Week 2 of the Illinois high school football season gets under way tonight with area teams traveling throughout the state and region for non-conference tuneups before conference play begins in Week 3. Here's a brief look at some of these matchups.
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CIVIC MEMORIAL AT MATTOON: Civic Memorial, coming off a 50-21 win over Marquette last week, hits the road to east-central Illinois to take on the Apollo Conference's Green Wave, who dropped a 52-10 decision to Triad on the road last week. Kickoff at Gaines Field in Mattoon is set for 7 p.m.
“It's a new challenge for us this week,” said Eagle coach Justin Winslow. “Mattoon is bigger and faster and we're looking at a two-hour bus ride up there for the game. It's their home opener as well, so it will be a big game for us this week.”
While Winslow was generally happy with the Eagles' win, he did see some small items that needed to be corrected. “Going from Week 1 to Week 2 is always a big jump,” Winslow said. “But as always, we're looking to keep improving and keep getting better from week-to-week.”
Mattoon reached the IHSA Class 5A playoffs last year, their third straight berth, under Troy Johnson, with the Eagles handing the Wave a weather-delayed 48-16 loss last year. “It may be in the back of their minds,” Winslow said. “They're certainly going to be fired up for it; coach Johnson runs a really good program there and they're going to be excited.”
JERSEY AT MOUNT ZION: The Panthers, who are coming off a 49-30 loss to Granite City last week, also takes on an Apollo Conference team this week when they travel to Mount Zion for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Braves.
The Braves defeated Mahomet-Seymour in their opener last week and reached the IHSA Class 4A playoffs last year under Mike Popovich, who previously had coached at Bunker Hill.
“We need to execute better on offense and cut down on penalties,” said Panther coach Dave Jacobs. “We need to trust keys and react better on defense and play better on special teams. The really good teams I have had improve a bunch from Week 1 and I am hoping to see a big improvement against Mount Zion.”
The Braves have a strong junior class, Jacobs felt, and is expecting a good contest from them.
“Mount Zion has a strong junior class and really good athletes,” Jacobs said. “They play fast and are well-coached offensively and defensively. They have a brand-new turf field there and it should be a playoff-type atmosphere.”
While Jersey is facing a two-hour bus ride to Mount Zion, Jacobs is hoping for some strong support from the Panther faithful.
“I was excited about our awesome crowd last week (against the Warriors) and I know it would be hard for a lot of them to make the two-hour trip to Mount Zion,” Jacobs said, “but I hope some do. We want every kid to get better and if they do, the team will get better.”
The Panthers' home opener comes next week against Salem.
GRANITE CITY AT RIVERVIEW GARDENS: Granite City, fresh off a big 49-30 season-opening win over Jersey at home last week, go across the Mississippi River this week to take on Riverview Gardens. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. Saturday.
A big 22-point third quarter was the difference against the Panthers as the Warriors, who trailed just 14-13 at halftime, raced out to a 35-14 lead at three-quarter time. “They played well tonight, but we've got some work to do,” said Warrior coach Carl Luehmann after the win. “We have a long week to work at it, we've got Riverview Gardens..the kids are hungry and we'll come out and work all week."
Granite got three touchdowns from junior running back Brandon Bettag in the win as well as a 10-yard interception return for touchdown by Earl Green in the win. The Rams enter the contest 0-2 on the year, having dropped a 38-26 decision to Jennings and a 33-12 contest to Fox (Arnold, Mo.) the first two weeks of the Missouri season.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
