Springfield Southeast is 1-7 against Normal University since October of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Spartans will look to defend their home field against the Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Springfield Southeast is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They won a contest that couldn't have been any closer, slipping by Lanphier 19-18. The Spartans haven't had any issues with the Lions recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Normal University, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They blew past Decatur Eisenhower 55-12 on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Pioneers, who have now won three games by 43 points or more so far this season.
Normal University's win came from a few key players Springfield Southeast will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cade Cunningham, who picked up 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in one TD on the ground. Normal University is undefeated when Cunningham posts two or more receiving touchdowns, but 0-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Max Dameron, who rushed for 91 yards and a pair of scores on only ten carries.
Normal University's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB five times. Leading the way was Andrew Felstead with three sacks. Darieus Perry got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Springfield Southeast's win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 2-5. As for Normal University, they picked up their first home victory, bumping their record up to 3-4.
Springfield Southeast was dealt a bruising 51-6 loss at the hands of Normal University when the teams last played back in October of 2024. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Spartans were down 34-6.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
