High School Football Game of the Week

It's an East Side versus West Side battle under the lights of the Reitz Bowl Friday night!

The Wildcats and Tigers come into Friday night's game after winning their Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (SIAC) openers last week. Despite committing their fair share of penalties, Mater Dei made quick work of Harrison last week in a 51-25 rout of the Warriors, giving them an undefeated record of 3-0 to open the season.

Memorial's path to Friday night's game has been a bit bumpier. After opening the season with a 29-59 loss at Jasper, the Tigers traveled to Belleville, Illinois in week two for their final non-conference game only to leave with a 10-31 loss, and an 0-2 record. The team regrouped and came out strong against an improved North Huskies team last week at home, walking out of Enlow Field with a 17-10 victory thanks to the legs of junior running back, McKinley Warren who racked up 147 yards on 17 carries, which included a 40 yard touchdown run. Warren was also a threat in the passing game, catching three passes for 108 yards from junior quarterback, Jordan Scheessele that included a second, 74 yard touchdown.

Defensively, the Tigers got a stand out performance from three year starting linebacker, senior Kelsey Coslett who provided a constant disruption for the Huskies defensive, racking up 14 tackles on the night. They'll need another big game from Coslett and the entire defense in order to walk out of the Reitz Bowl with a win over the Wildcats Friday night.

Mater Dei opened the season with dominant wins in each of the first three games of the season. Outside of the aforementioned, conference opening win over Harrison, the Wildcats had little problem disposing of their non-conference opponents, Heritage Hills and University City, Missouri with 37-14 and 42-7 wins, respectively.

Led by senior quarterback Chase Hoehn, who posted his best stats of this early 2013 season by going 15-for-27 for 312 yards and four touchdowns last week against the Warriors, the Wildcats pummeled Harrison with 450 total yards of offense that included senior receiver Julian Weidner hauling in five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, along with scoring plays from senior receiver Jacob Fleming, sophomore receiver Jared Strehl, and three TD's from senior running back Nolan Goebel.

It will no doubt be a tough task for Memorial to take home the win, but not impossible. That's the great thing about football, it's anybody's game. For the Tigers to secure their second straight city and conference win, they'll need to figure out a way to rattle the cage of Hoehn. Meaning they'll need to find their way into the Mater Dei backfield and disrupt his ability to get his feet set and make accurate throws. They'll also need to keep the Wildcats receiving corp, particularly Weidner from getting behind their defenders.

The task is no easier for Mater Dei who will have to figure out a way to shut down the dual threat of McKinley Warren, who had 127 of his 147 yards rushing last week in the first half. If the defensive front for the Wildcats can't get past the offensive line of the Tigers, they could find themselves in for a long night. Much like Memorial's defense, Mater Dei's secondary will also need to keep Memorial's speedy receiving corp in check if they hope to keep their undefeated season in tact.

Hear how it all plays out on Newstalk 1280, as well as online at Newstalk1280.com with pregame at 6:30 and kick off at 7pm.