Benton at Pinckneyville
Benton (1-1) and Pinckneyville (1-1) are both coming off wins in week one as the Rangers knocked off Sparta and the Panthers doubled up West Frankfort.
Pinckneyville will still be without its starting quarterback Bryant Shute, but the Panthers’ running game and control of the line play may be the difference in this game.
“Benton has real solid players at the skill positions,” said Pinckneyville coach Tod Rushing. “They will spread the ball around and they will be a real challenge for us. We have to control the ball and limit their big plays. Our defense has to keep us in the game.”
Last year, Benton held off Pinckneyville 14-7. The Benton offense racked up 217 yards on the ground and 87 through the air to improve to 2-1 on the season.
CZR at Chester
Chester (2-0) will be looking to improve to 3-0 Friday night as they host Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton (0-2).
“Christopher is a better team than its record indicates,” said Chester coach Bryan Lee. “The have flashes of really good football but they are lacking the consistency. Hopefully, that lack of consistency is there for another week. They like to blitz a lot, as their defense is high-risk high-reward. We have gained valuable experience over the first two weeks. We just need to go out and continue to show improvement.”
Chester defeated Sesser-Valier 18-14 in week one before shutting out Carmi-White County 36-0 last week.
CZR fell to Eldorado 32-14 in week one and 36-8 to Johnston City in week two.
Elverado-Trico at Johnston City
Elverado-Trico (0-2) has yet to register a point this season and Friday night the team will travel to Johnston City to take on one best from the Black Diamond in the Indians (2-0).
“We have to be able to stop their run,” said Elverado-Trico coach Duffy Sanders. “They have a big bruising full back and a very quick quarterback. Our defense must force them to throw the ball. If we do that, then we have a chance. On offense, we have to start moving the ball. Our defense is doing a great job, they are just wearing out.”
Last year, Johnston City scored the game’s final 28 points to run away with a 42-14 victory over Elverado-Trico.
The Falcons lost 44-0 to Fairfield in week one and 30-0 to Eldorado last Friday night.
Johnston City edged Carmi-White County 22-20 in week one and topped CZR 36-8 last week.

Red Bud at Carlyle

Red Bud (2-0) will be facing a tough challenege in a much improved Carlyle squad Friday night. The Musketeers knocked off Pinckneyville 40-0 in week one and ran past Wesclin 47-15 last week.

Carlyle (0-2) lost big time to Nashville 58-6 in week one, but gave Freeburg allit canhandle in week, dropping a 26-20 decision.

"Carlyle has good line play and they will give us a heck of a challenge," said Red Bud coach Dave Lucht."They have a lot more size than us, and they will try to control the clock and limit our touches with our offense. We just have to outlast them and score when we have the opportunity. It will be a tough battle."

Last year, Red Bud scored the first 34 points of the game, as they cruised to a 34-7 victory over Carlyle.