By Greg Halbleib
NORMAL – A hearty portion of high school football will be served Friday night, highlighted by the annual Chili Bowl between the two Unit 5 rivals.
Normal West visits Normal Community for this year’s Chili Bowl, the featured game on Week 4 of the WJBC Friday Night High School Football Extravaganza. West (1-2) is coming off of its first win of the season, a 20-0 victory over visiting Champaign Centennial, and Wildcats coach Darren Hess is aware of what his team now faces.
“They (Normal Community) have a veteran team so obviously their expectations are high,” said Hess. “I think they felt like they let one go last week, and anybody who has watched the tape will probably agree with that. They still have a lot to prove, but it’s going to be a difficult task for us.”
The host Ironmen (2-1) suffered their first loss last week with a 21-14 home loss to Peoria Notre Dame. Ironmen coach Wes Temples says anything goes in the Chili Bowl.
“Records are out the window,” said Temples. “It’s an unbelievable atmosphere. It’s something that as you grow up as a young kid you hope to get to play in an atmosphere like this. I think this is a perfect game after the way we played last week. Our attention has been focused on Normal West and getting better.”
Bloomington (2-1) hosts its Homecoming game against non-conference foe Rantoul (0-3). Purple Raiders coach Joe Walters says it’s important that his team stays focused.
“The principle of the week is focus,” said BHS coach Joe Walters. “No one asks how was your Homecoming dance in 30 years. No one cares what you wore to school on Wednesday on Dress-up Day, but they do care how you do on Friday night at the Homecoming game.”
Central Catholic (2-1) hosts Olympia (0-3) with an emphasis on the running game according to Saints coach Mike Moews.
“I think we still need to get better at that, and it will just open up our passing game,” said Moews.
U-High (1-2) steps out of conference play with a trip to Quincy Notre Dame (1-2). U-High coach Trevor Von Breuchenhein says his Pioneers will be looking to put together a total effort.
“We talk to the guys about putting four quarters together, and that’s something we’ve emphasized since last winter during workouts,” said Breuchenhein. “Making sure we put a whole workout together, a whole practice together, a whole game together, no matter what it is, and I don’t think we did that. Hopefully, they’re able to make the connection between not being able to do that and letting teams back in the game.”
The Extravaganza will also feature updates from a pair of Heart of Illinois Conference games, El Paso-Gridley at Deer Creek-Mackinaw in a match-up of 3-0 teams and LeRoy (2-1) at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (1-2). The Extravaganza begins at 6:10 with updates every quarter hour and post-game until 11 p.m. Updates are also on the special Friday night WJBC Twitter feed (@WJBCHSFootball, #WJBCHSFB).
The Bloomington Thunder continue play at the USHL Fall Classic Exhibition in Pittsburgh with a 9 a.m. match against the Madison Capitols. Listen live on WJBC.com.
The Illinois State volleyball team will open Missouri Valley Conference play at Northern Iowa in the UNI Tournament. Listen live at 5 p.m. on WJBC.com.
