being upset last night,  created a lot of shifts in the playoff map.

I just talked to Kyle Peach, the voice of the Mt. Carmel Golden Aces, as well at the voice of the Evansville Purple Aces on ESPN- 3.  Mt. Carmel was already out.  The playoffs started in Indiana last night.  I was wondering what the formula was since they play in the Big 8, and all Indiana conference.

For future reference, Mt. Carmel gets playoff points one week before the season starts, as they start a week earlier in the Hoosier State.

There will be a lot riding on the Vienna-Goreville vs. Carmi White County game this afternoon.  If the Eagles win, it could mean another Southern Illinois team in.  They are also riding the fence as being the largest 3A school with a 548 football enrollment.  If they win they might be 4A.  However, with the number crunching I feel they will be 3A.

With the S-V-W-W Red Devils definitely in,  I went down and broke down 3A.  The teams listed use the I-72 corridor as the dividing line.  There could be teams sent south, that could be around I-74, with a 309 zip code.

The following are the teams that I feel that are definitely in the southern bracket in 3A.  There are 14.  If V-G wins today it will be 15.

In a Black Diamond note, it looks like Chester will be bumped to 2A.

The list will be by seed, record, playoff points, conference they play in, last night’s game, and a few comments.

1.  Fairfield– (9-0) 36 points, Black Diamond, Defeated Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn 18-6.  The Mules are a classic Justin Townsend coached team.  They pound it on the ground and hit very hard.  It would awesome to see them and A-J meet in the semi finals

2.  Anna-Jonesboro (9-0) 31 points, Southern Illinois River to River, Mississippi Division, Defeated Benton 62-28.  The explosiveness of Hart and Turner has been well documented throughout this season.

3.  Decatur St. Teresa (8-1) 43 points, Central Illinois Conference, Defeated Shelbyville 28-20.  The Bulldogs have played a basically 1A schedule.  I don’t know much about the area, but it could be a soft high seed.

4.  Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn (8-1) 37 points, Black Diamond, Lost to Fairfield 18-6.  There will be a game at Carroll Kelly Field next Satudray.  Who?  We will know in a few hours.

4.   Carlinville (8-1) 37 points, South Central.  Lost to Greenville 35-28.  The South Central is a conference that runs the I-55 corridor between St. Louis and Springfield.  The conference will be well represented in 2A.

6.  Newton (8-1) 35 points, Little Illini.  Beat Jeremy Clodfelter’s Paris Tigers, 45-35.  The Little Illini was a closed conference until Edwards County joined the Black Diamond.  It is a 1A to a 4A conference.

7.  Alton Marquette (8-1) 33 points, Prairie State.  Defeated Kinkaid South Fork 42-0  The Prairie State is a 2A-3A conference that follows the same corridor of the South Central.

8.  Greenville (7-2) 38 points, South Central, Defeated Carlinville 35-28.  The Comets have been a perennial powerhouse across the South Central Illinois region for years.

9.  DuQuoin (7-2) 35 points, Southern Illinios River-to-River, Mississippi Division.  Defeated Muprhysboro, 41-21.  The Indians have been bumped up to 3A in the last couple of outlooks by the IHSA.  There still could be a small chance they make the 14 mile trip to Sesser.

10 East Alton-Wood River (7-2) 34 points,  Prairie State.  Defeated Bunker Hill 32-14.  There will be a lot of 7-2 teams that will be on the road during Week 1.  They could also be a potential first round opponent for the Devils.

11.  Marshall (6-3) 39 points, Little Illini.  Defeated Lawrenceville 53-6.  Marshall, near Terre Haute, IN is one of those teams that are always in the playoffs.  They could go north, but I do not see it.

11.  Hillsboro (6-3)  39 Points.  South Central.  Defeated Litchfield 48-0.  This time of year, it seems like Hillsboro either comes south or someone heads up there to face them.

11.  Vandalia (6-3) 39 Points.  South Central.  Lost in a basketball game to Pana. 63-55.  It seems like it is going to be the the South Central Conference Tournament.  Even though I am showing them even, the Vandals get the tie breaker defeating Hillsboro in Week 12.

11.  Pleasant Plains  (6-3)  Sangamo, Defeated Petersburg PORTA 42-12.  This is a Springfield area conference.  I definitely see them going south.

On the bubble between North and South.  I believe there will be one 8-1 team that will be in the 3A bracket down here.  If Tolono Unity is 4A, the IHSA will send Monticello this way.  If both are 3A there will be one of the teams sent this way.  Prairie Central 5-4 could be sent out of this conference.  Beardstown 7-2 could also be sent.

We will all know at 8:00 p.m.