QUINCY — Here are the Duerrisms prep football power rankings heading into the Illinois state quarterfinals and the Missouri district championships.

Tier One — Chasing the big prize 

1. Monroe City (9-1)

Week 11: 34-8 victory over Palmyra

Up next: vs. Brookfield in Class 2 District 7 championship game 

The Breakdown: We gave you spot-on intel on Palmyra/Monroe City’s rematch in this space last week, perhaps a bit too conservatively so given the Black-and-Gold’s utter three-quarter defensive domination of its archrivals.

To that point, I did not anticipate Palmyra irking the Monroe City players so stridently with that “Schuck on a Truck” midweek interview. 

To be 100 percent honest with you, I am not sure I heard anything said on the truck bed that rose to the level of such egregious insult, but from the minute I set foot in Titletown Friday (some 70 minutes before kickoff) all I heard was how enraged the Monroe City players were by it all. 

Moreover, David Kirby’s crew delivered on their anger from snap one, not in some faux-offended, “look at me” manner of false pretense; but rather as a team wearing its full fury on its sleeve. 

To the best of my recollection Friday, Palmyra generated a grand total of just two total first downs in the first three quarters against that defense. And one of those, if memory accurately serves, was born of a personal foul. 

Credit Monroe City defensive coordinator Brock Edris a bunch here for wholly stamping out every misstep his group made in the Week 6 meeting. Monroe City did as good a job taking away the edges in Week 11 as any defense I have seen all year. And Palmyra attempting to run against that Bermuda Triangle middle of the Black-and-Gold defense was futile. Moreover, this was as balanced a collective effort as a Monroe City defense had put together in a meaningful game all year. 

Yes, Wyatt Degrave collected three turnovers, yet there was not a singular individual who really outshined his own teammates in the tackling department. Layne Chinn had a nice stand late in the third quarter and early fourth quarter for his team up front. Toby Sapp’s biggest hit of the night came on a kickoff return as his run stopping duties were kind of muted by the effectiveness of the gang-tackling and penetration ahead of him. I spotted a couple of decent solo stops from Cole Hays and Julian Moss, but honestly, the most impressive aspect of this win for Monroe City was the tackling skew.

Credit some of that to Jayden Holland’s natural talent for disruption.

Looking back at my video, I am not sure Palmyra got one passing grade block on that kid all night. Not that Holland himself had to do the heavy lifting after that, but his catalyzing effect in undoing Palmyra’s offensive line continuity was likely the single biggest factor in the nature of the win. Holland is an exhausting blocking draw. You can’t keep contact with him as an offensive lineman because he is as quick a D-lineman as exists in the Tri-States. He goes gap-to-gap as fluidly as any kid you will find in the region. He brings the range of a free safety to three-technique work here and it is patently unfair. It also sets the table for teammates at a level few others can.

Offensively, I addressed the DeGrave contribution earlier, but I was reminded over the course of Friday’s proceedings that the Monroe City quarterback and his head coach are probably as well paired a combo as you can find, given their individual personalities and temperaments. It’s not a surprise knowing DeGrave’s parents, but the fact that Kirby can (and should) coach his quarterback as hard, if not harder, than anyone is something rare and old school in this day in age. There is a sort of chaos magic to it all, even in the moments when player and coach likely are not too happy with one another. 

Granted, it helps a ton to have the most symbiotic backfield in the region there to add stability to the mix. 

Look, there is not a player I enjoy watching more this season than Quincy Mayfield. There are things he can do with pace and timed-acceleration that match or rival some of the all-time greats in our area. But I have come to the evolved conclusion that Mayfield isn’t nearly as effective here without Holland and Payton Hetheriton rising themselves. These dudes just naturally set each other up so well as counterpunches because their top skills mesh off each other. They all kind of mirror the strengths of their offensive line now as well.

Which brings us now to district championship Friday. Brookfield is a very viable opponent and Phoenix Jordan is arguably the most dynamic two-way quarterback Monroe City has sought to contain all year. I would also argue that there is no team less fun to throw against than the Black-and-Gold given the quality of the Panthers secondary. I do really like this draw for Monroe City. And considering how well this group is playing right now, I feel relatively confident in this group living to play another day. 

