Friday Night Lights: Panthers Seek Momentum at Chester

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Three weeks after sitting at 0-4 and scratching for a victory, Pinckneyville has suddenly won two of three games and appears to be rounding into a solid varsity football team rather than one that just showed potential.

A 30-6 spanking of the Sparta Bulldogs on homecoming and senior night was the reward for the large Pinckneyville crowd that braved the cold, wet elements to attend the game.

"Our kids played exceptionally tough," said Pinckneyville head coach Tod Rushing. "It's hard to get motivated to play in those conditions."

Weather and the Panthers weren't the only obstacles facing Sparta, however, as the team dressed fewer than 20 players for the contest. Their lack of depth did not translate to a lack of effort, though.

"Coach Watson's taken over a rough situation there," Rushing said.

"They had about 40 players to start the season and are down to under 20, but he's getting what he wants out of the (players) he has."

The Panthers went to work quick against the Bulldogs, forcing a three-and-out on defense and scoring on a 50-yard touchdown pass on their second play from scrimmage from Bryant Shute to Jake Bathon.

Shute then scored from 4 yards out with 8:01 remaining in the half, and Ben Harriss found a big hole for a 24-yard touchdown run with 7:38 left in the third quarter. Shute added a 22-yard touchdown run to his numbers with 3:24 to go in the game.

The soggy field didn't seem to slow down the Panthers, as much like in the Nashville victory, there were contributions from throughout the lineup.

Rushing talked mostly about his seniors after the victory.

"They're great kids," Rushing said, "the year we had last year it'd be easy to not want to be here, but there's 15 of them, and there's some really hard workers in there."

"Michael Rakers, Tyler Rice, Jeff Thornton, I could go on but those three especially lived in the weight room this summer, and it's really paying off."

With five wins an impossibility and the playoffs seemingly out of the question as well, some might wonder how the players have managed to stay motivated and keep their effort at a maximum, but

Rushing insists there is still plenty to pay for heading into Friday's matchup at Chester.

"If we get this one we finish in the top half of the conference," said Rushing, "we'd go to 3-5 and a chance to close out at Breese at 4-5, and to win four of the last five would really be a complement to (our players') efforts."

It will be the final matchup between the two teams before Chester departs the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division and Carterville moves in for 2010.

The game at Breese Central in week 9 will also conclude a series of games with the Cougars, as the Panthers will instead add Dupo to the schedule for next year.

"Both of our last games are our kind of going-away parties, " Rushing said, adding "we'd like to send them off with a smile."

WXAN-FM (103.9) broadcasts Friday night's game live, taking the air about 6:45 p.m.