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9 games around Peoria we circled on the 2024 IHSA football schedule

adam duvall, peoria journal star
·4 min read
Peoria High's Keon Jordan (40) wraps up Peoria Notre Dame quarterback Liam O'Neill in the first half of their Week 9 football game Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 at Dozer Park in Peoria.
Peoria High's Keon Jordan (40) wraps up Peoria Notre Dame quarterback Liam O'Neill in the first half of their Week 9 football game Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 at Dozer Park in Peoria.

Now that spring sports have ended, high school football is in sight.

On Wednesday, we released the 2024 football schedule for Peoria-area programs. Now, we've picked a game to watch for each of the nine regular-season weeks, based on expectations, rivalries and storylines.

IHSA football schedules: Here are the Peoria area's high school football schedules for the 2024 season

Week 1

Canton at Eureka, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30: The Little Giants make the return trip to Eureka following last season's nonconference meeting. Eureka won the matchup, 49-7. Canton will debut its new head coach Nick McCormick, who comes to the Mid-Illini Conference after being the Illinois Valley Central offensive coordinator. The Hornets will be looking to replace six all-Heart of Illinois Conference players to graduate.

Week 2

Peoria High vs. Peoria Notre Dame, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6: New Peoria High head coach Aaron Montgomery gets his first taste of the PHS-PND rivalry. Peoria High won 44-40 last season before forfeiting seven of its games due to an ineligible player. PND has a loaded roster for coach Pat Armstrong and high expectations following last season's run to the Class 4A second round.

Metamora lineback and kick returner Cameron Nickel tries to find a path through the Washington defense on a kickoff in the second half of their Week 3 football game Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Metamora. The Panthers routed the Redbirds 45-7.
Metamora lineback and kick returner Cameron Nickel tries to find a path through the Washington defense on a kickoff in the second half of their Week 3 football game Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Metamora. The Panthers routed the Redbirds 45-7.

Week 3

Metamora at Washington, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13: Washington, under first-year head coach Todd Stevens, has won the last three meetings by an average margin victory of 23.3 points. This includes the Panthers capturing a 45-7 victory in 2023. Metamora had eight wins last year before losing in the Class 5A second round. Since the inception of the Mid-Illini Conference in 1982, the series between the Mid-Illini rivals is tied at 21-21.

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Week 4

Peoria Notre Dame at Richwoods, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20: The Irish head up Glen Avenue and down University Street to meet rival Richwoods. PND will be playing in Peoria for a third successive week, staying in the city limits six times during the 2024 season. Richwoods won two of its last three games on the field last season and looks to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Week 5

Farmington at Elmwood/Brimfield, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27: The second year of the LincolnLand Conference gets a marquee, mid-season rivalry matchup. Since 2010, Farmington, which pulled out a 30-26 win last season, has ruled the series, winning the last eight in a row including seven in the regular season. The Trojans last won against Farmington in a 141-point shootout, claiming a 77-64 victory in 2015.

Week 6

Tremont at Deer Creek-Mackinaw, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4: Rivalry games are the trend on this list with the Route 9 Rivalry coming in next. Dee-Mack's 46-0 win last season started a three-game win streak that resulted in a playoff berth. Tremont looks to bounce back from a winless season in 2023, having scored 40 total points and getting shut out four times.

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Week 7

Dunlap at Washington, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11: This Mid-Illini contest will go a long way in determining the league title. The Eagles, who suffered a 28-7 defeat last season, will have elite Division-I prospect Mack Sutter on display. Dunlap started last season 6-0 before losing its final four in a row including the final three by a combined 10 points. Washington enters the 2024 season having won 12 M-I games in a row.

Week 8

St. Louis Christian Brothers College vs. Peoria Notre Dame, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18: PND welcomes the 2023 Missouri Class 6 state runner-up to Richwoods Stadium. CBC, which went 11-3 last season, won back-to-back Class 6 state championships in 2021 and 2022. Senior-to-be wide receiver Corey Simms is a Division-I prospect with a bunch of scholarship offers highlighted by Georgia, USC, Michigan and LSU.

Dunlap's Mack Sutter, right, tries to snag a long pass in the end zone as Washington's Andre Lewis defends in the second half of their Week 7 football game Friday, Oct. 6, 2023 at Dunlap High School. The pass fell incomplete.
Dunlap's Mack Sutter, right, tries to snag a long pass in the end zone as Washington's Andre Lewis defends in the second half of their Week 7 football game Friday, Oct. 6, 2023 at Dunlap High School. The pass fell incomplete.

Week 9

Metamora at Dunlap, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25: Could this be the de facto Mid-Illini Conference title game? The Eagles have shared conference championships in 2019 and 2021, but last won an outright crown in 2017. Metamora's last outright M-I championship came in 2014 following a shared crown with Dunlap and Washington in 2021. The last two conference champs — Washington (2023) and Pekin (2022) — both went 7-0.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football schedule: Top matchups around Peoria in 2024