By Greg Halbleib
A pair of programs that met two years ago in the playoffs will meet for the first time in conference play as the featured game in Week 3 of the WJBC Friday Night High School Football Extravaganza.
Central Catholic visits St. Joseph-Ogden as the 2-0 teams meet for the first time in the new Illini Prairie Conference. Visiting Saints coach Mike Moews remembered when SJO narrowly eliminated the Saints 26-21 in the 2015 Class 3A quarterfinals.
“We’ve approached it as this will be the best team we’ve played all year from a total package perspective,” said Moews. “They look really good on film.”
U-High carries a 1-1 record to Springfield to face perennial power Sacred Heart-Griffin. The Pioneers held off Decatur Eisenhower 28-20 last week for their first victory, but SHG suffered a rare regular season loss last week in a 34-32 decision at Decatur MacArthur to also enter the game with a 1-1 mark.
“What a time to get them for our first time,” joked Pioneers coach John Johnson about the teams’ first-ever Central State Eight Conference contest. “I just told the kids, hey, they’re going to be angry, but it’ll be a good test for us and we’ll see what we’re made of a little bit.”
Normal West (2-0) re-enters Big Twelve Conference play after a 41-7 home victory over O’Fallon last week as the Wildcats visit Champaign Centennial (1-1). West coach Darren Hess said the Centennial lines have size with tight splits, but added that he’ll enjoy defending the Chargers.
“I haven’t seen the I (formation) with a tight end in many years, so this was kind of a refresher for me to see that,” Hess explained. “Since we don’t see that all the time, and having to go on the road with a hostile environment, I think it will be a good challenge for our kids.”
Normal Community (2-0) will also face a unique offense with the tight, ball-control formation of Peoria Notre Dame (1-1) at Richwoods Stadium. Ironmen coach Wes Temples said every possession will be important.
“If they run the offense the way they like to run the offense, you don’t have as many possessions,” Temples pointed out. “Last year, we had a lot of offense but six turnovers in a game that I thought our defense played pretty well in and we lost by a touchdown.”
Bloomington (1-1) will be the lone Intercity team to play at home as the Purple Raiders host Champaign Central (0-2).
The Friday Night Extravaganza begins at 6:10 p.m. with scene-setters, with updates every quarter-hour and post-game coverage until 11 p.m. on WJBC-AM 1230 and WJBC.com. Updates can also be found on Twitter (@WJBCSports).
Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].
