Friday Night Lights: Panthers, Central Ending Week #9 Series

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[For the second week in a row, cold, wet, messy field conditions met the Pinckneyville Panthers, but unfortunately, the success they had on a muddy home field in week seven could not be repeated at Chester in week eight.

"It seemed like we couldn't do anything right," Panthers' head coach Tod Rushing said bluntly.

Indeed, the 42-0 score would imply a lack of performance, and the Panthers' 96 yards on the ground (and only one completed pass) would all but verify it.

A big play to open the second half by the Yellow Jackets aided in the lopsided defeat as well, as John Baughman ran the kickoff all the way back for the touchdown, just the second special teams touchdown allowed by the Panthers all year.

"We worked on it all week, staying in our lane," Rushing said. "It's a simple thing, sometimes it takes a big play like that to make them realize you're telling the truth. We got out of our lanes and left them a big gap, and they hit it."

Chester utilized their size advantage, mostly with back Tim Sullins, who had 4 touchdowns and a big pile of yardage against the Pinckneyvile defense.

"I told (our players), this bunch has really dedicated themselves," Rushing said of the Yellow Jackets. "Their coach told me they come in during the summer and lift, they play, they get ready for the season. Our guys can be that way too."

Breese Central rolls in at 6-2 on the season and on their way to the 2009 IHSA State Playoffs. The Cougars sport arguably the best defense in the Cahokia Conference with only 127 points allowed (15.9 points per game), and with a win can assure no worse than a tie with Freeburg for the conference championship.

The Cougars knocked off Red Bud (6-2, 4-2) in week six, a team that barely held off a late-charging Pinckneyville team in week one 33-29 at Quillman Field.

"They're very similar to (Chester)," Rushing said of Breese Central. "They've got two very good running backs, they're going to pound it at you."

Those two running backs are Matt Elliott and Kevin Grayling, who are both closing in on 400 rushing yards for the season on more than 70 carries each. Grayling (5'9", 240) also leads the team in rushing touchdowns with six.

Quarterback Joe Leubbers has seen mild success as well, connecting on 22-of-41 passes in '09 for 358 yards with 5 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions. Leubbers also has two touchdowns running the football.

"(Grayling's) not as fast as Sullins, but he's bigger," Rushing said of the Breese back. "They're big and strong, very similar to what we saw last week, I don't think it was what we saw (from Chester) last week that gave us trouble as much as our mental approach to the game, we weren't ready."

The Panthers will look to continue their gradual improvement that has shown during the season, going from a disappointing 0-4 team that had only scored 7 first-half points into a balanced, dangerous team looking to shake up the conference race.

"I've been impressed with our improvement throughout this year, but I thought we took a step back last week," Rushing said. "We've had a real good week of practice (this week), I've got a good feeling we're going to play really hard, we're ready to play."

Since being shut out in the first half of week four's loss to Anna-Jonesboro, Pinckneyville is 2-2 with 32 first-half points, despite the zero put up by the offense in Chester last Friday.

"The group last year finished 1-8, but I thought (in the last game) they stuck it out and really played hard," Rushing said. "That's what we want to do this year, go and get Breese and finish out with a win."

"This is a good group of kids, we want to send them off right. It sits better in your stomach all winter if (you win your last game)."

Rushing also praised his sophomore class, proclaiming that "they were in a lot of games this year without their best two players - Bryant (Shute) and Keegan (Kellerman). They'll only be better with those two next year, and the juniors we'll have coming back."

The final hour-long drive to Breese for Panther football fans will be replaced in 2010 with a game at Dupo (3-5, 2-4 in the Cahokia Conference so far in 2009).