2. Knox County (9-0) 

Week 11: 72-0 victory over Schuyler County

Up next: vs. North Shelby in Eight-Man District 8 championship game

The Breakdown: First and foremost here, a tip of the cap and all due respect to Schuyler County. 

Due to a rash of injuries and other circumstances, the Rams had just 11 total players available for Friday’s road trip to Edina. And even had they been at full strength, Schuyler County’s fate in tangling with the undefeated Eagles was probably already assured going in.

That has become of late a default excuse to forfeit games in modern high school football culture.  

The Rams may have had nothing to play for but pride and the satisfaction of finishing what they started at Knox County. 

The fact that they did just that as a point of principle should be the rule, rather than exception. Moreover, Knox County coach Bruce Vannoy was quite complimentary of the fight the undermanned Rams put up. The good folks in Queen City should be awfully proud of those young men. 

Moreover, after a near three-week layoff, I know the Eagles were appreciative and in need of live contact regardless of outcome; particularly with the district title game challenge ahead against North Shelby. 

The thing that pleased Vannoy most about his team’s effort in the win over Schuyler County was just how mentally into the game his Eagles were from snap one. There was no looking past an opponent they had already previously routed. That was important, I think, because if you look at the calculus of where Knox County was before the extended fortnight of forfeit/bye week Fridays off, the Eagles delivered arguably their best half of football of the year against their perhaps most talented foe in Lincoln and then had to watch all that momentum and sharpness bleed away from them through no fault of their own. 

That the Eagles were able to pick away eight interceptions (four alone from Isaac Shahan) and generate four quarterback sacks in limited first-team reps suggests the edge is still there. Granted the Eagles will have to ramp it up more than a few notches for North Shelby, but I think there’s some confidence and momentum still there for a team that was as well positioned and dominant as any in our area heading into Week 9.

So what do we make of the looming rematch?

Gannon Bowen’s return obviously makes a difference for the Raiders, especially in trying to better tackle Cooper Clair and limit him from being the difference-making catalyst he has been all year long. It was interesting in the first game with the Raiders that Clair’s two longest runs of the night were negated by penalties. I am not making a value judgement here on officiating, just pointing out how much difficulty a really strong Raiders defense had keeping that kid in front of them. Clair’s stop/start is pretty special, more so when there are just eight tacklers on the field.

Bowen might be the most special natural athlete in eight-man football. Is his explosion to the ball enough to limit the monumental impact of those Clair keepers? I think that is the key question in this for North Shelby coach Kent O’Laughlin’s defense. And I think for Vannoy, who did go into the last meeting with his alma mater fully prepared for Bowen to play, the question becomes how to best counterpunch. We saw Knox County pull out an exotic (the double pass for touchdown) in the first meeting just to punish North Shelby’s defensive aggression.

What might we see this time around? What best unlocks Carssen Hays, Creighton Karhoff and Isaac Shahan if the Raiders sell out against the threat of Clair? I would also argue that in the first meeting, the most impressive aspect of Knox County’s offense was the quality of its line play. Can the Eagles replicate those blocking alleys a second time around?

Just an absolutely fascinating game on tap here. Thrilled I get to cover it in person on Friday.

3. Brown County (9-2) 

Week 11: 16-8 victory over Camp Point Central in the second round of the Class 1A playoffs. 

Up next: vs. Carrollton in the Class 1A state quarterfinals

The Breakdown:  The text message hit my phone just as I was getting ready to leave Camp Point Saturday afternoon.

“Looks like you were right about Brown County all along.”

Would that I were actually intelligent enough to have anticipated it would take the Hornets five extra weeks and two very hard punches in the proverbial nose to become the kind of bully we saw on Saturday.

Give credit where credit is due. The Hornets figured it out for themselves and made necessary changes over the course of the last month and a half. And theirs was not an easy epiphany. This Brown County team on a bad night could beat 75 or 80 percent of the small-school teams in the state of Illinois. There is, however, an implicit arrogance of talent that can accompany that. And when you run headlong into teams that can match your skill and assets, you either adapt and improve or you wither. 

