Two Little Illini Conference football teams have already reached “playoff eligible” status in only five weeks. Of course, undefeated Olney and Class 1A state-ranked Casey-Westfield are looking for a lot more. As this appears to be a year when the LIC could garner four or more playoff spots because of the leagues’ impressive non-conference start, who will  join them? It could be anybody, because no team is out of it yet after Week 5.  Here is a recap of the weekend:

FRIDAY

Olney (3-0, 5-0) 57, Newton 34 (0-3, 1-4)
Olney didn’t really put pesky Newton away until the fourth quarter when Gentry Hough returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown with 7:49 remaining, but the Tigers did gain control of the game with the first three scores of the second half after a 21-21 first half… Olney RB Xavier Owusu-Gyan (15 carries for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns, one of them an 86-yarder) joined QB Gavyn Cothern (18/181 and 3 TDs) to form an unstoppable 1-2 punch on the ground… Cothern was also 6-of-10 in the air for 155 yards and one score… Newton QB Hayden Mulvey had a big night over the top for the Eagles, throwing four touchdown passes… He was 17-of-34 for 258 yards… WR Dexter Fulton caught two of the scoring passes… RB Quincy Fulton led the way on the ground with 18 carries for 93 yards and one score… There was a combined total of 962 yards of total offense in the game…

Mt. Carmel (3-0, 3-2) 27, Paris (1-2, 3-2) 6
Mt. Carmel shut down the high-flying Paris offense, holding the Tigers to only 88 total yards (62 on the ground, 26 through the air)… that’s four weeks in a row the Aces defense has held opponents to under 100 rushing yards… Meanwhile, Mt. Carmel totaled 447 yards of its’ own… Sophomore QB River Deisher had the best day of his young career, rushing for 187 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, along with a 7-of-7 night over the top, for 106 yards and one TD.. RB Elliott Acree ran for 77 yards on 15 trips… RB Carter Crippes led Paris with 38 yards on nine carries… QB Brayden Rogers was 6-of-18 in the air for 26 yards and one TD, an 11-yard scoring flip to Dawson Rogers… After a scoreless first quarter, Aces outscored Paris in the second period, 21-6, to take control by halftime… One of those scores completed a 99-yard drive…

Robinson (1-2, 2-3) 34, Marshall (1-2, 3-2) 26
Some may have considered this an upset, but Massey called it right (Robinson was favored by eight points going in)… Maroons RB Landyn Bonnell scored on a 13-yard run with 9:06 left in the third quarter to hike the lead to 34-12, but Marshall scored the game’s final 14 points to make it close…  RB Lucca Giannavola rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries to pace Marshall on the ground… QB Luke Brodie was 4-of-9 in the air for 114 yards and one touchdown, a 53-yard scoring pass to Giannavola… Robinson put up 390 yards in total offense…

SATURDAY

#7 1A Casey-Westfield (3-0, 5-0) 40, Lawrenceville (0-3, 1-4) 13

Casey-Westfield scored the game’s first 40 points, only allowing Lawrenceville a couple of late scores… Nick Fouty scored four touchdowns to lead the Warrior attack… He caught two Nolan Clement passes for scores while adding a punt return and a kickoff return for touchdowns as well… Fouty also led the team on the ground with 45 yards on five carries…

This story will be updated as more information is gathered. Some of the statistics used are unofficial.