10/14/05
Friday,
October 14, 2005
Salukis
can't afford to have a letdown
Red Hill (5-2) at Martinsville (1-6)
BRIDGEPORT — Red Hill High School’s
football team doesn’t want to see last week’s landmark victory go to
waste.
Yet that will be the case, according
to Salukis coach Bill Evans, if the team doesn’t continue to play well
Friday night in the final road game of the season against Little Illini
Conference foe Martinsville (1-6). Red Hill enters with a 5-2 record,
and on the heels of last week’s 28-16 win over previously undefeated
Cumberland, at the time rated No. 6 in the Class 2A poll.
“If we go to Martinsville and do not
play to our ability, we might as well have not even won last week,”
said Evans. “It would just be a waste of time.”
A letdown is Evans’ biggest concern
this week.
“It’s a coaching nightmare,” he said.
“We had a big victory last Friday, over a team that was undefeated and
ranked in the state. And we’re stepping into a situation where we’re
playing a team that was struggling, but picked up their first win. The
next thing you know, we could be in trouble.”
The Salukis enter on a three-game
winning streak, while Martinsville just posted its first win, 49-14,
over Edwards County.
“For a 1-6 team, our players are in
good spirits,” Martinsville coach Rick Hilderbrandt said. “They’re real
positive, especially after winning last week.”
The Salukis feature Joey Carmichael,
who rambled for 269 yards on 25 carries in last week’s win. That’s
after carrying 18 times for 200 yards the previous week against Edwards
County. Carmichael’s rushing total is at 701 for the season, and he’s
scored 12 touchdowns on the season, including seven in the last two
games.
“We’ve got to stop Carmichael first,
keep him from running over us,” Hilderbrandt said. “Offensively, we
have to get some blocking up front. We’re going to have stretches where
things won’t go well, but we’re going to have to keep pounding and hope
something goes our way. We’ve not had a game all year where we’ve had
any breaks.”
Evans says the Salukis can’t afford
to get caught looking ahead.
“We control our own destiny,” he
said. “Our kids are smart. They know we’re 5-2, and we’re playing a
team that’s 1-6. We’ve never lost to Martinsville, and I told the kids
in practice that we’d better not start this year. I’m not predicting
any wins or anything, but I’m telling them that we can’t be caught
looking ahead to Flora.”
Game notes: The Salukis have won all
four meetings with the Bluestreaks since joining the Little Illini
Conference in 2001. Red Hill’s wins have been by scores of 21-0, 12-9,
33-8 ... Hilderbrandt is the only coach in the LIC who is not on staff
at his school. He’s in his fourth season at the helm, with a cumulative
record of 10-26 ... Evans is 107-113 in his 23rd season at Red Hill,
and has a career record of 121-136 ... The Salukis are one of 26
Illinois Class 2A teams with a record of 5-2 or better, and one of 32
with a record of 4-3 or better. Should the playoffs begin today, Red
Hill would likely have a road game, as it is 21st on the list of 2A
playoff hopefuls. Should the Salukis win their final two games, they’d
have an outside chance at hosting a first-round playoff game.
