BHS
vs. St. Louis University
• When: 7 p.m. today
• Where: University High School, St. Louis
• Records: BHS 6-1; St. Louis University 5-1
• FYI: Bloomington, ranked No. 9 in the Class 6A
state poll, goes out of the Big 12 Conference for the
first time this season. The long bus trip south means
BHS will leave school at 1:30 p.m. Last year, the Purple
Raiders earned a 26-0 victory over St. Louis University
at Bloomington ... St. Louis University, which has won
five straight games since losing its opener, is coached
by Gary Kornfeld, the father of University of Illinois
wide receiver Mark Kornfeld ... Junior quarterback Matt
Behr has completed 43 of 89 attempts for St. Louis
University for 611 yards and four touchdowns. The Junior
Billikens' top ballcarrier is Stephen Simmons, a
5-foot-8, 162-pound sophomore who has gained 703 yards
on 136 carries ... BHS has lost sophomore free safety
Brent Holtz for the season with a knee injury. Tight
end-defensive tackle Tim McAvoy (knee) is probable.
• Quoting: "They're a physical team with good size.
They'll throw multiple formations at you, and they're
balanced as far as run to throw. They were struggling a
bit last year. They're not as dominating as they were
two years ago. They're finding ways to win with solid
defense and good special teams ... this is a great
opportunity. Win or lose, we get the kids against a
playoff-caliber team and we get the experience of
traveling." -- BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer
Prairie Centralvs. Central Catholic
• When: 7 p.m. today
• Where: Hancock Stadium, Normal
• Records: Prairie Central 7-0, 6-0 Corn Belt;
Central Catholic 2-5, 1-5
• FYI: Prairie Central, ranked No. 3 in the Class 4A
state poll, looks to clinch its first outright Corn Belt
Conference championship. Fueled by quarterback Dylan
Ward and a profilic passing attack, the Hawks are No. 2
in The Pantagraph area with 37.9 points per game ....
The injury-riddled Saints, who are celebrating their
homecoming, are coming off a 14-0 loss to previously
winless Olympia. It was the first time the Saints have
been shut out in back-to-back games since 1986. Central
Catholic returns fullback Eric Bill (knee), but
fullback/middle linebacker Zach Harroun (ankle) is out.
• Quoting: "We've been playing awfully well in the
first half for the last couple weeks. That's given us
the opportunity to give kids an opportunity to play.
Hopefully, that will give us some back- up help for the
playoff stretch." -- Prairie Central coach Brian Hassett
"Ward is one of the best I've seen since I've been
coaching high school football. No doubt about it. He
makes plays or throws ball that a lot of kids cannot do.
You've seen a lot of people defend him both ways --
pressuring or sitting back in zone. I don't think
there's a perfect way. We'll try to change it up and not
give them the same look every time." -- Central Catholic
coach Bobby Moews
Decatur Eisenhowervs. Normal Community
• When: 7 p.m. today
• Where: Normal Community High School
• Records: Eisenhower 4-3, 4-2 Big 12; NCHS 6-1, 5-1
• FYI: Normal Community needs a victory in its final
regular-season home game to keep pace with Bloomington
and Mattoon atop the Big 12 Conference race. Meanwhile,
Decatur Eisenhower can clinch a playoff spot by beating
the Ironmen ... NCHS has beaten Eisenhower the last
seven years, including 41-0 last year. The Panthers,
though, caught everyone's attention when they stopped
Bloomington's 39-game regular-season winning streak with
a 14-12 victory three weeks ago ... The Ironmen are
leading the area in scoring with a 41.6 average, led by
a powerful running attack featuring fullback Antoine
Kennedy (805 yards), tailback Eric Scott (615 yards) and
quarterback Jake Hopper (398 yards) .... Eisenhower
rarely throws the ball. Brett Miller, a 230-pound
quarterback, ran for a touchdown and also threw for
another in the upset over BHS ... Senior Joe Kingdon
will replace junior Allen Hays (severe ankle sprain) at
free safety for NCHS.
• Quoting: "They've really turned it around. They've
played well for three or four weeks. They like to keep
it in Miller's hands. They run a lot of dive and dive
options. They're as aggressive a team as we have played.
They're an aggressive, physical team. This will be a
challenge for us." -- NCHS coach Hud Venerable
Decatur MacArthurvs. Normal West
• When: 7 p.m. today
• Where: Normal West High School
• Records: MacArthur 1-6, 1-5 Big 12; NCHS 2-5, 1-5
• FYI: West will be celebrating its homecoming while
trying to improve its home-field record to 3-0. The
Wildcats are trying to recover from a 43-7 setback to
Bloomington last week ... MacArthur boosts one of the
state's top players in tailback Akeem Topps, who has
rushed for 1,358 yards and 12 TDs. Sophomore tailback
Josh Lacombe leads West with 354 yards rushing ... West
owns a 6-2 all-time record against MacArthur.
• Quoting: "We've played well at home and have to
capitalize on that. Our goal now is to stay focused and
win four games. It starts with MacArthur. We want to be
at Bloomington's level, but right now we're happy to be
playing as a team. MacArthur has great athletes. It's a
team we should able to play with and compete with. We're
moving slowly, but surely, in the right direction. The
kids have responded all year." -- West coach Darren Hess
University High vs. Olympia
• When: 7:45 p.m. today
• Where: Olympia High School, Stanford
• Records: U High 4-3, 3-3 Corn Belt; Olympia 1-6,
1-5
• FYI: U High will try to snap a two-game losing
streak in its quest to clinch a playoff berth. Last
week, Pontiac handed the Pioneers a 35-20 setback ...
Olympia, which will be holding its Senior Night, is
coming off its first victory. The Spartans blitzed
Central Catholic early and often while registering a
14-0 triumph ... U High quarterback Nick Chiodo missed
last week's game with a groin injury. It will be a
game-time decision on whether Chiodo can play tonight,
according to U High coach Kurt Olson ... Caleb
Schmidgall ran for 73 yards for Olympia last week and
also scored two touchdowns, the first on a 57-yard
interception return.
• Quoting: "We're still a little banged up. Against
Pontiac, the kids played with a lot of intensity and
heart for four quarters. We're still making execution
mistakes. We have to focus on this week. We know Olympia
will be a tough game. Any game in the conference is. It
will be a huge challenge for our linemen to pick up all
their blitzes." -- U High coach Kurt Olson
"The kids have more bounce in their step and more
confidence. Hopefully, it will carry over. We fully
expect Chiodo to be 100 percent and ready to go. I know
Nick and his family well enough to know he'll ready to
play. We were a little more aggressive last week. I
thought our kids attacked more. We tackled a lot
better." -- Olympia coach Mike Goodwin
