The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) recently announced its qualifiers and brackets for its upcoming state football playoffs.
After wrapping up the regular season with a 49-30 victory over Salt Fork, the Central High School Comet football team qualified for the IHSA 1A State Playoffs. The Comets enter the postseason with an 8-1 record and winners of three straight games, heading into the postseason. The Comets finished with the same record (8-1) in the Vermilion Valley Conference, good for second place. The Comets finished the year ranked ninth in the Associated Press 1A Poll.
The 8-1 mark is the team’s best record since the team went 6-0 in the spring season of 2021. The best mark prior to that was the team’s 11-1 record and quarterfinal run in 2019.
The Comets, who are the fourth seed in the north bracket, will face 13th-seeded Knoxville in the opening round on Saturday, November 1, at 4 p.m.
Knoxville finished the year 5-4, a year after finishing 2-7 and missing the playoffs. The Blue Bullets went 4-3 in the Lincoln Trail-Prairieland (Large) Conference and are one of five conference schools to make the IHSA State Playoffs. After 10 consecutive appearances, Knoxville missed last year’s postseason. This is the 24th trip to the state playoffs for the Blue Bullets. Knoxville’s best finish was during the 1988-89 season when it went 12-1 and lost in the IHSA 3A State Semifinal to DuQuoin 21-0.
The Comets are in the playoffs for the second year in a row, but the first under head coach Jeff Perzee. Overall, this is the 32nd appearance for the Comets in the state’s postseason. The deepest run by the Comets were semifinal appearances in 2008 and 2012.
Central will use Go Fan digital ticketing and cash. Go Fan digital tickets will be $7.30. Cash at the ticket window will be $8. Go to gofan.co to purchase a digital ticket.
This game will be streamed live on NFHS.
No spectators are allowed inside the fence surrounding the track before, during, or after the game.
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