The Monticello Sages enter a new football season as first time state champions and the second ranked team in the preseaons football Class 2A rankings.
Head Coach Cully Welter will have a lot of new holes to fill from a very talented senior class that has graduated. He says over the summer he wanted to see leadership come from somewhere. While this year's seniors were willing and ready to do step up, he says they still have some work to do.
Nic Tackels will take over as QB1 for a Sages offense that revolves around good, quick decision making. Monticello has had a long string of very talented and successful quarterbacks the last five years and quarterbacks Coach Chris Jones says Tackels makes good decisions and is very quick.
The Sages open the season tonight at Olympia. Hear tonight's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.
Week 1 matchups....
Illini Prairie
Bloomington Central Catholic at Pontiac
Champaign St. Thomas More at St. Joseph-Ogden
Illinois Valley Central at Tolono Unity
Rantoul at Prairie Central
Big Twelve
Danville at Bloomington
Normal West at Peoria Notre Dame
Peoria at Champaign Centennial
Peoria Richwoods at Normal Community
Central State Eight
Chatham-Glenwood at Springfield Lanphier
Decatur MacArthur at Springfield
Jacksonville at Decatur Eisenhower
Normal U-High at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin
Springfield Southeast at Rochester
Lincoln Prairie
Arcola at Argenta-Oreana
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Tri-County
Cerro Gordo-Bement at Sangamon Valley
Sangamo
Maroa-Forsyth at North Mac
New Berlin at Auburn
Pittsfield at Riverton
Pleasant Plains at Petersburg PORTA
Williamsville at Athens
Non-Conference action tonight....
Limestone at Lincoln
Cambridge Ridgewood at Peoria Heights
Champaign Central at Metamora
Charleston at Macomb
Decatur St. Teresa at Tri-Valley
Dunlap at Galesburg
East Peoria at Streator
Meridian vs. Oblong
Marion at Mahomet-Seymour
Martinsville at Blue Ridge
Morton at LaSalle-Peru
Central A & M at Westville
Mt. Zion at Highland
Nokomis at Sullivan
Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
Peotone at Peoria Manual
Robinson at Warrensburg-Latham
Rochelle at Pekin
Rockford Christian at Ridgeview
Shelbyville at Seneca (Sat.)
Urbana at Wheaton Academy
Villa Grove-Heritage at Tuscola
Washington at Sycamore
Watseka at Fithian-Oakwood
Non-conference Heart of Illinois:
Heyworth at El Paso-Gridley
LeRoy at Eureka
Dee-Mack at Tremont
