Moderator: Greetings to all. Lets get to the questions and see where they take us this week. Thanks in advance to all who've submitted questions. I appreciate it.

Chad, Champaign, IL: What is your take on IHSA amendment proposal no. 11? Will this essentially eliminate high school conferences as we know it?

Moderator: Hi Chad. Great question. It will certainly have a profound affect on football conferences, as we know them. However, I’m not sure it will change much in terms of conference affiliation otherwise. I understand why the subject is coming up, but I’m not a huge fan of the idea for football. For schools like Tuscola and Salt Fork, which are smaller schools in predominantly bigger conferences, it’s very much to their benefit to play the larger schools and work to achieve at that level. Once the playoffs start, they are battle-tested and ready to make a deep run. If you start matching schools in conferences based on enrollments, it seems like for some schools, you will be lowering the expectations as far as what it takes to succeed in the regular season. A team might wind up 9-0, and lose early in the postseason. I’d rather be on a team that was 6-3 or 7-2 and advanced to the semifinals or finals because of the strength of schedule. Also, the fact that there were just four football-playing schools in the state this year competing without conference affiliation indicates to me that there’s less of a reason to change the current setup. I still need to study the proposal more closely, but those are my off-hand thoughts. I will agree that it’s unfortunate that some schools (Mount Carmel, for example) had to schedule six out-of-state schools in order to fill out a nine-game season.

tom, champaign, il: has urbana ever won a first round playoff game since the playoffs started ? iknow that champaign central hasn't won a playoff game since 1982 when tommy stewart coached.hats off to centennial and there program over the years i know they have been successsful in the playoffs many times.i believe st thomas moore will be the one that will have much success in the furure and probably the first team to win a state title in champaign-urbana.i wonder why?

Moderator: Hi Tom. Isn’t it ironic that Urbana — where the person credited with being a ramrod behind the playoffs, Warren Smith, coached — is 0-9 in postseason games? Actually, Central has a longer playoff losing streak, now at 10 games since that 1982 win in which Tommy Stewart was the head coach. As for Centennial, the Chargers have won at least one playoff game in five of the last 10 years they’ve qualified, which goes back to 1995. You could well be right about St. Thomas More. I think it’s harder for the 5A/6A teams around here to be competitive at the state level when they’re not used to seeing that caliber of play throughout their schedule, such as what Providence sees or schools in the Chicago suburbs week in and week out. The quality of the smaller school programs in Central Illinois is outstanding, which helps the postseason success.

TOM EGELSTON, champaign, il: fred,do you think that u of i football is a plus or minus for local football teams? i can see where danville wouldn

't have the same distraction as living here.ther would be more people in community supporting the high school.

Moderator: Hi Tom. I don’t think it’s either for the teams. I think the UI success has a greater affect on the fan base, especially when there are weekend prep games going against weekend Illini games. Fans have to pick and choose which to attend and when the Illini are playing well, that’s a harder choice. Perhaps UI success might help promote overall interest and enthusiasm for the sport among players, but I don’t think it’s anything drastic. Since the majority of the prep games, at least in the regular season, are on Fridays, I don't see the UI football team having as much of an impact as some other factors, such as Krannert, movie theaters, jobs and a general lack of interest.

TOM EGELSTON, champaign, il: do you think danville can beat the rock island-richards winner in second round home game?i believe it could happen which would give them a great chance to play providence catholic in final.

Moderator: Hi Tom. First, to be clear, that’s only a home game for Danville if Rock Island wins on Friday. Otherwise, the Vikings would travel to Richards for the second-round game. Oak Lawn is carrying on its tradition well even without Gary Korhonen as the head coach. The Bulldogs are just an overtime one-point loss away from being undefeated and head into the postseason with a six-game winning streak. They appear to have a more explosive offense than Rock Island and it’s hard for me to gauge strength of the two team’s schedules. I think either opponent will be a tough task for the Vikings, especially a Richards team on the road. Lets see how Danville does against Oak Lawn this week. One of Richards’ wins was 44-0 over Oak Lawn. Saturday’s game at Danville could be pretty telling in itself.

