Little Illini Conference football schools finished non-conference play with a flourish over the weekend, with five more wins in Week 2 to bolster its’ total to 11 wins in two weeks. The collective celebrating won’t last long, though. Internal warfare begins this Friday in the form of conference games for the next seven weeks.

Here’s a recap of the last three days of games:

Lawrenceville (1-1) 34, Carlyle (0-2) 12
Lawrenceville snapped a 12-game losing streak dating to parts of three seasons while keeping Carlyle winless. The Lawrenceville Indians spread the wealth around, with five different players scoring touchdowns. After suffering through a road trip to state-ranked Kankakee Bishop McNamara just five days earlier, the Indians regrouped with a solid night on offense, totaling 297 yards.

Isaac Vennard and Blayton Gossett split time at quarterback. Vennard was 5-of-11 in the air for 60 yards and one touchdown on a 16-yard toss to Zander Cessna to make it 14-0. Gossett also flipped a 21-yard scoring pass to Jacek Mickiewicz as part of his 8-for-12, 95-yard night in the air.

Zach Coffey led the way on the ground, with 79 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. Nick Morehead rushed 21 times for 48 yards, to go with one TD.

Lawrenceville’s defense was on point most of the night, forcing four fumbles and two interceptions. Carlyle gave itself some chances, though, by picking off four passes.

Olney (2-0) 31, Salem (0-2) 6
One week after rushing for a career-best 305 yards versus Taylorville, Olney senior QB Gavyn Cawthern set another career mark by throwing for 195 yards in the win over Salem. His previous best in the air was 183 yards against Newton in 2024. Cothern also scored two touchdowns on the ground while throwing for one. Xavier Owusu-Gyan also ran for 88 yards for the Tigers, who have now won 11 straight regular-season games.

#5 1A Casey-Westfield (2-0) 20, #13 1A Tuscola (1-1) 16
In a battle of state-ranked Class 1A teams, Casey-Westfield scored on a pic-6 one minute into the game. The Warriors added a second-quarter score then one in the third period to grab a 20-8 lead. Tuscola countered with a late third-quarter TD and two-point conversion to pull within 20-16, but that was it for the scoring.

Trenton Wesclin (1-1)  35, Newton (1-1) 28
Running back Quincy Fulton scored from the 1-yard line with 2:04 left to pull Newton to within 35-28. But, the ensuing onside kick attempt failed, and Wesclin was able to salt the game away.

Both teams scored one touchdown in the first quarter to make it 7-7, but Wesclin put three more scoring drives together in the second frame to pull out to a 28-14 lead by halftime.

Quarterback Hayden Mulvey had his second straight 200-yard-plus night in the air for the Eagles. He finished 16-of-26 for 222 yards and one touchdown (a 13 yarder to Dexter Fulton), pushing his season total to 476 yards. Quincy Fulton went to the air, as well, going 2-for-2 for 20 yards. He also rushed for 44 yards and two touchdowns.

Wesclin quarterback Cael Madden had his fingerprints all over this one. He was 6-of-11 over the top for 134 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 122 yards and two scores in 22 attempts.

#14 4A Benton (2-0) 63, Robinson (1-1) 0

Effingham 35, Mt. Carmel 14
Effingham (1-1) bolted to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and went from there in a record-setting victory over Mt. Carmel.

Senior quarterback Jaxon Bridges set school records for pass attempts, completions, and passing yardage. He was 30-of-41 for 393 yards and four touchdowns. His first scoring pass, a 55-yarder to Carter Kalber, came 50 seconds into the game and set the tone for the night, even though Mt. Carmel held the Hearts to only 57 yards on the ground.

Golden Aces sophomore quarterback River Deisher completed 10-of-22 passes for 92 yards, but added 100 yards on the ground on 12 carries and one TD, a 55-yard jaunt for Mt. Carmel’s first score of the night in the first quarter, the only Aces score in a five-TD opening frame.

Paris (2-0) 48, Charleston (0-2) 14
Charleston was held to 172 yards in total offense.

Marshall 42, Sparta/Steeleville 12
Marshall is 2-0 for the first time since 2018 after a fast start against Sparta/Steeleville. The Lions led 28-7 after the first quarter and never looked back. Senior running back Lucca Giannavola rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns (one scoring run was for 70 yards), while sophomore Silas Dean added 62 yards and one score.

With the rushing game in control, churning for 325 yards, sophomore quarterback Luke Brodie did not need to throw much. Brodie was 4-of-5 in the air for  58 yards and two touchdowns, both scoring flips to senior Kaden Sanders.

The Lions defense got in on the act, too. They recorded six quarterback sacks on the day, as well as 10 tackles for loss.

This story will be updated as more information is gathered.