Football Recap: Make It Three in a Row for Champaign Central + How To Watch

Champaign Central hadn't done well against Danville recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Maroons blew past the Vikings 36-14. For the Maroons, this counts as revenge for the 44-31 win the Vikings walked away with the last time they faced one another back in October of 2024.

Ziyir Aker

Rushing Yards

09/12/25 vs Peoria Notre Dame	195
09/26/25 vs Richwoods	142
10/03/25 @ Danville	111
09/05/25 vs Centennial	80
09/19/25 @ Urbana	62
+ 1 more games

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Champaign Central to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ziyir Aker, who rushed for 111 yards and two scores, and also caught one TD. Aker is becoming a predictor of the Maroons' success: when he posts at least 100 rushing yards the team is 2-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Wyatt Christensen, who picked up 120 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Champaign Central didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Artem Pichshuk and Talin Baker. Pichshuk is also crushing it when it comes to defended passes: he's defended at least one every time he's taken the field this season. Another thorn in Danville's side was David Ward, who picked up four sacks and made five total tackles.

The victory was the third in a row for Champaign Central, bringing their record up to 3-3. Those wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 33.0 points over those games. As for Danville, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-5.

Champaign Central and Danville could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings. The Maroons will square off against Peoria at 7:00 p.m. on Friday with a big rank disadvantage (314 vs. 97). Meanwhile, Danville (ranked 399th) will meet Normal Community (ranked 83rd) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.