Springfield Southeast is 1-6 against Normal University since October of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Springfield Southeast Spartans will take on the Normal University Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Friday.
Springfield Southeast's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past Lanphier, posting a 56-0 win at home. The victory was some much needed relief for the Spartans as it spelled an end to their six-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, the third road match was the charm for Normal University, as they earned their first road win of the season. They really took it to Decatur Eisenhower for the full four quarters, racking up a 40-12 win on the road. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 27-6.
Normal University got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Rhett Lynch out in front who rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries, and also caught a touchdown. Those 158 rushing yards gave Lynch a new career-high. Normal University also got help from Cade Cunningham, who showed off his sure hands for 111 receiving yards.
Another reason for the win was Normal University's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Cole Matejka.
Springfield Southeast's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-6. As for Normal University, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season.
Springfield Southeast ended up a good deal behind Normal University in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, losing 42-26. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Normal University's Alek Weiland, who threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.8 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 46 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Springfield Southeast knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
