No. 5 Hawks look to clinch IPC tie
FAIRBURY — “One” isn't a lonely number that Prairie Central will ever know. In fact, “one” is the number that the Hawks want to deal with as they fight for an Illini Prairie Conference football championship.
Right now, “one” is the number of wins by PC needed to clinch at least a share of the league crown. The Hawks, currently ranked fifth in the AP Class 3A poll, are one win away from securing that tie.
Should Tolono (Unity) lose at Paxton-Buckley-Loda and Prairie Central wins this week, the Hawks will win the title outright.
But the first thing for PC to do is win at Monticello, which isn't an easy accomplishment.
“We talked about winning a conference title since we started working out in the summer and this game gives us that opportunity to achieve that goal,” PC head coach Andrew Quain said. “The kids would like to be outright champions, but when you talk about from a week-to-week standpoint, you have to clinch a share before you can get it outright. That's where our focus is.”
The Sages (5-2) lost to St. Joseph-Ogden in Week 1 and at Central Catholic in Week 4. Since then, they have taken care of business against Pontiac, Rantoul and PBL.
Quain said that Monticello, who is coached by Cullen Welter, a former head coach at Ridgeview and at Aledo, where the Hawks played last week, will offer a triple-option attack on offense. The primary difference in how Prairie Central runs its option compared to the Sages is that MHS runs out of a spread look.
Quain said this will force his defense to buckle down and adhere to their responsibilities.
“I told them that this is the week you do your job and trust your teammate to do his job,” Quain said.
“If we give them opportunities to make plays, they're going to make plays. I told our guys to prepare to play four quarters, which is something we have not had to do recently. We have to get in the mindset to prepare for four quarters and get ready for a dogfight.”
Monticello quarterback Drew Sheppard is the focal point of the offense. He leads the team in rushing with 593 yards and has seven touchdowns. Sheppard has also thrown for 1,580 yards and 15 touchdowns on 121-194 throwing. He has been intercepted four times.
Tylor Bundy has 335 rushing yards and 10 TDs, as well as 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 catches. No other Sage has rushed for more than 59 yards. However, there are six receivers with more than 100 yards. Spencer Mitze leads the group with 433 yards and three TDs on 29 receptions. Seven different players have two or more receiving touchdowns.
Prairie Central will look to pound the ball. The Hawks have speed and power and have been difficult to stop. Although there is a stable of capable backs, it's the blocking that has been key.
It's kind of a flip for the Hawks compared to the Sages. PC has five rushers with more than 300 yards with each one scoring at least two TDs on the ground. Drew Fehr is the tank with 849 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns to lead the ground assault. Camden Palmore has 392 yards and 5 TDs and sophomore speedster Hudson Ault has added 357 yards and 9 touchdowns. Tyler Curl has rushed for 330 yards and a pair of TDs.
Quarterback Drew Haberkorn has grown into the position well this season. He has rushed for 334 yards and 8 touchdowns while directing an offense that has not had to throw the ball. The Hawks have scored 48 or more points in each of their last six games.
Haberkorn has thrown for 410 yards and 6 TDs on 19 of 33 passing. He has been intercepted once.
Where turnovers are key to his defense, Quain said that the Hawks cannot turn the ball over if they expect to win. The key on offense will be sustaining blocks and controlling the line of scrimmage. Quain noted that Monticello's defenders will fly to the ball, probably better than any team he has seen this season.
This game ends a three-game road trip for the Hawks, who will end the regular season next week at home against Central Catholic. Then it's off to the playoffs.
EPG (5-2) vs. Tremont (1-6)
EL PASO — Head coach Tanner Benedict can't take this week's contest at Tremont lightly, and it's doubtful he will allow that to happen as the Titans look to securing a playoff berth.
Sitting at 5-2, EPG needs a win to guarantee a Week 10 game. A win at 1-6 Tremont this week will give the Titans that playoff spot.
EPG is coming off a 49-20 victory at Heyworth in a game that some might say was not as close the the final. The running clock was put into play in this one.
Tremont lost at Nokomis in a nonconference contest. But the Turks can still spring a surprise if El Paso-Gridley is careless.
Dax Gentes and Kamren Schumacher have been leading the Titans and will look to do so again. The line play, which was tested against unbeaten and state-ranked Ridgeview-Lexington and against unbeaten at the time and still state-ranked Eureka, came through big last week and will look to do so again.
Dwight-GSW (2-5) vs. Iroquois West (5-2)
DWIGHT —Dwight-GSW is finding itself rolling well right now after having gone 2-1 with solid competitive efforts in the past three weeks. The Trojans will look to pull a surprise Friday night as they host Iroquois West at Oughton Field.
The Raiders have been playing well except for a contest two weeks ago when they lost to Momence, a team the Trojans defeated the week before. Iroquois West then handled Clifton last week, a team that topped DTHS-GSW when the Raiders were losing to Momence.
Dwight-GSW will be looking to get rolling behind Austin Burkhardt and there is hope that Connor Telford will be back running the offense. He missed last week.
The final two weeks are a bear for the Trojans, who end their season at unbeaten and state-ranked Seneca. But finishing strong is a goal head coach Luke Standiford is hoping to achieve.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: No. 5 Prairie Central Hawks look to clinch IPC tie for title
