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Saturday,
November 9, 2002
BHS, NCHS still a win away from
rematch
Intercity rivals face stiff
tests in second round
By Randy Kindred
Assistant sports editor
Bloomington High School's 13-0 victory over rival Normal
Community was achieved on a football field ... specifically, the
AstroPlay surface of Hancock Stadium.
Yet, there was a boxing feel to that early September evening. As soon
as the game ended, talk of a rematch began.
BHS and NCHS have gone a combined 16-0 since that Sept. 6 contest. Win
today in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, and they would meet
in next week's quarterfinals.
To coaches Rigo Schmelzer of BHS and Hud Venerable of NCHS, only two
words in that sentence have merit: Win today.
Schmelzer's 10-0 Purple Raiders, ranked third in the state and seeded
first in the quadrant, meet Springfield Southeast (8-2) at 2 p.m. at Fred
Carlton Field. Venerable's 9-1 Ironmen, rated sixth in the state and
seeded No. 2, face Champaign Centennial (8-2) at 1 p.m. at Truman Keys
Field.
"You can't really start reaching to the next game until you've
won this one," Schmelzer said. "I've watched a lot of good
teams not go where they're supposed to go. I'd hate to see that
happen."
And Venerable?
"We know if we look ahead, it means we don't respect who we're
playing and we'll be turning our equipment in," he said. "We
have too much respect for Centennial to do that."
BHS-Southeast
The Raiders posted a 14-7 win over Southeast in the opening round last
year. BHS led 14-0 at the half, but had to hold on after managing 10 net
yards and one first down in the second half.
The Spartans' primary weapon on offense is junior quarterback Nate
Haasis, who led the Central State Eight Conference in passing for the
second straight year. He is 73 of 167 for 1,449 yards and 18 touchdowns.
"He has good height and a good, strong arm," Schmelzer said.
"They attempt to get to the outside by running sweeps, then they'll
fake the handoff and go with the fullback up the middle. We have to be
careful our linebackers don't fly out too fast. They also run nice
play-action (passes) off of it."
Junior Tommie Collier leads fourth-seeded Southeast with 635 yards
rushing and seven TDs. Senior receiver Lance Rogers has caught 18 passes
for 377 yards and six scores.
Neal Taylor, defensive coordinator the past nine years, is in his
first season as coach.
"We're 14 points away from being 10-0 also," said Taylor,
whose team lost to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (14-7) and
Taylorville (19-14).
"Size is the big concern for us. Our biggest lineman is 6-2, 245.
Our offensive tackles go 220, and our center and guard go 200. They're
quick off the ball and they're pretty strong kids."
The Raiders are led up front by 6-5, 275-pound senior Andrew Kernes.
BHS' balanced offense has been paced by junior tailback James Wade
(1,485 yards, 15 TD), senior fullback Damon Mehlberg (634 yards, 12 TD),
senior quarterback Andre Brown (1,434 yards passing, 21 TD) and senior
receiver Chad Olson (17 catches, 496 yards, 7 TD).
"I'd like to think we'll be able to run the ball against them,
and once that's done, be able to work some throws in," Schmelzer
said.
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