Even with a change of scenery, Cullen Welter gets his high school football teams in the playoffs and seemingly runs into Carthage Illini West a little more than he would like once there.

However, the former Aledo High School head coach and first-year Monticello grid boss knew that when his Sages returned to the Class 3A playoffs this fall that a possible meeting with Coach Jim Unruh's Hancock County powerhouse could happen.

"We knew we wouldn't have to play Illini West in the first round, at least, but Iwas harboring the hope we'd go south instead of north,'' said Welter, whose Monticello squad takes an 8-2 record and a No. 4 seed into today's 2 p.m. tilt with the 10-0, top-seeded Chargers at Carthage's Fuzz Berges Field. "However, that didn't work out for us.''

Last season with the Aledo-Westmer co-op -- since supplanted by the consolidated Mercer County school district -- Welter's club met up with Moline native Unruh's Chargers twice, and Illini West gave the Green Dragons their only two losses, including a 22-6 setback in the 3A quarterfinals at Carthage.

"I didn't think we'd have to play them so soon,'' laughed Welter. "That's not necessarily a good thing, but now we're the heavy underdogs, and anytime you're an underdog, you play more relaxed, with a nothing-to-lose attitude.''

Owner of a 113-22 record, five state-final appearances and three IHSAstate championships during his 11 seasons with Aledo's Green Dragons, Welter is working his magic in Monticello. That program had known past success but had suffered through an 0-9 finish last fall. Welter went in and performed a renovation job similar to his first head-coaching stint at Colfax Ridgeview, where he went from 2-7 his first year to three straight playoff appearances.

"I'd say this is probably more comparable to when Itook the Ridgeview job. When Igot to Aledo, they were already a well-established program,'' said Welter (144-42 lifetime). "Monticello had had success in the past, so last year was more of an aberration. The key this year was getting that first win, and the kids getting that confidence from it. But there's still a long ways to go.''

Without question, upsetting the reigning 3A state championswould be a huge step for the Sages. At the same time, though, Welter hopes his club will take something away from today's game.

"This is an opportunity for our kids to see what the class of 3A football is all about,'' he said, "and hopefully they'll strive toward achieving that.''