Coaches and teams found the inaugural Heart of Illinois Conference football season unpredictable and filled with quality opponents nearly every Friday night. Now, they'll find out just how good the league really was. Three of the HOIC's eight playoff teams face Class 1A first-round games at 7 o'clock tonight.

Lexington entertains Stark County of the West Prairie Trail Conference. LeRoy and Fisher take to the road to meet Little Okaw Valley Conference teams. LeRoy goes to No. 9 Arthur, while Fisher travels to face unbeaten and third-ranked Tuscola.

Lexington-Stark County

Lexington (6-3), the No. 8 seed, has won four of its last five games, with the lone setback a 24-21 defeat three weeks ago at Arthur. Ninth-seeded Stark County (6-3) is coming off a 41-7 loss to top-ranked Aledo, the West Prairie champion.

"Both teams played demanding schedules, both had wins against quality opponents and both rebounded after tough losses," said Lexington coach Don Tanney.

Apparently, that's not where the similarities end.

Each team features a strong passing attack. Lexington's Alex Tanney has completed 176 of 265 attempts for 1,863 yards and 20 touchdowns, while Stark County's Devon Knobloch is 75 of 137 for 1,216 yards and 12 TDs.

Stark County's running game is led by halfback Dustin Weber (705 yards) and fullback Michael Batey (550 yards), while Lexington counters with Ryan Hanes (738 yards).

"Defensively we need to play well up front, tackle and not give up big plays. There's added pressure on our defense because of their balance," said Tanney. "You pick your poison against a team equally effective running and passing."

Lexington two-way starting lineman Zach Freed is questionable because of a sprained knee suffered two weeks ago.

Stark County coach Jade Noard said he wasn't sure what to expect from his team coming into the season with new players at many skill positions.

But with Knobloch, a two-year starter at quarterback, the Rebels easily qualified for their 11th straight playoff appearance. Stark County's defense also is ready if Lexington unleashes an aerial assault.

"We feel as well prepared to face a passing attack as we have in recent years," said Noard. "Playing Lewistown, they threw a lot from the shotgun and last week playing Aledo they have an unbelievable offense."

The Lexington-Stark County winner meets second-ranked Galena or Tremont in next week's second round.

LeRoy-Arthur

LeRoy coach B.J. Zeleznik said the challenge for his 12th-seeded Panthers (7-2) is to keep Arthur's players in front of them.

"They have speed to burn. They put two or three athletes on the field as good or better than anyone we've seen this year," said Zeleznik.

Arthur (8-1), the No. 5 seed that was upset by Fisher in last year's first round, committed eight turnovers in a 14-7 loss to Tuscola. After that, Arthur won its last five games.

"We were hoping to be 9-0. We had the exact same team back as last year," said Arthur coach Dale Schuring. "We felt like we had a chance to win that one (Tuscola) and didn't because of mistakes."

LeRoy is sure to keep an eye on Kody Smith. Arthur's senior has rushed for a team-high 865 yards and a 10.5-yard per carry average and caught 14 passes for 346 yards. He's accounted for 19 touchdowns, including two punt returns and a kickoff return.

"He's a dynamic player," said Zeleznik. "We're concerned with their team speed and big-play ability. Watching them on film they get production on special teams, defense and they make big plays offensively. Our Achilles' heel has been giving up big plays on defense."

LeRoy could ill afford to lose wide receiver/defensive back Garrett Moyer, who suffered a broken ankle last week.

The Panthers, who won six of their last seven games, will try to keep Arthur's offense off the field with time-consuming drives of their own. Rodney Henson (547 yards), Kyle Samples (512) and quarterback Ryan Koerner (502) share the running load for LeRoy.

"They get off the ball really well on both sides and look very physical," said Schuring. "Offensively they don't appear too complicated. It's like, 'Here is what we're going to do. Can you stop it?' "

Tenth-ranked Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley or Carthage awaits the LeRoy-Arthur winner in the second round.

Fisher-Tuscola

Fisher (5-4) thought its playoff hopes might have been doomed after losing 35-7 to Tremont last week.

But previously winless Blue Ridge's victory against Tri-Valley gave the 16th-seeded Bunnies the necessary one more playoff point (victories of opponents) to qualify for its fifth straight playoff appearance.

A road trip to top-seeded Tuscola (9-0) doesn't frighten Fisher coach Matt Leng.

"We're excited to go there and play. Our kids are jacked up. We're not down in the dumps about being 5-4," said Leng. "We've had some inconsistencies, but when we play well and tackle well we're tough to beat, and when we execute well we're a good football team.

"We respect them and understand they're 9-0 for a reason, but we're going to give it our best shot."

Fisher will see an offense similar to Lexington. The Bunnies beat Lexington 20-18 in week three.

Tuscola's John Wienke has completed 119 of 208 attempts for 2,136 yards and 25 TDs. His favorite targets are Joe Vaneventer (36 receptions, 640 yards, 7 TDs) and Broc Winn (28-458-4).

"They're much more diverse than Lexington," said Leng. "They have a variety of formations and try to get you confused. We'll try to keep it simple defensively."

Fisher is powered by the running back duo of halfback Colten Unzicker (938 yards, 14 TDs) and Josh Ingold (820 yards, 10 TDs).

"The way we're playing we're not a No. 1 seed and the way they're playing they are not a 16," said Tuscola coach Stan Wienke, John's father. "That's the way it goes by the chart, but the seeds are a lot closer. Our kids know that."

The Fisher-Tuscola winner faces No. 8 Carrollton or Lewistown in the second round.