Marquette Catholic faces Mount Olive in key game in regard to playoffs

Oct 23, 2015 12:15 PM

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ALTON – There's much on the line Friday night when Marquette Catholic travels to Mount Olive for a 7 p.m. Friday Prairie State Conference clash.

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Both teams enter the contest at 5-3 overall, with the winner virtually assured a spot in the IHSA football playoffs. The loser would have a shot of getting in, but the chances of getting in would have to do with playoff points accumulated throughout the season; playoff points are the total number of wins a team's opponents have had over the course of a season.

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“No doubt, we've got to get the win,” said Explorer coach Darrell Angleton. “We need to get to six wins to be sure of getting in.”

The Wildcats have had some success this season running the ball. “They've got a quarterback who's big and good, and their running back is a good one too; he also plays middle linebacker,” Angleton said. “They like to run between the tackles, so we're going to have to execute our game plan well. When we execute well, good things happen for us.”

Knowing what's at stake, the Explorers have had a good week of practice, Angleton said. “The kids are really excited,” Angleton said. “We've really had good practices and we'll be ready. I'm hoping we have some of our fans come up to Mount Olive for the game. Having our fans there would be really good for the kids.”

The IHSA will announce the first-round pairings beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, with the telecast from Comcast SportsNet Chicago also being streamed on the IHSA web site (www.ihsa.org) and also posted on the web site. Dates and times for the first-round matches will be announced Monday on the web site.

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