IC Catholic Prep (12-0) at Monticello (12-0)
What: Semifinals of the Class 3A state football playoffs
When: Likely Saturday; Check www.ihsa.org for official date and time.
Where: Monticello High School
Seeds: IC Catholic Prep is the No. 1 seed in the top half of the Class 3A bracket; Monticello is the No. 6 seed in the bottom half of the Class 3A bracket.
Last week: IC Catholic Prep 48, Wilmington 14; Monticello 48, Farmington 17
Outlook: IC Catholic Prep is in the state semifinals for a second year in a row after racking up nearly 500 rushing yards in its quarterfinal win against Wilmington. Jordan Rowell and quarterback Luke Ricobene each ran for 200 yards in the win. Rowell has a shot at 2,000 rushing yards depending on how things shake out the rest of the season. He’s at 1,723 on only 122 carries (30 touchdowns). Lost in all the hoopla over IC Catholic Prep’s destruction of teams on offense is the fact its defense has surrendered 22 points total in the three playoff contests. Monticello, located in east-central Illinois between Decatur and Champaign, also brings an undefeated record into the game. Monticello played four teams during the regular season that either had winning records or finished the season 5-5 (two with winning records and two with .500 records). Once again, these two teams have a common opponent in St. Joe-Ogden. IC Catholic Prep defeated St. Joe-Ogden 49-8 in the first round of the playoffs while Monticello downed St. Joe-Ogden 44-22 during the regular season.
Up next: The winner heads to the Class 3A state-championship game the day after Thanksgiving in Champaign.
