Wet Week 3 expected for high school football

Posted on September 6, 2018
U-High searches for its first victory as they face Decatur MacArthur at Hancock Stadium. (You Name It Sports)

By Greg Halbleib

Weather inevitably plays a role in football, and the rains hitting Central Illinois from the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon are this week’s example.

Some area games are on artificial turf, including the WJBC Friday Night Extravaganza’s featured game of U-High against Decatur MacArthur at Hancock Stadium and at Bloomington High School’s Fred Carlton Field, where Purple Raiders coach Scott Godfrey is ready for whatever the weather brings when Peoria Manual visits.

“Last week we had to rotate balls in every two or three plays,” Godfrey recalled in the muddy conditions of last Saturday’s win at Park Forest Rich East. “While it won’t be muddy here, we’re anticipating rain and we have to roll with the punches.”

The Extravaganza will also report from Normal West at Danville, Urbana at Normal Community and St. Joseph-Ogden at Central Catholic. Scene-setters begin at 6:10 p.m., updates from all games are every quarter hour and post-game continues until 11 p.m. Updates can be found on the WJBC Sports Twitter feed (@SportsWJBC).

Week 3 high school football schedule:

Big Twelve

Normal West at Danville
Peoria Manual at Bloomington
Urbana at Normal Community
Champaign Central at Peoria Notre Dame (at Peoria Stadium)

Central State Eight

Decatur MacArthur at U-High
Chatham Glenwood at Springfield
Jacksonville at Rochester
Springfield Lanphier at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin
Springfield Southeast at Decatur Eisenhower (Sat. at Millikin University)

Illini Prairie

St. Joseph-Ogden at Central Catholic
Olympia at Rantoul
Pontiac at IVC
Monticello at St. Thomas More
Prairie Central at Tolono Unity

Apollo

Lincoln at Mattoon

Central Illinois

Shelbyville at Clinton

Sangamon Valley

Dwight at Seneca

Non-Conference

El Paso-Gridley at Ridgeview-Lexington (at Lexington)
Eureka at Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland (at Woodland) (live WJEZ 98.9 & WJEZ.com)
Blue Ridge at Macomb
Fisher at Tri-Valley
Heyworth at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
Fieldcrest at Tremont
LeRoy at Deer Creek-Mackinaw

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].

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