Road to Champaign: Down to a select few

Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a quick breakdown of six sectional semifinal games area teams will play in Tuesday and Wednesday:

Class 3A

(4) Champaign Central (17-12) vs. (3) Chatham Glenwood (21-9)

7 p.m., Tuesday, at Decatur Eisenhower

➜ What to watch: The complementary pieces around standout senior Chris Bush producing like they did during the Maroons’ 60-54 win against MacArthur in the regional championship game. Bush, who is now third in Central history with 1,556 career points, is a steady scoring presence the Maroons have counted on all season. But Central will need guys like Luke Swanson, David Riley, David Hasenstab and others to keep up their high-level of play if Central wants to reach its first sectional championship game since 2014.

➜ Who wins: Champaign Central, 57-49. The lessons, good and bad, the Maroons have picked up through the course of the past four months are paying off at the right time. Central moves on to play either Lincoln or Mt. Zion at 7 p.m. Friday night back at Eisenhower.

Class 2A

(4) Monticello (18-13) vs. (2) Teutopolis (22-10)

7 p.m., Tuesday, at Unity

➜ What to watch: Which defense falters first. The Wooden Shoes are known for their deliberate pace and passionate fan base. Monticello got a preview of it in early January when Teutopolis left the Sievers Center in Monticello with a 41-37 win. That was the last time the Sages were below .500 this season. A group built around seniors Gatsby Grant, Ike Young, Tyler Blythe and Carter Foran have found their stride lately with six wins during their last seven games.

➜ Who wins: Monticello, 37-35. The trend of winning meaningful postseason games this school year continues for Monticello, with Young, Foran and Nolan Buehnerkemper such integral parts of the Sages’ state runner-up football team. A close win against the Wooden Shoes sets up a sectional championship showdown with either Lawrenceville or Warrensburg-Latham at 7 p.m. Friday at the Rocket Center in Tolono.

(1) Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (32-1) vs. (5) Southland College Prep Charter (20-7)

7 p.m., Wednesday, at Peotone

➜ What to watch: The goal for BHRA all season is making it to State Farm Center in Champaign. They’ll continue their trek to reach the state tournament with a trip north along Interstate 57 to play a private school based out of Richton Park. Keison Peoples, Micah Stanford, Chaz Dubois and the rest of the Blue Devils have met every other challenge this season. Squaring off against a bit of an unknown in the Eagles is the next one.

➜ Who wins: Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, 55-41. The Blue Devils haven’t worn the mantle of top area team all season just for it to end abruptly in a game where a postseason plaque isn’t at stake. One will be at stake Friday night in the sectional championship game when BHRA meets either Joliet Catholic or Bishop McNamara at 7 p.m.

Class 1A

(3) Tuscola (28-6) vs. (1) Dieterich (26-7)

7 p.m., Tuesday, at Red Hill

➜ What to watch: How well Tuscola handles the Movin Maroons for the second time this season. Dieterich — great nickname by the way ­— lost 59-55 to the Warriors on Feb. 15 in the NTC/CIC Shootout in Altamont. This matchup comes on a neutral court again, but this time in the southeastern Illinois town of Bridgeport. Tuscola has a long bus trip ahead, but it also has an experienced senior trio of Kam Sweetnam, Sawyer Woodard and Parker James. Plus, junior Logan Kurtz is playing beyond his years this postseason, too.

➜ Who wins: Tuscola, 61-58. Tuscola doesn’t need an epic fourth-quarter comeback like it did to defeat Casey-Westfield and win a regional title. But the Warriors keep their fans who make the trip to Bridgeport on edge all night until Sweetnam closes it out and sends Tuscola to Friday night’s sectional title game against either St. Anthony or Webber.

(4) Argenta-Oreana (19-13) vs. (2) LeRoy (21-10)

7 p.m., Tuesday, at Ridgeview

➜ What to watch: What fan base gets to celebrate a sectional semifinal victory for the first time in a while. LeRoy is the most recent one to do so, but that was back in 2016 when the Panthers won a state championship. Argenta-Oreana hasn’t reached this stage since 1997 and has never won a sectional title. Sam Edmundson is the go-to option for LeRoy, which owns a 64-35 win at Argenta-Oreana this season. But that was back on Dec. 4. The Bombers, who rely significantly on Damian Gude, are a different and improved team now than they were three months ago.

➜ Who wins: LeRoy, 51-39. The magical run for A-O ends, but the postseason success continues for LeRoy thanks to another superb defensive performance by the Panthers. This allows LeRoy to prep for a sectional title game on Friday night in Colfax against either Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley or Schlarman.

(4) Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (20-12) vs. (7) Schlarman (17-10)

7 p.m., Wednesday, at Ridgeview

➜ What to watch: Whether the late-season run by Schlarman can continue into the Sweet 16. The Hilltoppers are an unlikely regional champion considering they sat at just 5-9 on the season in mid-January. Sparked by the play of Jerrius Atkinson and Peyton Kuemmerle, however, Schlarman has proven difficult to slow down. Evident by its overtime wins against second-seeded Armstrong-Potomac and third-seeded La Salette last week. GCMS, meanwhile, upset top seed Lexington this past Friday to win the Falcons’ first regional title since 2019 and get the program to its first 20-win season since that 2018-19 GCMS team placed third in state.

➜ Who wins: Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, 55-47. The push into March comes to a halt for Schlarman as Brayden Elliott and the Falcons get ready for a sectional title game against either Argenta-Oreana or LeRoy at 7 p.m. Friday in Colfax.