SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — One of Central Illinois’ great football rivalries will get a second meeting this season when Sacred Heart-Griffin and Rochester face off in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
The Cyclones and Rockets play less than ten miles away from each other and meet every year in a Central State 8 battle. On many occasions, including the 2025 playoffs, the brackets align in such a way that rivals get to play twice in a single year.
“To play conference teams this late in the playoffs, and it seems to happen with us in Rochester a lot, it’s expected now,” said Cyclone wide receiver Drew Ward. “You get into the playoffs, and you think you might see teams you don’t know as well, but we know them very well, and they know us very well. So we got to keep out mashing them with what we do.”
Rochester got the edge in the regular season with a late field goal to win 31-28, ending the regular season 8-1.
“We’re going to do us and do it to the best of our ability and try to slow them down, which is hard,” said Rochester head coach Derek Leonard. “I don’t think you approach it any differently, you know, maybe even a little bit easier just because we’ve played each other, so you don’t have to dig as deep.”
The Cyclones are fresh off a 30-point win over Carterville in the second round of the playoffs, and head coach John Allison said facing a rival helps his team focus on the task at hand.
“The rivalry with Rochester and the knowledge of each other, it’s not going to be a game that you have to get up for,” said Allison. “The main thing is, is just focusing on their jobs and not getting to into everything that they do and just focus on their assignments and not making it too much for them.”
Rochester hosts Sacred Heart-Griffin on Saturday, November 15 at 4 p.m.
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