BLOOMINGTON - A total of 10 Riverbender.com area teams learned their opponents and sites when the Illinois High School Association announced the 2019 football playoff brackets on Saturday night.
The pairings were announced in a statewide-televised show on the newly reformed IHSA Television Network, including KPLR-TV 11 in St. Louis, and will also televise all eight championship games.
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In Class 1A, White Hall North Greene drew the number 15 seed in the southern half of the draw, and will play at number two Argenta-Oreana, while Carrollton has the number seven seed, and will host number 10 Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond. Greenfield Northwestern drew the fifth seed, and hosts number 12 Mt. Sterling Brown County.
There were no area teams in Class 2A, but in Class 3A, Marquette Catholic, the winners of the Prairie State Conference, has the number 13 seed in the southern half of the bracket, and visits number four Fairfield, while Beardstown, unbeaten in the regular season, drew the top seed in the bracket, and hosts number 16 Newton.
In Class 4A, Civic Memorial got the eighth seed in the southern half of the bracket, and hosts number nine Murphysboro, with Roxana drawing the number 15 seed, and will travel to number two Columbia. Going on to Class 5A, Triad has the number 14 seed in the bracket, and will play at number three Marion.
In Class 6A, East St. Louis. undefeated Southwestern Conference champions, drew the top seed in the southern half of the bracket, and hosts number 16 Chicago Morgan Park. No area teams were in Class 7A, but in Class 8A, Edwardsville has the overall number 16 seed, and hosts number 17 St. Charles East. The Tigers are again the only non-Chicago area school in Class 8A.
Other Metro-East teams who qualified for the playoffs are Red Bud, the number 16 seed in the southern half of Class 2A, traveling to top-seeded Pana, Breese Mater Dei Catholic, who have the fifth seed in the southern half of the Class 3A bracket, and will host number 12 West Frankfort, and 11th-seeded Carlinville, who will play at sixth seed Mt. Carmel, Breese Central, who has the number 14 seed in the southern half of Class 4A, playing at number three Effingham, and Mascoutah drew the number 12 seed in the southern half of Class 5A, playing at number five Carbondale, while Highland has the number 10 seed, and play at number seven Cahokia.
Dates and kickoff times for all game will be announced by the IHSA Monday afternoon, with all eight championship games being played on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 29-30, at Northern Illinois University's Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
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