Sharpening up is how Monticello football coach Cully Welter described his team's goals this week as the Sages try to put an opening week loss to St. Joseph-Ogden behind them and rebound tonight when they travel to Illinois Valley Central for an Illini Prairie Conference tilt.
The Sages fell behind 27-0 early but outscored St. Joe 28-13 the rest of the way falling short in its season opener for the third straight year. Coach Welter says the focus this week was sharpening some things they saw on film.
Coach Welter says sometimes the cliche holds true, you're never as bad as you think you are and you're never as good as you think you are when you watch film but he didn't think that was true after going back to watch film last week.
Monticello makes the nearly two-hour trip north of Peoria to visit IVC in Chillicothe this week. Coach Welter says the Grey Ghosts are a balanced team that will provide a good challenge for his team this week.
The Sages will hope to utilize the screen game to neutralize the pressure from IVC. Against St. Joe, Coach Welter thought his team's screen game was close to be really effective and hopes it takes a step forward this week.
Game time in Chillicothe tonight is 7 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.
Illini Prairie Conference action
Prairie Central at Pontiac
Rantoul at Bloomington Central Catholic
Tolono Unity at St. Joseph-Ogden
Big Twelve
Champaign Central at Champaign Centennial
Danville at Urbana
Normal West at Normal Community
Peoria at Peoria Notre Dame
Peoria Richwoods at Peoria Manual
Lincoln Prairie
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Villa Grove
Cerro Gordo-Bement at Oakland Tri-County
Sangamon Valley at Toledo-Cumberland
Nokomis at Argenta-Oreana
Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Arcola
Sangamo
Athens at Pittsfield
Maroa-Forsyth at Pleasant Plains
New Berlin at Auburn
Olympia at Riverton
Williamsville at Petersburg-PORTA
Eight man football
Peoria Heights at Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland
Champaign St. Thomas More at Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran
Decatur Unity Christian at South Fork
Blue Ridge at Pawnee (Sat.)
Non-conference football
Limestone at Galesburg
Belleville Althoff Catholic at Decatur St. Teresa
Chatham-Glenwood at Bonne Terre North County (MO)
Decatur Eisenhower at Jacksonville
Dunlap at Rock Island
East Peoria at Springfield Lanphier
LaSalle-Peru at Metamora
Lincoln at Springfield Southeast (Sat.)
Mahomet-Seymour at Highland
Mascoutah at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin
Mt. Zion at Troy Triad
Normal U-High at Bloomington
Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Newton
Springfield at Decatur MacArthur
Taylorville at Robinson
Washington at Kankakee
