By Greg Halbleib
The two top-scoring teams in the Big 12 Conference square off in the featured attraction of the WJBC Friday Night High School Football Extravaganza for Week 3.
Normal Community hosts Peoria Notre Dame as both squads carry 2-0 records into the contest. The visiting Irish have outscored their two opponents 118-42 while the Ironmen have won their games by a combined score of 115-21.
Ironmen coach Wes Temples said his team has room for improvement despite two one-sided wins.
“I think there’s some all over the place, and one of the glaring parts is that our special teams haven’t been very good,” said Temples. “When you get against teams that are very good football teams like we have coming up, that’s gets you beat. You can’t give up a big return, and we’ve had more kicks blocked this year than maybe we ever had before.”
Across town, Normal West is in search of its first win as the Wildcats host Champaign Centennial (1-1). West coach Darren Hess knows the Chargers will present a solid challenge.
“They play hard and remind me of us offensively,” said Hess. “They’re going to push the pace. They have an excellent quarterback, they’re big and physical up front, and they have an excellent running back.”
Bloomington visits Champaign Central in a match-up of 1-1 teams. Purple Raiders coach Joe Walters calls this game a necessary one to put in the left-hand column.
“For us it’s a must win because they’re a good football team, and I think we’re a good football team,” said Walters. “This is a good match-up for us. At Normal, we were a little out-gunned and it is what it is, but this is a game that you’ve got to go in with every plan on winning. You’ve got to win this game.”
Central Catholic steps out of conference play with an hour-long trip to LaSalle-Peru in another contest featuring a pair of 1-1 teams. Saints coach Mike Moews says the offensive line will be the key for the Saints this year.
“We don’t necessarily have that game-breaker running back,” said Moews. “I think we’ve got three solid running backs, and I do think we have some athletes on the outside that we need to take more advantage of. I think we did a little bit this past week but we really need our line to keep up that effort and continue to get better for us to do anything this year.”
U-High seeks its first win in its home opener as 1-1 Illinois Valley Central visits Hancock Stadium. Pioneers coach Trevor Von Bruenchenhein says the visiting Grey Ghosts present an athletic challenge.
“They’re bringing back a lot of athletic eyes on the offensive side of the ball,” said Von Breunchenhein of visiting IVC. “Their quarterback is really quick, and they’ve got a really shifty running back. In terms of their scheme, they don’t do a lot of things but they do the things they do really well.”
The Extravaganza also will include reports and updates from LeRoy at Tri-Valley. Other Week 3 matchups include Prairie Central at Pontiac, which can be heard locally on WJEZ-FM 98.9 and www.wjez.com, Mahomet-Seymour at Olympia, El Paso-Gridley at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, Eureka at Tremont, Fisher at Fieldcrest, Heyworth at Deer Creek-Mackinaw and Ridgeview facing Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland at Woodland High School.
The Extravaganza begins at 6:10 p.m. with updates every quarter hour and post-game coverage until 11 p.m. Updates can also be found on the WJBC Facebook page and the special Friday night Twitter feed (@WJBCHSFootball, #WJBCHSFB).
