Playoff implications abound in our 'Overtime' Game of the Week between Oregon and Stillman Valley.
STILLMAN VALLEY, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — Week seven action plays out this weekend in high school football. Week seven is often a pivotal week for many teams trying to get into the playoffs. Oregon and Stillman are two teams that are trying to earn playoff spots. They’ll meet Friday night in Stillman Valley in our Overtime Game of the Week.
Oregon comes into this game with a record of 4-2. One more win, and the Hawks will have that magical fifth win that will make them eligible for the playoffs.
Stillman Valley is 3-3. The Cardinals need to win two of their remaining three games to become eligible. So how much playoff talk is going on this week with these two teams? How much of a sense of urgency is there?
“What you’re seeing here is one, a potential game to actually get qualified which is a huge deal for any program and for both programs, and then two that chance to maybe win more than five for both of us, so that puts you in a totally different seeding situation,” said Stillman Valley coach Mike Lalor. “So yeah, there’s a tremendous amount riding on this.”
“I think Stillman Valley is a storied program that’s coached really, really well,” said Oregon coach Broc Kundert. “They play a good brand of football. That’s where our attention is this week. If we do what we’re supposed to do and get our fifth one, then that’s like ‘okay.’
These two teams are also in that race to be the best of the rest in the Big Northern Conference behind Byron and Dixon. Both Stillman and Oregon took their lumps against those teams, but otherwise they’ve been solid.
Oregon is coming off a big 45-13 win at North Boone last week. That might have been the Hawks’ most complete performance this season, that despite missing some key players with injuries.
“We kind of knew going in we didn’t really know what to expect just because of having guys out, but we had a lot of guys step up and played really, really well,” said Kundert.
Oregon running back/defensive back Keaton Salsbury agreed. “I thought it was a lot better than expected. We had a lot of injuries, but everybody came in and filled their job well.”
The Cardinals ran into a buzz saw last week at Dixon.
“We had a rough one last week with Dixon, so this week’s a big bounce-back week,” said Lalor. “We know we lost to a really good program, but we’ve got to start doing some things a little better as well.”
Stillman senior running back-defensive back Bryson Vatch expects a Stillman bounce back.
“We played Byron a rough game there, but we bounced back to beat Rock Falls, so I think we’re going to do the same thing against Oregon. We’re really focused on winning this game right now, and we’re coming hard. We’ve got a mentality coming into this game.”
So, what stands out about Oregon on video? I asked Lalor.
“The one thing jumps out is their line plays more physical, and they’ve got some backs that can really run the ball. When they get outside or if they break in the open it’s not just a first down, it’s a touchdown type situation.”
I asked Kundert what stands out about the Cardinals on video?
“The fullback is a really good player for them like they always are. They do a good job on defense of keeping everything contained, so they don’t give up a ton of big plays. Then offensively it’s just, they’re okay with getting three yards every play, and that’s hard to stop.”
Catch highlights of this game and more games on “Overtime” Friday night at 10:30 p.m. on FOX 39 in Rockford following the Tigers-Mariners playoff game on FOX and a half-hour version of the FOX 39 news.
Category: General Sports
