After nearly making it to the Illinois 8-man football state championship in 2021, losing to Polo in the semifinals, the West Central Heat avenged that loss in 2022. The Heat knocked off Polo 50-48 in an exciting, Kaiden Droste walk-off 26 yard touchdown run in the semifinal. West Central went on to defeat Amboy 44-36 in the state title game at Monmouth College’s April Zorn Memorial Stadium. Coming off a (13-0) championship run, one would think the Heat football program would think it would be important to spend an exorbitant amount of time in the summer months gearing up for another deep run in 2023. Not so fast, says Heat football head coach Jason Kirby.
Two new teams will enter the Illinois 8-man football division this fall. St. Anne and Donovan will co-op for one of those teams and a school in the Chicagoland-area. The Heat start defense of their state championship on August 25th with a road game at Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland. The first home game for West Central will be in week 3 on September 7th against Peoria Heights.
