It’s on to the conference season for Little Illini Conference football teams after a .500 finish to the non-league portion of the regular season.

The collective 8-8 record at the end of the first two weeks falls short of last year’s impressive mark of 11-5 (the best in 10 years) in a 2025 season that eventually produced five playoff teams. What that means this year for the LIC in the newly-expanded IHSA playoff system, where 16 additional teams qualify for each of the eight tournament classes, remains to be seen. But for the next seven weeks, it’s all about the race for the conference championship.

Here are the scores from Week 2 of the prep season:

Benton 55, Robinson 6
Breese Mater Dei 20, Casey-Westfield 15
Eastland (Lanark) 50, Lawrenceville 0
Mt. Carmel 35, Effingham 28
Newton 55, Trenton Wesclin 7
Paris 42, North Vermillion, Ind. 12
Salem 28, Olney 27
Sparta-Steeleville 36, Marshall 7

Mt. Carmel and Paris are the lone unbeatens remaining after two weeks of non-conference play, at 2-0. Four teams are next at 1-1 overall: Casey-Westfield, Marshall, Newton, and Robinson. Lawrenceville and Olney are both 0-2.

Here is a look ahead at the Week 3 lineup, the first of league warfare:

Casey-Westfield at Newton, 7:00 p.m.
Lawrenceville at Olney, 7:00 p.m.
Marshall at Paris, 7:00 p.m.
Mt. Carmel at Robinson, 7:00 p.m.

Get out and enjoy some LIC football this weekend!

BITS AND PIECES

Mt. Carmel rallied in the fourth quarter at Effingham to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2022. The Golden Aces rolled up 548 yards in total offense, led by junior quarterback River Deisher, who rushed 37 times for 210 yards and three scores while going 14-of-18 in the air for 257 yards and one TD… Paris jumped to a 28-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back in a 30-point win over their Indiana opponent. The dominant Tigers only needed to throw two passes all night. Senior running back Kipton Bradford led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 169 yards. Dawson Rogers added 92 yards on seven carries…  Casey-Westfield’s Wyatt Erickson kicked a  32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give the Warriors a 15-14 lead over Breese Mater Dei, but the visiting Knights spoiled C-W’s home opener by rallying later to the win. Special teams may once again be a big part of the Casey-Westfield attack.  Ayden Spittler returned a kickoff 85 yards in the third quarter. Nick Fouty also rushed 11 yards for a TD… Newton quarterback Eli Wolf threw for five touchdown passes in the win over Trenton Wesclin. He was 8-of-12 for 138 yards over the top. Wolf’s top receiver was veteran Quincy Fulton, who hauled in four passes for touchdowns. Maddox Horner had a solid day on the ground, too, with 11 carries for 151 yards and two scores … Marshall led, 7-6, at the end of the first quarter, but Sparta scored 30 unanswered points over the next three periods to roll to the win. The Bulldogs collected 417 yards in the air. Marshall countered with a more balanced attack of 260 yards (152 yards passing, 108 rushing). Lions quarterback Luke Brodie finished 12-of-22 in the air… After a scoreless first quarter, Benton opened up against Robinson, 21-6, in the second, and by the end of the third frame built a commanding 48-6 lead. Senior running back Josh Crouse led Robinson on the ground with 84 yards on 18 carries… Two-time defending LIC champ Olney fell to 0-2 on the season when ancient rival Salem scored a touchdown with 19 seconds remaining. The PAT then put the visiting Wildcats over the top. The loss spoiled the home opener at Olney’s brand new stadium with an artificial turf field… Undefeated Eastland shook off the effects of a 313-mile trek to Lawrenceville with a 50-0 victory over the Indians on Saturday afternoon.

Some of the statistics used in this report are unofficial.