If the same treatment were accorded the local teams in today's Intercity Tripleheader, it could trigger quite an explosion.

The five Intercity football teams averaged 43.5 points during last week's season openers, going 5-0 in the process. An offensive show could be on display when Central Catholic and University High kick off the festivities at 2:30 p.m.

Bloomington and Normal Community play the middle game at 5:15 p.m., followed by Normal West against Decatur Eisenhower at 8 p.m.

Of course, the Intercity coaches are hopeful their defenses will be up to the task against those offensive machines.

"Sometimes when you get two potent offenses and teams get in a big game, they tighten up. Other times, it's the reverse. You open up and they put a lot of points on the board," said BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer.

"It would surprise me if it's a high-scoring game," said Central coach Bobby Moews of his team's Corn Belt Conference contest against U High. "They're a lot better than the team we played, and so are we."

Following is a preview of each game.

Central-U High

These rivals easily dispatched nonconference opponents last week at Hancock. U High took care of Farmington, 30-0, on Friday and Central rolled past Chicago St. Francis de Sales, 42-7, the next day.

U High first-year coach Kurt Olson isn't sure if that many points will be scored today.

"They have real nice athletes on both sides. Their defensive line is pretty tough and they have a good set of linebackers who really flow to the ball well," said Olson.

Farmington stayed in a shotgun formation the entire game and threw almost every down after U High went ahead 27-0 at halftime. The Pioneers will see a more diversified attack from Central.

The Saints showed good balance against de Sales with Josh Monk running for 100 yards and quarterback Sean Wieland throwing for 186 yards and three touchdowns. U High must find a way to slow down Central tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, who caught five passes for 110 yards and three touchdowns.

"Central Catholic does a real good job running the football, and their line gets off the ball well," said Olson. "They attack the defense. They have a good quarterback, even though he's a first-year starter. He made a lot of wise decisions last week.

"Their tight end is one of best sophomore football players I've ever seen, and moving (William) Brady outside to wide receiver gives them a big target out there."

Olson said his defensive line of ends Peter Buchignani and Evan Kapanga, nose tackle Brady Wrezinski and tackle Andrew Hall "stepped up and made a lot of plays."

The Pioneers' front line should be tested against an inexperienced Central offensive line that grew up fast last week, according to Moews.

"As the game got going, our line got much better. We had trouble all (training) camp knowing our assignments and getting after it," said Moews. "As the game went on, we seemed to get better. To me, that's a positive sign. It's just a confidence thing."

Stopping U High senior quarterback Nick Chiodo will be the key for Central's defense. Chiodo ran for 97 yards and three touchdowns while also throwing for 59 yards last week.

BHS-NCHS

This game has usually decided the Big 12 Conference West Division champion. This year, the stakes could be even bigger with the league scrapping division play. The winner could have the inside track on the Big 12 championship. NCHS is ranked No. 8 in the Class 6A state poll, while the Purple Raiders are 10th.

BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer was particularly pleased with two areas in last week's 42-7 victory over Champaign Centennial.

"It was watching the offensive line essentially perform at the level they did and seeing the execution at quarterback (from senior Jeremy Peden)," said Schmelzer. "Both were question marks and still are.

"I expect the greatest improvement over a nine-game schedule (from the offensive line). We have five kids who didn't play any varsity football last year, and they did a good job. They essentially got to their blocks without too many mistakes."

Center Mike Kelch, guards Bryce Henneberg and Greg Higby, and tackles Dan Pettie and Erik Miller might be undersized. However, they cleared plenty of holes for tailback James Wade (10 carries for 136 yards) and allowed Peden time to complete 6 of 7 passes for 127 yards and three TDs.

The speed of Wade and wide receiver Brandon Hughes worries NCHS coach Hud Venerable.

"Wade has so much ability to hurt teams when he turns the corner," said Venerable. "I have not seen a receiver run like Hughes in a long time. I think that kid has tremendous potential. He's a prototypical, tall athletic type of receiver. He has impressive credentials."

Junior quarterback Jake Hopper also was effective in his first varsity start as NCHS rolled past Danville 62-33. Hopper ran for 69 yards and threw for 61 more. The Ironmen's ground game couldn't be stopped with halfback Eric Scott (147 yards) and fullback Antoine Kennedy (94 yards) leading the way.

The Ironmen's defense, though, was caught off guard by Danville's four- and five-receiver formations. NCHS has made some defensive changes. Senior Israel Brown will start at nose tackle, with Ryan Jones or Colin White at outside linebacker and Shannon Cobb at strong safety. Cobb intercepted a pass last week.

"Bloomington's defense was probably tested more by Centennial in the run game they we were against Danville. Danville didn't try to run at all," said Venerable. "We're not sure we have a run defense. It's a little unknown."

West-Eisenhower

The Wildcats got the Darren Hess coaching era off to a rousing start last week with a 40-0 victory against Rantoul. Hess cautions it won't be quite so easy in tonight's Big 12 game.

Eisenhower scored on its opening drive against Geneseo, which is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A. Nothing else went right for the Panthers, though, in a 47-6 defeat.

"They're big and physical up front. They go foot to foot, run the option and come to smack you," said Hess. "What a contrast. Rantoul ran six times. We're looking at a team that throws a minimum of one or two passes a game. Decatur Eisenhower always has a lot of good athletes."

West's defense limited Rantoul to 26 yards of total offense. Led by end Jacob Leake, Hess was pleased with the pressure put on the quarterback. Middle linebacker Brandon Laning earned his coach's praise, too, and also intercepted a pass.

"We're moving in the right direction," said Hess. "People were flying around and doing some things we've been preaching."

Although they won't be playing an Intercity rival, Hess said the night is just as meaningful to the Wildcats as the other Intercity teams.

"They take a lot of pride in this night. It's a great night to showcase some things we've been working on," said Hess. "We've taken the first step. Now, we want to see each game become bigger and bigger."

Contact Jim Benson at jbenson@pantagraph.com.