Giving the muck and mire plenty of assistance in slowing down the Champaign Central High School offense was a stingy Bloomington run defense anchored by nose guard Eric Floyd.

Floyd's team-leading eight tackles helped the Purple Raiders hold standout Champaign tailback Cory Leman to 30 yards rushing in BHS' 23-12 victory.

"We had to hit our blocks and make sure he didn't get through the line because he is a pretty strong kid," Floyd said of Leman. "We played off the guards and he came right through."

BHS limited the Maroons to 115 yards of total offense until Champaign's final drive while improving to 3-1 overall and in the Big 12.

"The field conditions detracted from what we're both capable of doing. But I felt our defense played well," Raiders' coach Rigo Schmelzer said. "Preventing the runs up the middle by Leman was important. I think our No. 1s showed a good resolve and played intelligently."

Leman had rushed for 499 yards in Champaign's first three games.

"They were keying on him a little bit, but we should be able to counter that with our passing game," said Maroons' coach Dave Jacobs, whose team dropped to 2-2. "Playing a team like that you have to be solid in all three phases, and we didn't do very well on offense. It's a credit to them. They're known for their defense.

"They are a good team without question, but we made them better by some of the silly things we did."

BHS rushed for 323 of its 400 total yards as tailbacks David Simmons and Valshun Powe each surpassed 100 yards. Simmons covered 147 yards on 18 carries, and Powe motored for 106 yards on nine attempts.

A spectacular 60-yard touchdown run by Powe on the Raiders' opening drive gave the Raiders a 6-0 lead. Erin Eti added the extra point and -- after a Powe interception gave BHS the ball back -- booted a 22-yard field goal.

The Maroons pulled within 10-6 on a 3-yard Leman run with 2:32 left in the second quarter.

A 52-yard pass from Brent Holtz to Mitchell Jordan set up a 3-yard Powe plunge up the middle for a third-quarter touchdown.

Simmons took a pitch from Holtz around right end 7 yards for another score in the fourth quarter and a 23-6 BHS advantage.

Thomas Matt's 4-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds remaining capped the scoring.

Holtz completed 6 of 10 passes for 77 yards and added 57 yards on the ground.

"I thought our quarterback did a nice job with the pitches," Schmelzer said. "I'm pleased how we played against a quality opponent."

Champaign quarterback Mike Martinie completed 9 of 28 passes for 117 yards. BHS defensive back Josh Mitchell broke up three of those attempts.