It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Peoria Notre Dame had no problem doing just that on Friday. They pulled ahead with a 28-27 photo finish over the Marengo Indians. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Irish have posted since November 1, 2024.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Peoria Notre Dame to victory, but perhaps none more so than Blake Maxwell, who rushed for 77 yards and two scores on only five carries. Maxwell is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in each of the last three games he's played.
Irish
| 10/31/25 @ Marengo | 28-27 |
| 10/24/25 @ Danville | 54-13 |
| 10/17/25 @ St. Bede | 47-13 |
| 10/10/25 vs Bloomington | 53-19 |
| 10/03/25 @ Manual | 67-24 |
| + 3 more games |
Maxwell was just one part of a punishing run game: Peoria Notre Dame was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 204 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in nine consecutive games.
Peoria Notre Dame pushed their record up to 8-2 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.8 points over those games. As for Marengo, their loss dropped their record down to 7-3.
Coming up, Peoria Notre Dame will challenge Montini Catholic at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Marengo does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
