We have made it to Week 9 of the prep regular season. But, there is a lot left to decide on this final Friday night. Can Olney win a second straight outright LIC title? And how many league teams will make the post-season when the pairings are released by the IHSA on Saturday night? Will it be three (the current guaranteed total), four, or five teams?  Stay tuned.

Here’s the lineup for tonight (Conference and season records are in parenthesis, all time listed are CST):

#4 1A Casey-Westfield (5-1, 7-1) at Paris (3-3, 5-3), 7:00 p.m.
Both these teams are in the playoffs already, now they are playing for seed position… Warriors will be making their third consecutive playoff appearance starting next weekend, and their 35th overall… Casey-Westfield looks to bounce back from a 28-27 loss to Olney in LIC showdown last week… Casey-Westfield QB Nolan Clement was 4-of-11 in the air vs. Olney for 116 yards and one TD… Paris is in the playoffs for the first time since 2023, and eighth overall… Tigers offense powered for 469 yards on the ground last week vs. Robinson… RB Carter Crippes picked up 285 yards on 26 carries… Paris threw only three passes all night… Massey says: Casey-Westfield, 34-20.

Lawrenceville (0-6, 1-7) at Mt. Carmel (4-2, 4-4), 7:00 p.m.
Mt. Carmel has to win to get in… Golden Aces are seeking their 42nd bid to the playoffs in the 51-year history of the state tournament series… Lawrenceville QB Blayton Gossett was 10-of-18 for 125 yards vs. Olney last week, while RB Zander Cessna rushed for 97 yards and one TD on 13 carries… Indians opened the season by beating Carlyle, 34-12, ending a 13-game losing streak, but have dropped seven straight since… Mt. Carmel RB Elliott Acree rushed for 117 yards on 14 carries and one TD vs. Marshall last week… He is at 2,249 yards for his career, woth 27 TDs… Golden Aces have shined on defense… They’ve held four teams to under 100 total yards… Massey says: Mt. Carmel, 45-6.

Marshall (2-4, 4-4) at Newton (2-4, 3-5), 7:00 p.m.
Marshall has to win to get in, while Newton tries to play the spoiler role in this matchup… Marshall RB Lucca Giannavola was held to a season-low 65 yards on the ground vs. Mt. Carmel last week, but is still over the 2,400-yard mark for his career (2,425) to be exact)…Lions looking for their first playoff bid since 2017, but their 30th overall… Newton QB Hayden Mulvey leads the LIC in passing yards, with 1,688 (17th best in the state)… He is 140-of-249 in the air (.562) with 13 touchdown passes… Eagles carry a two-game winning streak into the game… Massey says: Newton, 34-24.

Robinson (2-4, 3-5) at Olney (6-0, 8-0), 7:00 p.m.
Olney looks for second straight 9-0 regular season as it prepares for playoff appearance No. 18 overall… Robinson QB Reese Johnson had his biggest passing night of the season last week vs. Paris, going 11-of-25 in the air for 235 yards and one touchdown… Johnson is within 22 yards of eclipsing the 1,000-yard passing mark for the third straight year. He is also 135 yards away from the 4,000-yard mark for his career. Johnson has thrown for 46 touchdowns in his career… Olney QB Gavyn Cothern has amassed 5,213 total yards in his career… He is 19 yards away from 3,000 career yards on the ground… Cothern has rushed for 42 TDs and thrown for 26 scores …Massey says: Olney, 49-15.