When Peoria Heights football hosts Bushnell-Prairie City in the Patriot Bowl in week one of the 2024 regular season, they will be doing so with a more profound expectation than in recent years: make the playoffs.
The Patriots finished last season 3-6 (1-3 Illinois 8-Man Central), and found themselves on the outside looking at the Illinois 8-Man Football Association (I8FA) playoffs in 2023. Following a winless 2022 campaign, a three-win season a year ago is certainly a step in the right direction for the Patriots and they only need to improve their previous record by one win to give themselves a chance at the postseason.
“The kids really want to make the playoffs [and] we really want to make the playoffs,” head coach Kendal Parker said.