2026 Football Preview: Princeville eager earn another playoff berth, prove doubters wrong

PRINCEVILLE — After a first-round loss to Heyworth in the Class 1A playoffs last fall, Princeville football took it personally.

The Princes got in the weight room 60 times between the end of the season and the end of the school year and averaged over 35 players in attendance.

It’s an impressive mark for a school of 185 that is among the smallest in Illinois to be playing 11-man football without a co-op. What head coach Jon Carruthers saw in that weight room — players consistently showing up and seniors regularly helping underclassmen — is something he thinks is the biggest strength of a team that comes in with less experience this year.

“It's really a great atmosphere that we built in the weight room and it's carried on out here,” Carruthers said.

“​​Having to wake up early for weight rooms in the winter, going on into the spring and then having to go to baseball practice or a game, it's not easy, but it all pays off,” multi-sport athlete Cayden Allen, who also plays baseball, said. “I'm in a lot better shape than I was at this point in time last year.”

The Princes are looking to fill roughly 18 starting spots from last year, including many of their skill position players on offense, defensive linemen and veterans in the secondary. They’ve already heard outside noise from people thinking they might be down this year, but are eager to prove them all wrong.