Conference games dominate Friday night football lineup
ALTON - Conference games dominate the schedule for Week 4 of the area's high school football season this week.
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One key game will be the Mississippi Valley Conference opener between Civic Memorial and Jersey, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. in Bethalto. Both teams are coming off Week 3 non-conference losses, the Eagles and Panthers both falling to Apollo Conference teams; CM dropped a 40-6 decision to Mount Zion while Jersey lost to Mattoon 50-33, both games on the road. CM stands at 2-1 overall, Jersey at 1-2.
“It's going to be a good game,” said Eagle coach Mike Parmentier. “Both teams are evenly matched and they've got an explosive offense; what we'll want to do is control the ball and the clock. They've certainly got big-play capability; we'll certainly have our work cut out for us.
“It's certainly a good rivalry between us and Jersey and we'll have a really good crowd there. I think they'll really have a good game to see.”
The Panthers believe that, had things gone a bit differently, they could be entering the game at 3-0 following a last-second Week 1 win against Granite City and a narrow loss to Effingham in Week 2, followed by last week's loss at Mattoon.
“We're starting our conference schedule with a good team,” Panther coach Jon Adkins said. “We've battled through some adversity so far this season, and the kids have continued to work hard. You'd never know we were 1-2 the way the kids have continued to work and prepare; we've got a lot of really good kids here.
“CM's got some good size, some big kids on their team. We're looking forward to playing them. It's going to be a good crowd there, a great atmosphere for football.”
Camryn Gerhardt lead the Eagles in rushing with 215 yards on the ground so far this season; he's followed by Nick Newell with 144 yards and Rikki Lafferty with 139 yards. Brayden Pierce has gone 11-for-33 passing for 174 yards and a touchdown and two interceptions; Brett Lane is the leading receiver with six catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
For the Panthers, Drew Sauerwein is the leading rusher with 94 yards on the ground and has gone 8-for-25 passing for 162 yards and three touchdowns; the Panthers' leading receiver is Blake Wittman, who has five catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns on the year.
Elsewhere, Edwardsville hosts O'Fallon in the Tigers' Southwestern Conference home opener, the 3-0 Tigers coming off a 49-0 storm-delayed win over Collinsville last week; the Panthers are 1-2, having dropped a 34-23 decision to Belleville West last Saturday. Alton, 0-3 after falling to East St. Louis last week, hosts Belleville East (0-3 after losing to Granite City in Week 3), while Granite City takes on East St. Louis in its home opener (a quirk in the schedule has the Warriors having only three home games this season). The Warriors are 2-1 going into the game after upending Belleville East 63-49 in Week 3; the Flyers defeated Alton 58-13 to go to 3-0.
In the Prairie State Conference, Metro East Lutheran-Madison pays a visit to Nokomis after dropping a 32-6 game to Kincaid South Fork in Madison last week to fall to 0-3, while Marquette Catholic, coming off a come-from-behind 44-15 win over Nokomis, plays a backyard rivalry with East Alton-Wood River at Wood River's Memorial Stadium; the Explorers are 1-2 going into the game, while the Oilers are 2-1, having upended Bunker Hill 44-24 on the road in Week 3. The Minutemen are at Mount Olive at 2-1 on the season, having defeated MEL-Madison in a non-conference game in Week 1 and Farmer City Blue Ridge in Week 2.
Roxana continues its South Central Conference campaign at Charlie Raich Field against Vandalia, having lost to Hillsboro 20-12 last week to fall to 0-3 on the year, while Piasa Southwestern meets up with Gillespie after defeating Litchfield 42-41 last week to go to 1-2 on the year; the Purple Panthers are 0-3 going into the clash. In the Western Illinois Valley Conference, Hardin-Calhoun pays a visit to North Greene with a 2-1 mark, having defeated Pleasant Hill 46-12 in Week 3, while Carrollton is at Winchester West Central after falling to Greenfield 44-32 last week to drop to 0-3 on the season.
As in Weeks 1 and 3, weather could play a factor in the games; showers and thunderstorms are being forecast during the day for Friday, but forecasts are calling for calmer weather during the game times, with temperatures in the mid-70s before storms resume late in the evening.
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