After getting smacked by a powerhouse Murphysboro Red Devils team last Friday night (41-20), coach Bryan Lee's Carbondale Terriers football squad meets 8A metro giant Granite City at Bleyer Field this Friday.
"We're probably a little bit embarrassed," Lee said after the game. "We didn't tackle well, and we got our three top running backs banged up. And I think our conditioning wasn't where I wanted it to be."
But the Devils were peppy. They ran for 345 yards and added 73 more in the air. Carbondale's quarterback, Brock Bowlby, hit for only 139 yards (9-17, one touchdown) and was intercepted once. It was a big one. After the Terriers fell behind 8-3 early in the first quarter, they drove down to the Murphy 10-yard line mainly by running the ball. But Carbondale decided to abandon the run on their first play from the 10, and Bowlby was intercepted.
It didn't take the Devils long to realize that they should just run the ball almost every down -- which is what they did. Murphy used the tandem of Devon Clemons (174 rushing yards) and Ethan Finke (109 yards) to smash the Terriers' defense, especially in the second half. Finke had 99 of his 109 rushing yards in the second 16 minutes of play.
"Absolutely, it was Clemons and Finke who made the difference," said Lee. As for his own team, Lee indicated that the air would be filled with footballs this Friday. "From now on, we will be throwing much, much more," Lee said.
Throwing also may be necessitated by an injury to the Terriers' top running back, Austin Dedecker. After a 54-yard kickoff run in the first period, Dedecker was injured and sat out the rest of the game. Bright spot for the Terriers was kicker Ian Davis, who hit two long field goals -- one from 43 yards out. He is going to be a weapon anytime they get within an opponents' 30-yard line.
