Pinckneyville at Red Bud
Red Bud has upper hand in this opening season series including picking up wins in the last three meetings including a close 33-29 decision last year.
Last season, the Musketeers cruised out to a commanding 33-7 lead at halftime over Pinckneyville. However, Red Bud had to stop two late fourth quarter drives to escape with a 33-29 win
“We know that Pinckneyville will be without some players, but we have to just to play our game for all four quarters,” said Red Bud coach Dave Lucht. “We’ve had some pretty good first halves against them recently, but we didn’t finish off the game the way we would have liked. We have to come out confident and come ready to play. The biggest key to our season will be our defense. We have to stop the other teams from putting together long drives and get our offense back on the field.”
“Against Red Bud, we have to play fundamentally sound,” said Pinckneyville coach Tod Rushing. “We have to limit their big plays on offense. They are a good team and they know how to win. We have to play mistake free football “and hang on to the ball.”
Columbia at Sparta
Sparta fell to Columbia 28-15 last year, as the Bulldogs were plagued with injuries and went on to go 0-9 for the season.
The Bulldogs look to get off to a better start this year at home against the Eagles.
Last year, Sparta held a slim 8-7 lead early in the second quarter, but Columbia scored 21 consecutive points for the difference in the game.
“A lot of people are saying that Columbia will be down this year, but they will stay have a solid team,” said Sparta coach Phil Watson. “They have great tradition at Columbia, they are well-coached and they will be well-prepared. We will have our hands full. We have to play mistake free football. We need to make some stops on defense and score when we have the opportunity.”
Fairfield at Elverado-Trico
Elverado-Trico faces a tough challenge right from the start as they host conference powerhouse Fairfield in week one.
Last season, the Falcons played right with Fairfield through the first half, but couldn’t keep up in a 47-6 loss.
Elverado-Trico trailed just 13-6 with a minute to play in the first half, but the Mules added a late second quarter touchdown and then carried the momentum over to outscore the Falcons 22-0 in the third and 6-0 in the fourth for the lopsided win.
“We need to tackle much better against Fairfield,” said Elverado-Trico coach Duffy Sanders. “Last year, we played a real good first half. Then we folded in the second. Fairfield has a very fast and smart quarterback back. We have to be able to contain him. The Mules also return a fast running back. If we want to stay in this game, we must control the ball and play clock management.”