By Greg Halbleib
A battle for the runner-up spot in the Corn Belt Conference highlights Week 7 of the WJBC Country Financial High School Football Extravaganza.
U-High (5-1, 4-1 Corn Belt) sits in a second-place tie with Mahomet-Seymour (4-2, 4-1) going into Friday’s match-up in Mahomet. The visiting Pioneers defeated Olympia 29-14 last week while the Bulldogs held off Prairie Central 17-6. Pioneers coach Mike Troll said the final third of the season will be interesting for both teams.
“Things are going to play out in the next three games for us and for them,” said Troll. “They’re kind of in the same boat that we are so it’s a big football game.”
Central Catholic (5-1, 5-0 Corn Belt) readies for a visit from Prairie Central (3-3, 2-3), which Saints coach Mike Moews said presents challenges. “(Luke) Sieving is really good,” said Moews, “with nice wheels and really good feet and runs hard. Their quarterback runs it pretty well, too, so we really need to key on those two.”
Bloomington tries to build on their first win of the season, a 69-20 win at Manual, as they return to Fred Carlton Field to host undefeated Peoria. “We hope to put our best foot forward and show our growth,” said Purple Raiders coach Rigo Schmelzer. “We hope to use this as a game to measure ourselves and then allow us to finish well in the last two games.”
Normal Community (5-1, 3-1 Big Twelve) can clinch a playoff spot with a rebound win at home over Richwoods (1-5, 1-5). “It’s all fixable,” said Ironmen coach Wes Temples about the first defeat of the season last week at Peoria. “We were detailed on the film. It’s things we can control and we can do better. It’s nothing that’s void or deficient; it’s just a matter of being better at what we do.”
Normal West (3-3, 1-2 Big Twelve) returns to their home field to host winless Manual with important goals for the remaining three games according to coach Darren Hess. “Our goal is to finish the regular season 3-0,” said Hess, “and get some momentum for the playoffs. In our conference, that’s going to be a difficult task but our kids are up to it.”
The Extravaganza will also include a Heart of Illinois Conference battle of rival neighbors as LeRoy (4-2, 2-1) hosts league-leading Tri-Valley (6-0, 4-0).
With the Cardinals vs. Cubs National League Division Series opener scheduled for WJBC-AM 1230 on Friday evening, the Week 7 Country Financial Extravaganza begins on WJBC.com here. Pre-game scene setters begin at 6:10 with updates on all games every quarter hour and post-game until 11 p.m. WJBC-AM will join the Extravaganza immediately after the Cardinals-Cubs game. Scores can be found on the WJBC Facebook page and the special Extravaganza Twitter feed (@WJBCHSFootball, #WJBCHSFB).
Illinois State volleyball has a Missouri Valley Conference match at Loyola. The Bloomington Thunder will skate at the Sioux City Musketeers. Both begin at 7 p.m. and can be heard on WJBC.com.
