High school football renews rivalries

By Thomas Donley

This week marks the long-awaited end of Illinois’ eight-month high school football hiatus.

The Land of Lincoln has been without high school football since Naperville defeated Wilmette Loyola 13-10 in the IHSA Class 8A State Championship Game in DeKalb on Nov. 30, 2013. Not counting summer camps and jamborees, we have gone 240 days without one of the most American events there is.

All that is about to change. In one day, football returns to bring communities together and pit them against one another in the way only high school sports can. Local football fans will not have long to wait to see a rivalry game; Murphysboro and Carbondale square off in a Week 1 matchup.

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Proximity fuels the rivalry between the Terriers and the Red Devils. Carbondale and Murphysboro are separated by just seven miles, and many people live in one town and work in the other, leading to familiarity between the two communities.

Carbondale has dominated the series recently, winning last year’s game 43-0. The Red Devils have not beaten the Terriers since a 30-28 victory at Carbondale in 2008

“Obviously they’re much bigger than us,” Murphysboro head coach Gary Carter said. “It’s great if we beat them but it’s not an end-all game. We don’t have to fire our kids up for it. They’re ready to play.”

The Terriers have a similar rivalry with Marion. Since the two schools are closer in size to one another, the competition between the two is more balanced. The Wildcats beat Carbondale 32-19 in last year’s matchup between the South Seven Conference rivals, and both schools advanced to the Class 5A State Playoffs.

“The two towns are some of the larger towns in southern Illinois,” Marion head coach Kerry Martin said. “I think it’s nice that we have a friendly rivalry, and I think they feel the same way about us.”

Marion and Carbondale will face off on Oct. 17 at Marion in a Week 8 matchup that may have playoff implications.

Another compelling area rivalry is between Du Quoin and Herrin. This rivalry brings blood into the mix for Herrin head coach Jason Karnes.

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Karnes played his high school football at Du Quoin, and his father, Bob Karnes, was head coach of the Indians from 1968-1987. The senior Karnes led the Indians to the playoffs four times in his career, and Jason has taken the Tigers to the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons so far.

The connection between the Karnes family and the Du Quoin-Herrin rivalry spurs community interest in the rivalry.

“It used to be that Du Quoin was good, and Herrin was pretty good too,” Todd Ward of Herrin said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, the coach.”

Herrin won last year’s matchup 23-0 en route to its fourth straight playoff appearance, snapping Du Quoin’s four-year win streak over the Tigers. The Indians will get their chance for revenge for last season’s loss in Week 3 when the two schools face off on Sept. 12 at Herrin High School.

Amy James of Du Quoin said that the atmosphere in the community changes during the week leading up to the Indians’ game against the Tigers.

“When you know you’ve got a good rivalry,” James said, “And you know you’ve got a good team, [the community] get fired up.”

Jeannie Burke of Du Quoin said the town gets a thrill out of wins over Herrin.

“When you know that they are a better team than some that we might play, it does make it a little special,” Burke said.

Thomas can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @tdonleyDE

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