The Harrisburg Bulldogs will head out on the road to face off against the Benton Rangers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Last Saturday, Harrisburg came up short against Herrin and fell 17-7. Harrisburg has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, Benton had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 41-0 victory over Pinckneyville. Given Benton's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 198th, while Pinckneyville is ranked 436th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Benton can attribute much of their success to Riley Spencer, who gained 104 total yards and a touchdown, and Tiffin Kouzoukas, who threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 passes.
With Harrisburg's defeat and Benton's victory, both teams now sport identical 5-3 records.
Harrisburg couldn't quite finish off Benton in their previous meeting back in September of 2022 and fell 24-21. Thankfully for Harrisburg, Wyatt Upton (who rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.3 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
