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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
From left, Bismarkc-Henning/Rossville-Alvin football Anderson Thomas, Evan Parish and Eli McConkey will try to help the Blue Devils close out an undefeated regular season this Friday night at Oakwood.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Seven area high school football teams are in the Top 10 of their respective classes in the latest Associated Press statewide polls that were released Wednesday.
➜ 2. In Class 5A, Mahomet-Seymour (6-2) is ninth, while in 3A, St. Joseph-Ogden (8-0) is fourth and Monticello (7-1) is seventh. In 2A, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (8-0) is third and Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (8-0) is seventh, while in 1A, LeRoy (8-0) is third and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (7-1) is eighth.
➜ 3. The top-ranked teams in each class are Lincoln-Way East (8-0) in 8A, Chicago Mt. Carmel (6-2) in 7A, East St. Louis (8-0) in 6A, Nazareth (7-1) in 5A, Breese Central (8-0) in 4A, Byron (8-0) in 3A, Quincy Notre Dame (7-1) in 2A and Althoff (8-0) in 1A.
Jayshawn Harris and the Centennial football team will try to end a two-game losing skid Friday at Bloomington.
Numbers game: 16
Area high school football teams who are eligible for the playoffs. Including Milford/Cissna Park and St. Thomas More, who are both 6-2 and play 8-man football, which holds separate playoffs than what the IHSA does. The number could increase to 19 if Centennial, Clinton and Prairie Central, who are all 4-4, win their respective games on Friday night.
Illinois defensive lineman Dennis Briggs Jr. helps bring down Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle for a sack on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. The Illini finished with five sacks as a team in a 21-7 victory over the Wolverines.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois at Oregon football. Containing Oregon running back Jordan James, who is averaging 119.5 rushing yards in four games at Autzen Stadium this season, is a priority for the Illini defense on Saturday afternoon in Eugene, Ore.
➜ 2. Illinois at Mississippi men’s basketball. First chance to see what this new Illini team will look like comes Sunday when the charity exhibition game tips off at 11 a.m. from the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss.
➜ 3. Illinois at Nebraska volleyball. Raina Terry enters the 7 p.m. match on Friday in Lincoln, Neb., with 1,925 career kills for Illinois, just 48 away from breaking Jocelynn Birks’ all-time record of 1,972.
From left, the Bertetto family: Leo, John, Hallie, Jack and Lisa.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Sullivan/Okaw Valley football coach and boys’ track and field coach John Beretto, whose unbeaten Redskins host Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond on Friday:
➜ 1. My favorite sports teams are … the Chicago Bears and the Illinois football team.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Nick Saban, Mike Ditka and Skip Mathieson.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … when people are OK with being OK.