Saturday’s victory over Camp Point Central hinged on the Hornets, for the first time all year, putting their absolute faith in their very talented coaching staff. 

No more rogue half-measures in the trenches. No more individual defensive free-lancing and turning defensive coordinator Jared Hoots three shades of crimson by halftime. 

Simple, direct, mistake-free physical football for as many snaps as you can do it. 

By sticking to their marching orders, the Hornets became the first high school team to beat Camp Point Central at its own game since the Panthers’ 2022 title game showdown with Lena-Winslow. (And no, as a matter of fact, I don’t consider Belleville Althoff a high school team, more like a really well-funded JUCO.)

Moreover, the Hornets took a gut punch right off the bat and did not allow a defensive misread four plays into the game to become fatal. Kale Niekamp’s 71-yard touchdown run had a very here-we-go-again quality to it. And then it didn’t. 

The single-most impressive part of any of this is Brown County holding the Panthers scoreless for nearly four full quarters of clock time. Forcing four turnovers certainly helped. Beau Little’s rip-away was indicative of the aggression with which the Hornets seemed to attack the football, regardless of who carried it.

Hoots made the point on “Muddy Night Lights” to us that all of the great stuff that happened at the back two-thirds of the defense was all set up entirely by Cooper Adcox and Jace Leonard sublimating themselves at defensive tackle to unglamorous tie-up work against Central’s very talented offensive line, almost like sacrificial lambs to the overall cause. And yet it worked. The second and third tiers for Brown County’s defense were really special on Saturday.

And anyone looking to craft a Defensive Player of the Year argument for Trey Fullerton could probably find all the ammo they needed in Week 11 alone. 

Offensively, it was not very pretty stuff for the Hornets, and it didn’t have to be. When your quarterback running over a defender on a 3-yard option keeper becomes the signature play of the day, I think that speaks to the value of brute simplicity. Granted Vince Little also ponied up two of the best throws of his career to set up the Hornets’ first touchdown and a two-point conversion.

For the most part, however, it was just good old-fashioned Wing-T football behind a motivated offensive line. Move the chains. Control the ball and the clock. Save for one splashy Jack Sefton big-gainer, it was all volition and fight. And on this day, Brown County had both in spades.

Which sets up a Week 1 rematch with Carrollton. 

Obviously, the wide-open nature of the Hawks’ offense will be a different type of test for Brown County this week. And to quote Hoots again, this is a much better version of the Carrollton attack some 11 weeks later than the one Brown County limited to seven points to open the season. 

That established, the lesson from last week moving forward here is that Brown County can now confidently view its mission as being entirely Hornet-centric. The opponent doesn’t matter so long as Brown County controls its own controllables. With the Central curse ended, there aren’t any subplots to attend or scores to settle. It’s just minding the details. And if Brown County minds them to the extent it did against Camp Point Central, I am not sure anyone is stopping them any time soon. 

4. Hannibal (8-2) 

Week 11: 48-0 win over Mexico

Up next: vs. Odessa in a Class 4 District 5 championship game

The Breakdown: Muddy River Sports Senior Columnist Don Crim delivered a spot-on assessment of Hannibal’s defensive bounce-back earlier this week. If you have not read it yet, it is well worth your reading time.

Moreover, once you mull over all the supporting statistical evidence Crim provides to underscore how ravenously dominant the Pirates defense has been this season, you might better understand my previously expressed concern for the nature of that Week 9 loss to Fort Zumwalt West. 

That standout linebacker James Wetton addressed the power of that “wake-up” call reminded me just how mature and driven this group is. 

Look, the overall talent and particularly the front-to-back speed of this Hannibal defense rivals some of the stingiest units this region has ever produced. That the kids themselves see both their potential for greatness and can self-correct their missteps is the kind of self-reflection that really raises the bar here. Again, I think the Hannibal coaching staff has gotten more than a little bit lucky here, not just in the generational collection of defensive talent, but that the character and football IQ that backs that talent is rare and special as well. 

We had a clunker performance. And we’ve now taken care of it. 

Poor Mexico withered under that directive last week in a shutout loss. It could be even worse for Odessa.

