And then there were four.
Over half of the Central Illinois football teams still alive in the playoffs were eliminated after the second round last week but four squads won their second postseason game, marking the halfway point to a state title game berth.
In Class 7A, Normal Community knocked off one Chicago-area power in Prospect with a dramatic 52-49 win at home and will face another on the road this week at Chicago Mt. Carmel, who's won three of the last four Class 7A state titles.
In Class 5A, Peoria High ran away with a 52-14 win over Thornton Fractional North to reach the quarterfinals for the third time in the last decade. Detaurion Pollard, Breon Green and the rest of the Lions will also get a stiff test from a Chicago Catholic League power in Joliet Catholic Academy.
In Class 4A, Normal U-High's robust offense gave the Pioneers a runaway 48-13 victory over Richland County. The Pioneers, who have scored at least 30 points in every game this season, head south to take on No. 6-seed Cahokia.
In Class 2A, Farmington overcame a close game with Rockridge to win 14-10 and keep its record unblemished at 11-0. The Farmers take their stonewall defense on the road to face Dwight/Gardner/South Wilmington, who knocked off Farmington's rival Elmwood/Brimfield on a last-second play last week.
You can watch Peoria High's game against Joliet Catholic Academy on Saturday live and for free as our WMBD Game of the Week on ciproud.com. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 1:40 p.m.
Our staff has made their predictions for all four playoff games in the area, along with their season records listed below. Broadcasters for our broadcasted games are ineligible to pick winners for the games that they are broadcasting and will pick the winner of an extra game(s) instead.