Streaks, Tornadoes, Titans, Cougars — See Week 1 football matchups that caught our eye
The high school football season will begin in less than four weeks in Illinois.
Teams will start practice officially on Monday, Aug. 8, and they'll play their first games just over two weeks after that.
After examining the Week 1 schedules for the Galesburg-area squads still playing 11-man football in The Register-Mail's coverage area, here are five that caught our attention:
More:Takeaways on Monmouth-Roseville, ROWVA/Williamsfield and United from joint football workout
Galesburg at Dunlap
Galesburg opened the 2021 season with a 7-6 home loss to Dunlap, and the Silver Streaks dropped two more games after that before they were able to secure their first victory under Derrek Blackwell, who took over the program last June after a dozen seasons as an assistant coach.
Galesburg went 4-2 overall to close things out last fall to finish with a 4-5 overall mark, and three of the five losses were by four points or fewer. Blackwell and company hit the road to face the Eagles this season, and revenge is on the Streaks' minds.
More:From football, to basketball, to track, Galesburg-area sports facilities get updates
Dunlap went 5-5 in 2021, and the Eagles fell 28-20 to the Indians of Mascoutah in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. Galesburg didn't make the postseason.
Abingdon-Avon at ROWVA/Williamsfield
Grant Gullstrand coaches the Cougars, and they finished with a 2-7 mark last fall. ROWVA/Williamsfield opened 2021 with a 40-12 road loss to Abingdon-Avon. The Cougars will take on the Tornadoes in Oneida to open the 2022 season.
A-Town closed out the regular season with a 40-26 home loss to United, and an 8-1 overall mark in the regular season in 2021. After falling to the Red Storm, the Tornadoes, who are mentored by Rick Quinn, won a pair of playoff games before having their season end in a 51-12 loss to the Mustangs of Ridgeview/Lexington in the Class 1A quarterfinals.
LVC Miners at Havana
Lewistown, Spoon River Valley and Cuba have teamed up to form the LVC Miners, and they'll open the 2022 season at Havana.
North Fulton (Valley and Cuba) didn’t field a varsity team last fall while the Indians went 2-7 overall in 2021. The Ducks opened 2021 with a 22-6 win over Lewistown, and Havana went winless after that to finish the season with an 1-8 overall mark.
Check out: When does the high school football season begin?
Monmouth-Roseville vs Kewanee
The Jeremy Adolphson coached Monmouth-Roseville Titans will face the Kewanee Boilermakers in Week 1 to open 2022, and they'll square off at Sunny Lane Field.
Mon-Rose fell at Kewanee 42-8 to open the 2021 season, and the Titans went on a six game winning streak afterwards and qualified for the playoffs with a 6-3 record. Mon-Rose fell to Elmhurst IC Catholic 55-8 in Class 3A action in the first round of the postseason.
The Boilermakers went 9-2 in 2021, and they advanced into the second round of the playoffs in Class 4A. A 48-21 loss to Chicago Phillips ended Kewanee's season.
United vs Annawan/Wethersfield
In rural Monmouth, United will face Annawan/Wethersfield to open the 2022 season. The Red Storm, who are guided by David Milroy, opened last fall with a 32-12 road loss to the A/W Titans. United held a 1-3 mark after the first four weeks in 2021 before securing five straight wins and securing a spot in the playoffs.
A 14-8 loss to the Tornadoes in the first round of the playoffs put an end to A/W’s season last fall, and the Titans went 5-5 overall. United suffered a 35-26 loss to Iroquois West in a Class 1A meeting in Week 10 to end 2021.
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Here's 5 Week 1 IHSA football affairs we'll be keeping our eyes on
