Football Recap: Mattoon Takes a Loss

Mattoon extended their losing streak to seven on Friday, dropping them down to 1-8. They were outmatched by the Marion Wildcats and fell 49-21. While losing is never fun, the Greenwave can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 384th, while the Wildcats are ranked 179th).

When it comes to explaining why Mattoon lost, don't look at Brayden Hackett. Despite the final result, he threw for 202 yards and two TDs.

Don't try to pin the team's loss on the defense: they kept the trenches locked down and allowed a mere 0.3 yards per carry. The team can thank Fletcher Gregory for the heroic effort on defense: he. The dominant display was nothing new: Mattoon has now limited their opponent to fewer and fewer yards per carry in four consecutive games.

As for Marion, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 6-3. Considering they have won four contests by more than 27 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Callahan Roper produced another solid effort throwing for 435 yards and six touchdowns while completing 85.3% of his passes. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 311.2 passing yards per game. Junious Thomas was another key player, picking up 132 receiving yards and one score.

Mattoon does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Marion, they will challenge Mahomet-Seymour at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Wildcats will need to watch out since the Bulldogs have now posted at least 31 points in their last four matchups.