Peotone’s next stop of the postseason road is both familiar and unfamiliar.
The Blue Devils are in the IHSA quarterfinals for the first time in program history after beating Eastland-Pearl City 21-16 on the road Nov. 7 in Class 2A second-round play.
“It’s a special feeling,” Peotone coach Tolly Tsiamas said. “I’m happy for the kids.”
Peotone (9-2) is no stranger to its next opponent: Illinois Central Eight rival and defending 2A state champ Wilmington. The game is set for 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Wilmington. The Devils lost 48-8 to the Wildcats in Week 3.
For the second straight playoff game, the Blue Devils won without throwing a single pass against Eastland.
Nick Cronin ran 19 times for 150 yards, Eli Chenoweth had 12 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns and Declan McMaster rushed seven times for 31 yards and a score.
Chenoweth and McMaster also paced the Peotone defense with 12 and 11 total tackles, respectively.
Eastland (6-6), located in the northwest part of the state, plays in the tough Northwest Upstate Illini Conference, finishing sixth.
“It’s an unusual place to play,” Tsiamas said. “Caught our kids a little off guard at the beginning.
“I actually thought, of the 11 games we played, it was probably not our cleanest game. We had a field goal blocked, a snap over our punter’s head, three fourth downs we didn’t convert.”
But the Blue Devils were able to grind out one of rhe biggest wins in program history, if not the biggest.
“Our kids have really bought into the system,” Tsiamas said. “
Richmond-Burton 35, Manteno 21: The Panthers (8-4) were eliminated with the Class 3A road loss to the top-seeded Rockets (11-0), but had big games from quarterback Logan Bufford and receiver David Asher.
Bufford completed 24 of 35 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score. Asher had 18 catches for 184 yards and two TDs and Briggs Cann had five receptions for 93 yards.