Football Game Preview: Coal City Coalers vs. Wilmington Wildcats

Coal City is 2-8 against Wilmington since September of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Coalers will head out on the road to square off against the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Coal City comes in on six and Wilmington on seven.

Coal City is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 56-7 victory over Herscher. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Coalers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 89th, while the Tigers are ranked 218th).

Meanwhile, Wilmington humbled Reed-Custer with a 54-6 victory. Considering the Wildcats have won seven matchups by more than 27 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Coal City's record is now 7-1. As for Wilmington, their record now sits at an identical 7-1.

Coal City couldn't quite get it done against Wilmington in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 as they fell 21-14. Can the Coalers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.