Records: Bloomington 3-1, 3-1 in
Big 12 Conference; Champaign Central 2-2, 2-2 in Big
12.
Radio: WJBC-AM (1230), periodic
reports
FYI: Bloomington, coming off a
42-8 home win over Urbana, is eyeing its third straight
victory. The injury-riddled Purple Raiders will be
without starting center Andy Malinowksi (knee),
offensive guard Chris Love (leg) and backup wide
receiver Cameron King (shoulder). Malinowski and King
are out for the season. Quarterback-defensive back Levi
Johnson will be limited to defense with a thumb injury.
Champaign Central has been led by injury-plagued running
back Cory Leman, who has rushed for 311 yards. Leman is
the brother of University of Illinois linebacker J
Leman. Sophomore Zander Culver and freshman Jeff Kyrouac
have combined for 416 yards passing while sharing time
at quarterback for the Maroons.
Quoting:
"The whole problem stems from the moving around of
(offensive) linemen who are very inexperienced to begin
with. Rather than walking into a Week 5 situation where
the kids are starting to feel more comfortable, we still
feel we're in a Week 1-2 situation where we're still
learning. I think (Champaign) is capable. When Leman and
(tight end-defensive end Drew) Sharick are healthy, they
are a club that can be a problem." - BHS coach Rigo
Schmelzer
Champaign Centennial vs. Normal
Community
Time:7 p.m.
Place:
Normal Community High School
Records:
Normal Community 4-0, 4-0 in Big 12 Conference;
Champaign Centennial 4-0, 4-0 in Big
12.
Radio: WJBC-AM
(1230)
FYI: The winner of this showdown
between the Big 12 co-leaders will be in the driver's
seat for the league title. Normal Community, ranked No.
1 in the Class 6A state poll, rolled to an impressive
42-0 road win over Mattoon last week. NCHS' attack is
triggered by senior quarterback Omar Clayton, who has
thrown for 555 yards and seven TDs while rushing for a
team-high 194 yards. The Ironmen defense, which has
allowed eight points all season, will be tested by
Centennial's dynamic junior running back Mikel Leshoure.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Leshoure has rushed for 965
yards and 13 TDs for Centennial. He also has a team-high
four receptions for 78 yards.
Quoting:
"Centennial is very impressive. They might have the best
running back in the state and maybe the Midwest. He's
that good. I'm impressed with how they've played so far
this year. They have a solid ballclub. The keys for us
will be just like any other game. We've been
establishing some field position with a combination of
things - kicking, ball control and good defense - and we
need to continue to do that." - NCHS coach Hud
Venerable
Danville vs. Normal West
Time: 7
p.m.
Place: Normal West High
School
Records: Normal West 3-1, 3-1 in
Big 12 Conference; Danville 2-2, 2-2 in Big
12.
Radio: WJBC-AM (1230), periodic
reports
FYI: Normal West ran its winning
streak to three last week with a 39-27 road win over
Decatur MacArthur. Sophomore Darius Bell ran for 195
yards to lead the Wildcats, who built a 25-point lead
before allowing MacArthur two late TDs. Cody White had
18 tackles and Matt Paska returned an interception 70
yards for a TD to lead West's defense. West will regain
the services of wide receiver-free safety Erich Bushong
(separated shoulder) and inside linebacker Jordan
Shifflett (knee). Danville boasts two big-play
performers in running back Reggie Cloyd (470 yards, 4
TDs) and wide receiver Marcus Williams (14 catches, 302
yards, 3 TDs).
Quoting: "Danville is very
athletic. Cloyd and Williams are always a threat to
score and they try to isolate them. We have to contain
them defensively. It's the same old thing for us on
offense. We want to run the football and control the
clock and not allow their offense on the field." - West
coach Darren Hess
Central Catholic vs.
Mahomet-Seymour
Time: 7:45
p.m.
Place: Mahomet-Seymour High
School
Records: Central Catholic 4-0, 4-0
in Corn Belt Conference; Mahomet-Seymour 2-2, 1-2 in
Corn Belt.
Radio: WJBC-AM (1230), periodic
reports
FYI: League-leading Central
Catholic, ranked No. 5 in the Class 4A state poll,
rolled to a 62-0 win over Olympia last week. Running
back Ryan Waldron rushed for 113 yards and five TDs,
pushing his season totals to 500 yards and 11 TDs.
Two-way tackle A.J. Eyre is questionable (shoulder) for
the Saints, who are outscoring the opposition by an
average of 43.2-5.3. Mahomet-Seymour got back to .500
with a 42-7 victory over previously unbeaten Rochester.
Josh Porter rushed for 195 yards and two TDs to lead the
Bulldogs, and Jonathan Smith added 94 yards and two TDs.
The Bulldogs' losses have come to Prairie Central and
Pontiac.
Quoting: "They're definitely
going to be the best team we've played. They're 2-2 but
their two losses were to very good football teams. We
know we're stepping up a notch. I've told our kids we
need this game. We have to see what we're made of. I'm
excited about playing a team that's really going to give
us a challenge." - Central Catholic coach Bobby
Moews
"They're a big physical football team. It
seems like they can do it all. They can run the ball
very effectively and throw the ball very effectively.
They're going to be hard to handle. We have to be
consistent. We play well and then we don't play well. It
all depends on which team shows up." - Mahomet-Seymour
coach Tom Shallenberger
Prairie Central vs. University
High
Time: 7:45 p.m.
Place:
Hancock Stadium, Normal
Records: Prairie
Central 4-0, 3-0 in Corn Belt Conference; University
High 1-3, 1-3 in Corn Belt.
Radio: WJBC-AM
(1230), periodic reports
FYI: University
High gave state-ranked Pontiac all it could handle last
week before the Indians held on for a 28-15 victory. The
Pioneers committed five turnovers in wasting a solid
effort by their defense. U High senior wide receiver
David Johnson has 17 receptions for an Intercity-leading
231 yards. Prairie Central, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, is
one-half game behind Central Catholic in the Corn Belt
standings. The Hawks, coming off a 35-21 win over
Eureka, boast a balanced attack led by quarterback Jerid
Coleman (43 of 68, 651 yards, 7 TDs) and running back
Ben Herr (360 yards, 6 TDs).
Quoting: "We
feel pretty good about where we are at this point even
though we're 1-3 because we've had opportunities to win
the last two games. We've just come up short and shot
ourselves in the foot with turnovers. (Prairie Central)
poses a lot of problems for us. There's not really one
guy you can key on. We have to play fundamentally sound
defense across the board if we want to slow them down."
- U High coach Kurt Olson
"Kurt has it going on
down there. What we see on film is they fly around to
the ball defensively. They have aggressive kids and they
do a lot of blitzing and stunting, and that could give
us some problems. They have a bunch of good athletes and
a lot of different weapons offensively. This game kind
of scares us a little bit. It's going to be a good test
for us." - Prairie Central coach Brian
Hassett
Compiled by Douglas Hamm
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