Terrier football ready for spring campaign
Carbondale Terriers head football coach Bryan Lee probably did not dig the idea of there being no fall football kick-off with rival Murphysboro this season. But as the Rolling Stones put it: "You can't always get what you want."
COVID-19 has wiped out football for 2020, so Lee has been busy trying to rearrange March through May so his team "gets what they need": a football season of consequence.
That means having to reach out to conference opponents to arrange South Seven contests. This year the IHSAA has determined that teams will have time to play seven total games and a couple of "playoff" match-ups to determine a regional champion.
That's right; the usual multi-game system of fall playoffs for the whole state has morphed into a possible multi-enrollment champion. That's all that the spring schedule will allow.
For the Terriers' seniors, that set-up will at least allow them to grab both a conference title and also a postseason trophy for the best team in southern Illinois. Other teams in any playoff scheme will probably include Metro East-area clubs - some of which may appear on that spring schedule as non-conference foes.
Coaches will probably be reaching out to equivalent-enrollment teams like Granite City and other Metro clubs. Carbondale's schedule, unfortunately, may not include Murphysboro since they are in a numerically larger conference than the Terriers and may need each and every one of their allotted seven games to determine a River-To-River Conference champion.
Fortunately, Carbondale's South Seven dates have been confirmed, leading off with Centralia on March 12 at Bleyer Field. That game will be preceded by one week by a yet-to-be signed non-conference game.
On March 19, the Terriers travel to the Metro East to play tough conference opponent Cahokia. The Comanches are always a load to beat.
It will be back to Bleyer Field on March 26 for a tilt against Belleville Althoff. The first game of April will throw a calendar curve ball to some fans; April 3 is on a Saturday, not a Friday. Also, the game will kick off at 1 p.m. - an unusual kick-off time for Terrier football, except for play-off contests.
The big Williamson-Jackson County rivalry will occur April 9 when the Terriers travel 15 miles to South Seven powerhouse Marion.
Coach Lee is still trying to find one last non-conference game for April 16. The next weekend will begin the regional champion playoffs.