Yet the Purple Raiders are certain about one thing.

"As far as how they compare to Mount Carmel (from last year), that's two different things," said BHS wide receiver/cornerback Brandon Hughes. "Not to take away from their talent and skill, but they're not as good as Mount Carmel."

Mount Carmel handed BHS a 31-0 defeat in last year's Class 6A championship game. To get back to the 6A title contest, BHS (12-0) will have to beat St. Rita (10-1) on its AstroPlay surface in a 7 o'clock semifinal game at Doyle Stadium.

"Our kids are not dumb. They've looked at the videotapes. They know what they see," said BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer. "What they're seeing is a team that's very good, has very few weakness but they're not the Mount Carmel we faced last year.

"They are a team that has a good-looking offensive line, a nice-looking running back and a QB who can be very good, but they don't need him to be. If we can slow or stop the run, their quarterback and receivers do a nice enough job. That's where our defense might get stretched."

There will be two pretty good Wades carrying the football tonight.

BHS senior tailback James Wade has gained 1,872 yards, while St. Rita junior Wade Weyer has piled up 2,056 yards and 25 touchdowns. Weyer is a workhorse for the Mustangs, carrying 302 times -- or 96 more than James Wade.

In last week's 28-20 quarterfinal victory against Lisle Benet, Weyer had 47 carries for 209 yards.

"He's got some good speed. He's very instinctive, very quick to make cuts and reads his blocks well," said St. Rita coach Todd Kuska. "He runs behind an offensive line that does a great job. That's why we're able to eat up big chunks (of yards and time)."

St. Rita senior quarterback Mike Cummings has completed 76 of 139 attempts for 1,114 yards and 11 TDs. His favorite target is wide receiver Dennis Maderak with 24 receptions for 431 yards and four TDs.

BHS' undersized offensive line -- where Mikey Kelch is the lone starter more than 200 pounds -- will encounter a hefty St. Rita defense front that includes 265-pound nose tackle Freddie DeRamus, who finished fourth in last year's Class AA State Wrestling Tournament.

"Our kids are quick, though. They'll come out and stick you," said Schmelzer.

The Raiders believe they may have more speed than St. Rita. That would be especially useful on the AstroPlay surface. BHS practiced at Illinois State's Hancock Stadium on Thursday.

"If the kids can run the plays we've diagrammed and seen in the past, we can create match-ups where ... the only person not accounted for is that free safety," said Schmelzer. "His job is to fill in, and Wade's job is to get to the corner. I like those odds."

Like Mount Carmel, St. Rita has no two-way starters. BHS has five players doing double duty.

"That's more an advantage at the beginning of the year because guys are not in playing shape," said Kuska, whose team's only loss was a 12-7 setback to Providence. "At this point of the season, they're used to it. They've been doing it 12 weeks. It's not like they'll run out of gas this week rather than last week."

The Raiders will be without sophomore free safety Dustin Kelly, who suffered a concussion last week. Another sophomore, Brent Holtz, will take over. Holtz was a starter earlier this season before a knee injury.

BHS standout fullback/linebacker Justin Harrison, who has scored the Raiders' last six touchdowns, sounds confident the Raiders will be playing next week.

"St. Rita is a good team, but we can play with anybody, no matter who you are or where you're from," said Harrison. "Just because they're upstate, we'll take it to them like any team in our conference."

Contact Jim Benson at jbenson@pantagraph.com