The Carmi-White County Bulldogs will host their first home IHSA state playoff game since 2023 when they welcome the Shelbyville Rams to Harrington-Jeffries Stadium on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
So, who are the Shelbyville Rams?
The Rams are members of the Heart of Central Illinois Football Conference, a league that is only in its third year of existence.
Before 2024, the Rams were members of the Central Illinois Conference. However, the CIC and the Heart of Illinois Conference merged ahead of the 2024 season. The newly formed Heart of Central Illinois Conference features two divisions: small and large.
The HCIC small school division includes Warrensburg-Latham, LeRoy, Gibson City, Tuscola, Central A&M, Heyworth, Macon-Meridian, Fisher, and Fieldcrest.
Shelbyville competes in the large school division, which features Downs Tri-Valley, Eureka, El Paso Gridley, Deer Creek Mackinaw, Clinton, Ridgeview, and Tremont.
The Rams finished the 2026 regular season with a 2-7 record. Thanks to the new expanded IHSA playoff format, Shelbyville was able to qualify for the postseason. However, don’t let the record fool you. The Heart of Central Illinois Football Conference is one of the toughest conferences in central Illinois, if not the toughest.
Shelbyville’s 2026 schedule consisted of:
27-6 loss vs Heyworth (9-0)
32-20 loss at Tuscola (7-2)
48-22 loss vs Downs Tri-Valley (8-1)
34-6 loss at Warrensburg-Latham (6-3)
28-0 loss at Central A&M (5-4)
54-13 loss vs El Paso Gridley (9-0)
Forfeit win vs Clinton (0-8)
22-16 loss at Ridgeview (2-7)
28-20 win vs Eureka (4-5)
Shelbyville has an enrollment of 335, compared to Carmi-White County’s enrollment of 400.
Bill Duckett is the head coach of the Rams. He is in his 11th season at the helm and has a career record of 65-47.
Saturday will be the second all-time meeting between the two schools, with Shelbyville defeating the Bulldogs 48-6 in the first round of the 2016 playoffs.
We’ll take a closer look at the Shelbyville roster, along with what to expect from the Rams in terms of Xs and Os, in this week’s Gridiron Preview.
Kickoff between the Bulldogs and Rams is set for 2:00 PM on Saturday.
Fans can watch and listen to the game on 97.3 FM WRUL and the WRUL Sports YouTube Channel.