The News-Gazette.com Weblog

Prep Confidential

Sabers make statement

Posted by: Marcus Jackson

Friday, September 12, 2008 11:54 PM

It was a battle between the area's top offense (Watseka) and the top defense (St. Thomas More) and as the old adage goes, a good ddefense will always beat a good offense.

St. Thomas More hadn't yielded a point all season, and except for an Alex Hall touchdown in the first quarter, the Sabers pretty much shut down the high-powered Warriors, who had scored 102 points in the first two weeks.

What that means is that St. Thomas More is a serious threat to win the Sangamon Valley this season and make a deep run in the postseason.

STM got a boost with the retun of tailback Joe Parkhill, who missed the first two games with a dislocated shoulder, and Tyler Sullivan returned the opening kickoff 86 yards to start the night.

The defense shut down Marcel Maiden (nine carries, 20 yards) and knocked him out of the game with a bruised side in the second quarter.

Champaign central is garnering a lot of attention, and deservedly so. But there's another football team on the north side of town that's making some noise.

A few observations from Friday:

— After a big win against rival Tuscola, Unity dropped a tough one at home to Meridian. I thought the Rockets were going to roll this year, and they still might, but Friday's loss was a bit of a shocker.

— Mahomet-Seymour's Andrew Brewer is making a serious run at Player of the Year. The senior returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and had 250 yards of total offense in the first half of the Bulldogs' 51-0 route of Rantoul.

— Fisher's Colten Unzicker touched the ball six times Friday and scored five times, including taking th opening kickoff back for a touchdown. He and the Bunnies are off to a great start.

— After two tough opponents in the first two week, including a game at Orion, Arcola finally got in the win column. Maybe playing teams in the Little Okaw Valley will spark the Purple Riders.

— Can't wait for the Champaign Central-Danville game later this season. Central is a scoring machine and it sounds like Danville is as stingy a defense as there is. That one might decide the Big 12. Central rolled against Eisenhower, while the Vikings shut out Centennial on Friday in Champaign.

Hope you stayed dry at your game tonight and be sure to check out The News-Gazette all week for our prep coverage.

mjackson@news-gazette.com