By Greg Halbleib
The final intercity match-up of the regular season highlights Week 6 of high school football.
Bloomington (3-2) visits Normal West (1-4) as the featured game of the Friday Night Extravaganza. Both squads are coming off Week 5 losses, with Bloomington losing at home to Peoria 68-34 and the host Wildcats falling 45-14 at Danville.
Purple Raiders coach Joe Walters said his team knows what’s at stake.
“It is a big week because we need to have that fourth win with those last three games in front of us,” Walters said. “We don’t want to be looking for those last couple of wins with a couple of games left. I told the kids this was a playoff game because if we don’t see it that way, there won’t be any playoff games.”
Normal West coach Darren Hess said his Wildcats are better than their record.
“We are definitely not a 1-4 football team but that where our plight is,” Hess said. “We just keep waiting for us to turn the corner and have all three segments working together.”
U-High (1-4) carries the same message as the last few weeks from coach Trevor Von Breuchenhein in their Corn Belt Conference contest at winless Olympia.
“We’re going to keep preaching the same message and hopefully the guys still believe in it,” said Von Breuchenhein. “If they do believe in it and do what they’re asked, we’re going to put ourselves in a position to win some football games. That hasn’t been the result we’ve wanted so far in the football season.”
Central Catholic (4-1) hosts the Grey Ghosts of Illinois Valley Central (2-3) on Friday, and Saints coach Mike Moews says consistency will be the key.
“If we continue to be consistent in our running game, I think it will help open up other things,” Moews said. “Sa’mond Davis is running the ball pretty well, and C.J. Sandoval and Eli Davis understand their roles and have done a good job.”
Normal Community (4-1) steps out of league play with a trip to New Lenox to face Lincoln-Way West (4-1). Ironmen coach Wes Temples is looking for continued improvement in his team.
“I think there are a lot of positives,” said Temples. “But to continue to get to where hopefully we want to go in being in contention for a Big Twelve championship and win some playoff games, there are some things we’ve got to get better with.”
The Extravaganza will also feature reports from El Paso-Gridley (4-1) visiting Tri-Valley (5-0) and Fieldcrest (2-3) at Deer Creek-Mackinaw (5-0). Scene-setters begin at 6:10 with updates every quarter hour and post-game debriefing sessions until 11:00. Updates are also found on the special Extravaganza Twitter feed (@WJBCHSFootball, #WJBCHSFB).
The Bloomington Thunder host the Chicago Steel in the Thunder’s second game of the season at 7 p.m. on WJBC.com.
The Illinois State volleyball team hosts Indiana State tonight. Listen live at 7 on WJBC.com.
