Welcome to Week 7 of the prep football season, as the dash to the playoffs unfolds. Already, 50 teams statewide, including two from the Little Illini Conference, have punched their ticket to the playoffs, with six wins guaranteeing admission. There are an additional 75 teams with five wins to date, so they are “playoff eligible.” A total of 256 playoff spots are available, so with three weeks left in the regular-season, the scramble is on.

Last year, the LIC garnered three playoff spots. After an extremely successful non-conference start to the season by the league as a whole, some foresee the conference landing four – or maybe five – post-season players. This week’s matchups could go a long way towards determining how that will shake out in the end.

Here’s the lineup:

#4 1A Casey-Westfield (4-0, 6-0) at Mt. Carmel (3-1, 3-3), 7:00 p.m.
Casey-Westfield moved up one spot to fourth in this week’s AP Class 1A poll… Warriors were on the ropes last week, before rallying from 16-points down (in the third quarter) to defeat rival Marshall, 50-34… They scored the final 32 points of the game… Casey-Westfield was its’ usual opportunistic self, generating points following an on-side kick and a blocked punt…  Mt. Carmel needs to win out to avoid the playoff bubble… Golden Aces QB River Deisher is 46-of-78 (.590) in the air for 569 yards and five touchdowns… Deisher leads in rushing, too, with 539 yards… RB Elliott Acree has added 483 yards on the ground… Massey says: Casey-Westfield, 27-24.

Lawrenceville (0-4, 1-5) at Marshall (1-3, 3-3), 7:00 p.m.
Lawrenceville has been a good starting team (they had first-half leads against Robinson, Olney, Paris), now Indians are looking to sustain the advantage… Lawrenceville opened the season by snapping a 13-game losing streak by beating Carlyle, 34-12… Marshall has lost three in a row, so the Lions are looking for a win to kickstart their playoff chances… Lions RB Lucca Giannavola is 11 yards away from the 1,000-yard mark… He is at 2,159 yards total for his three-year career… Giannavola’s single-game best was 225 yards vs. Olney…  Sophomore QB Luke Brodie has thrown for 540 yards (25-of-46) and seven touchdowns… Massey says: Marshall, 40-21.

Robinson (2-2, 3-3) at Newton (0-4, 1-5), 7:00 p.m.
One northern Illinois web site has Robinson winning out and making the Class 3A playoffs… Maroons rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to a win last week vs. Lawrenceville… Offense put up 390 yards vs. Marshall…  QB Reese Johnson tossed for 128 yards vs. Mt. Carmel… By the way, add HK to Johnson’s position listing, he was named Homecoming King last week… Newton QB Hayden Mulvey is coming off a 274-yard night in the air (22-of-42 with three touchdowns) vs. Paris… Mulvey leads the LIC in passing yards, with 1,159 (pending his total against Casey-Westfield)… He has four games over 200-yards… He tossed four scoring passes vas. Olney, and three vs. Paris…  Massey says: Robinson, 28-27.

Paris (2-2, 4-2) at Olney (6-0, 4-0), 7:00 p.m.
Tigers vs. Tigers in this one… Paris is one win away from playoff eligibility… RB Carter Crippes rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns last week vs. Newton… Dawson Rogers had 142 yards vs. Lawrenceville… Olney QB Gavyn Cothern leads the state (all classes) in total offense, with 1,958 yards (1,073 on the ground, 885 in the air)… Cothern averages 11.4 yards per rushing carry, and is 44-of-64 (.688) in the air… Olney has won 15 straight regular-season games… WR Ian Panfetti has 415 receiving yards this year, in the top six of Class 4A… Perhaps his biggest score of the year came on an 80-yard kickoff return vs. Mt. Carmel that put Olney ahead to stay… Tigers are ranked eighth in Massey’s Class 4A ratings… Massey says: Olney, 47-20.

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