Jeff Gschwender described the Bulldogs as a very capable big-play threat that has no fear of taking high-risk shots down the field. 

Taking that approach to this defense feels a little like chumming the ocean waters before you decide to go swimming with the sharks. Looking to score home runs at Hannibal’s expense feels like the exact recipe for a five-turnover, four-quarterback sack night. But who knows. Odessa is 9-1 for a reason, so we shall see. 

From a momentum standpoint, I do love the spun forward fun for the Hannibal offense of “The Darrion Washington Game.” I won’t belabor a point I have mentioned here before, but when that dude is making you grab at shadows as a tackler, the entire Pirates offense becomes more dangerous. Washington scored on a punt return, pass reception and a rush to help power his team to 48 total points. 

There’s a lot here to suggest that it’s going to be a very good Friday at Porter Stadium. 

5. North Shelby (8-2) 

Week 11: 50-20 victory over Paris

Up next: at Knox County in Eight-Man District 8 championship game

The Breakdown: If you are a Raiders fan here looking for positive indicators, you have to like how much better North Shelby played in its second pass at Paris relative to their 34-26 victory in the regular-season meeting. 

North Shelby coach Kent O’Laughlin’s crew did a marvelous job in red-zone defense and in forcing turnovers against the Coyotes, two attributes that would certainly come in handy in Week 12 here. 

As a reminder, North Shelby did score first in its regular-season meeting with Knox County. The Eagles struggled mightily in the first half to slow Drake Prange’s power run game. And then, for a myriad of reasons, North Shelby had a handful of mistakes suddenly snowball into an avalanche. 

Knox County sustained its physicality for four quarters in the first meeting. North Shelby did not match that. 

Here’s a chance to change the narrative. 

Again these are two pretty evenly matched teams, and either of the two are capable of going on a run outside the district. I just think it’s going to take something special to win on the road at Edina and break all the good juju the Knox County community has working.

That said, North Shelby is no stranger to high-drama playoff wins or postseason upsets. 

Tier Two — We’ve got a pulse 

6. Bowling Green (4-6) 

Week 11: 54-12 win over Priory

Up next: at Montgomery County in Class 2 District 2 championship game

Snap judgement: It has been a season of peaks and valleys for the Bobcats. 

That established, the Bobcats have found some equilibrium late in the year. They are coming off their most impressive win of the season in a romp over Priory. And now have a puncher’s chance to win their fifth straight district title. 

Chase Buffington has taken to the role of lead-back magnificently since moving out of the quarterback slot. He scored three touchdowns against Priory and looms as a major threat to get free against Montgomery County.

The Bobcats will also have five players in the lineup who did not participate in the 42-6 loss to the Wildcats in the regular season. 

Stranger things have happened.

7. South Shelby (2-8)

Week 11: 29-28 victory over Scotland County

Up next: at Putnam County in Class 1 District 8 championship game

Snap judgement: We told you all not to sleep on a Cardinals upset of Scotland County. And Hudson Gill’s “alley-oop” field goal with eight seconds remaining punched that ticket. 

Colt Threlkeld and Jace McWilliams each added a pair of touchdown rumbles to the cause as South Shelby gets to carry a little wind in its sails into perhaps the hardest Week 12 draw of any team left on our board. 

Putnam County is really, really stacked.

Tier Three —Their watch has ended

Camp Point Central (10-1) 

Macomb (9-2) 

Quincy Notre Dame (7-3)

Palmyra (7-4) 

Rushville-Industry (7-3)

Quincy High School (5-5) 

Illini West (5-5) 

Winchester West Central (5-5) 

Keokuk (4-5) 

Unity-Payson (4-5) 

Clark County (3-7)

Louisiana (3-8)

Pleasant Hill (2-7)

Pittsfield (1-8)

Highland (1-9)

Fearless Duerr Predictions

Week 10 results: 7 of 9 correct (78%)

Season to Date:  165 of 200 correct (82.5%)

Illinois

Brown County 28, Carrollton 8

Missouri

Hannibal 48, Odessa 12

Monroe City 38, Brookfield 14

Montgomery County 35, Bowling Green 16

Putnam County 42, South Shelby 20

Knox County 38, North Shelby 35