Yates, Danville, Illinois: Most everybody gives the Westville Tigers (6-3) no chance of winning at Marshall (9-1). After having as much as five starters missing from the lineup for several games, the Tigers are now at full strength. Marshall did have a big win at M-S, but all but two of its other victories came against losing teams. All of Westvilles losses came when players were missing and injured. Do you think this game can be closer then some think?

Moderator: Hi Yates. You make some great points. Almost as if you’re reading my mind! I think at Westville, or even at a neutral field, Westville could win. I doubt seriously if the Tigers would be 6-3 had they had their full team together all nine games. They are going to be a handful for any playoff opponent. Now, having said that, lets not underestimate Marshall. They have a quarterback committed to Eastern Illinois University and the win on the road against M-S is a significant one. M-S is a much larger school than Marshall and has won every game since losing to Marshall. Based on those factors, as well as Marshall playing at home, they are my pick to win this week, but I absolutely expect it to be a close, competitive game and I will not be one bit surprised if Westville comes out on top.

Nolan, Saint Joseph, IL: Assuming SJO wins against Oakwood what do you think about the looming matchup against Wilmington again? Since it will be at their place I don't see SJO doing very well as that is a tough place to play and Wilmington is pretty darn good this year

Moderator: Hi Nolan. Wow. That would be three years in a row for SJ-O and Wilmington to meet in the playoffs. The Spartans are a MUCH stronger team than the one that lost to Wilmington in 2008. Yes, Wilmington is good this year. You can't argue with a 9-0 record, but as I examine it, they didn't beat a team which won more than six games and eight of their nine opponents scored TDs. I don't think they are invincible. SJ-O hasn't really been highly-ranked, so they'll come into the game as the underdog and with nothing to lose. That's not a bad scenario. The pressure won't be on the Spartans. My hope, if this game takes place, is that each team is at full strength and not depleted or weakened because of the flu which has been traveling around. SJ-O wouldn't be the favorite, but that doesn't mean it won't be a winnable game.

Coach Pogue, Mahomet, illinois: Tell us about the St. Thomas More football team. I know about Prairie Central. We (MS) were fortunate to beat them. Has St. TM played any other spread style teams?

Moderator: Hi Coach. I’ve only had the opportunity to see St. Thomas More once (against St. Joseph-Ogden), so I am not sure about what all they’ve come up against overall this season. I don’t doubt Prairie Central’s capabilities at all, especially after the Hawks lost on the road by a point to Breese. I’ve wrestled which way to pick this game because I truly think it’s a tossup. It is very difficult to be successful against a good spread team when you haven't seen it in advance to get a good idea of what you're up against. Best wishes to your team.

Tony, Villa Grove, IL: Is there a way to eliminate teams from having to play conference rivals in the first round? I like that my Blue Devils get a shot at avenging the earlier game against Tri-County, but I would prefer to see how they do against nonconference opponents.

Moderator: Hi Tony. I am with you 100 percent. However, the answer is no, it is not possible. Some people think the IHSA matches teams up how they want. That is not the case. The only decision actually made by the IHSA is whether to divide teams into quadrants of eight teams or quadrants of 16 teams. That decision is based on the amount of travel if they use a 16-team quadrant. From there, teams are matched up based on seedings, which are determined by a school’s record first and then by playoff points (total wins by an opponent). In a 16-team quadrant, such as what Villa Grove is in in Class 1A, you would expect the sixth-seeded team (which is Villa Grove) to open with the 11th-seeded team (which is Tri-County). That’s how that matchup was created. I agree that it is always best to at least play one postseason game against an opponent not from your conference, but the way the system is currently set up, that possibility will continue to exist.

tom, champaign, il: i will say that 1n 1981 when mike white was coach i went to see him to have a couple players attend my 8th grade banquet which he did,2 starters.and he talked about 30 minutes about youth football.

Moderator: It's not unusual to hear stories about UI coaches and players making appearances in the community. It's a goodwill thing and shows their community involvement and commitment. Some coaches are more personable and willing to do those things than others. When young players get to see some of their heroes up close, it's almost always a good thing.

Moderator: Thanks to all for the questions. We'll shut this down for the week and return again next Thursday.