The first round of the IHSA football playoffs rolled through Southern Illinois like a tornado this weekend. Seven of the 12 Southern Illinois entries bit the dust in the first weekend of postseason action.

Granted, not all the losses were surprises.

Two area teams had to lose since the IHSA pitted Nashville vs. Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn and Carterville vs. Anna-Jonesboro. And, Carbondale figured to have a hard time against top-seeded Sacred Heart Griffin.

However, some of the scoring margins were eye-opening.

Who would have thought that Quincy Notre Dame would beat Harrisburg 42-0?

After battling through a tough early schedule that included Mount Carmel, Du Quoin and Marion, the Bulldogs entered the playoffs riding the momentum of a five-game winning streak.

This was one of those games where you suspected an upset might happen.

Those suspicions were wrong.

The Raiders had the reputation of being an excellent defensive team. They yielded just 32 points all season.

But, shutting Harrisburg down completely is a tall order. The Bulldogs had some serious offensive weapons. One of those weap-ons, fullback Dawson Montfort, went down with an injury in the first half and was limited to just two carries.

With Montfort relegated to the sidelines, the Raiders held Harrisburg to just 24 rushing yards.

On the other hand, it didn't figure Chester to surrender 40 points to Red Bud. The Yellow Jackets' defense gave up just 76 points all year, 35 in a loss to Du Quoin.

Red Bud quarterback Jake Hoffman strafed Chester for 375 passing yards.

Like the Harrisburg score, I didn't see that one coming.

Johnston City also took its lumps, dropping a 47-12 decision at Petersburg on Saturday. The Indians gave up 375 rushing yards.

The weekend's survivors were Du Quoin, Nashville, Marion, Anna-Jonesboro and Fairfield.

The survival mantle is most apt for Nashville and Anna-Jonesboro.

Nashville, 5-4, had to defeat Columbia in the final game of the regular season to squeeze into the playoffs. The Hornets were pitted against 9-0 S-V-W-W. It was a matchup that fuels one of the Internet bulletin board hot button topics, the relative strength of the Southern Illinois River-to-River vs. the Black Diamond.

The argument will continue to rage, but I'm not sure any conclusions can be reached. This was a game of inches and could have gone either way. However, on this day, the SIRR team survived.

Perhaps the question that should really be discussed is the equity of the IHSA's co-op rule. Nashville's enrollment is twice that of Sesser-Valier. However, because of the co-ops with Waltonville and Woodlawn, Sesser-Valier has to take on their enrollments.

I'm not sure that's equitable.

At Carterville, Anna-Jonesboro, another SIRR team, defeated Carterville 41-35. However, any SIRR vs. Black Diamond comparison is moot since Carterville will be in the SIRR next year.

LES WINKELER is the sports editor for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com or call 618-351-5088.