The Pekin Dragons 2026 high school football season came to an end in a second-round IHSA playoff road battle with 10-1 Normal West.
Pekin spotted the first 13 points of the game and could not catch up, taking a 33-21 loss at Wildcat Stadium on Friday, Nov. 6.
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Dragons receiver Dylan Anderson scored a pair of touchdowns on direct snaps out of the wildcat inside the Normal West 5. Bray Kormah notched a TD catch and an interception.
Pekin got on the board with 7:17 left in the first half when Anderson powered around the left end for a 1-yard touchdown run.
Pekin’s Dylan Anderson (6) and teammate Jayden Dawe console each other after the Dragons fell to Normal West 33-21 in the second round of the Class 6A state football playoffs Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at Normal West High School.
The Dragons faded to a 27-7 deficit, however, against the powerhouse Normal West team by the time halftime arrived.
Pekin rallied on the opening play of the fourth quarter when Anderson again lined up in the wildcat and took a direct snap, running it in off the right edge from the 2.
That helped the Dragons close to within 33-21 with 11:45 left.
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Pekin falls to Normal West in second round of 6A football playoffs
Pekin’s Dylan Anderson (6) and teammate Jayden Dawe console each other after the Dragons fell to Normal West 33-21 in the second round of the Class 6A state football playoffs Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at Normal West High School.
(MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR)
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Pekin falls to Normal West in second round of 6A football playoffs
Pekin’s Dylan Anderson (6) and teammate Jayden Dawe console each other after the Dragons fell to Normal West 33-21 in the second round of the Class 6A state football playoffs Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at Normal West High School.
(MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR)
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Pekin falls to Normal West in second round of 6A football playoffs
Pekin’s Braylon Kormah (1) snags a pass for a touchdown against Normal West in the first half of their Class 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at Normal West High School. The Wildcats defeated the Dragons 33-21.
(MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR)
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Pekin falls to Normal West in second round of 6A football playoffs
Pekin’s Braylon Kormah (1) celebrates his interception against Normal West in the first half of their Class 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at Normal West High School. The Wildcats defeated the Dragons 33-21.
(MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR)
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Pekin falls to Normal West in second round of 6A football playoffs
Pekin’s Dylan Anderson (6) deflects a pass intended for Normal West’s Marceon Williams in the second half of their Class 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at Normal West High School. The Wildcats defeated the Dragons 33-21.
