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Upcoming Games
Date	Event	Time	Location
Thu 10/16	Alton Marquette Explorers vs. Carlinville Cavaliers	6:00 PM	Moore Park
Fri 10/17	Carlinville Cavaliers vs. Alton Marquette Explorers	7:00 PM	Carlinville High School
Mon 10/20	Alton Marquette Explorers vs. Carlinville Cavaliers	6:00 PM	Moore Park

Recent Games
Date	Event	Time	Location
Thu 10/9	Carlinville Cavaliers: 6 - Gillespie Miners: 14	6:00 PM	Carlinville High School
Fri 10/10	Gillespie Miners: 7 - Carlinville Cavaliers: 22	7:00 PM	Gillespie High School
Mon 10/13	Carlinville Cavaliers vs. Gillespie Miners	6:00 PM	Carlinville High School

Upcoming Events
Date	Event	Time	Location
Sat 10/25	Football Playoff Pairings Announced	7:00 PM	IHSA Website

The Cavalier Coaches

The Carlinville High School football coaching staff includes, from left, Ken Garrison, Bob Flowers, Bill Duncan, head coach Chad Easterday, Quinn Steiner, Alan Copper, and Scott Harris.

CHS Captains

The 2008 Carlinville High School Football Captains are back row, from left, Travis Edwards, and Will Thyer; front row, Michael Upton and Dylan Kiehna.

Special Thanks to Sara Way and Timeless Moments Photography

for providing individual and team photos for the website!!!

Weekly Football Awards

 

Country Insurance Gary Edwards
Cavalier Player of the Week

Zac Dixon

 

Carlinville Football Club
Lineman of the Week

Travis Edwards

 

Goodman Agency
Special Teams Player of the Week

Josh Carnduff

Saturday, October 11

Carlinville cashes in Gillespie mistakes

By Dave Kane
The State Journal-Register

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GILLESPIE — The last chapter in 84 straight years of football battles between Carlinville High School and Gillespie won’t be remembered for any sensational plays or last-minute heroics.

Instead, Friday night’s game at Gillespie’s Alumni Field was decided by one of the most basic rules of the game. If you don’t take care of the football, the other team’s going to take care of you.

“Let’s put it this way: The game didn’t start out the way we planned,” said Gillespie coach Don Borgini after his team was stung by two turnovers in the game’s opening minutes and eventually fell to Carlinville 22-7 in a South Central Conference West Division game.

“Turnovers have been something that’s kind of plagued us all year — penalties and turnovers. We just have to eliminate those. It also boils down to line play up front for us, and I don’t think we controlled the line of scrimmage very well when we were on offense.”

Carlinville, bouncing back from an 0-3 start for the second straight year, won its fourth straight to climb to 4-3 overall and 4-0 in the SCC West. The Cavaliers can win their second straight West title with a home win over Alton Marquette next Friday.

And that’s what excited Carlinville coach Chad Easterday the most. He acknowledged the significance of Friday’s game marking the end of the annual battles between the Macoupin County rivals; Gillespie’s move to the Prairie State Conference next year will keep the Miners and Cavaliers from meeting annually.

And Easterday, who assisted Borgini at Carlinville the past eight seasons, said it was hard to ignore his old boss on the opposite sideline Friday night.

“Like I said before the game, this is huge for Carlinville,” Easterday said. “Coach Borgini and I have talked every since he took the job at Gillespie. We said it was never about Easterday or Borgini. We said it was about a great rivalry that had gone on for a long time, and we’re just very happy to be part of it and happy to get a win — regardless of who it’s against.”

Friday’s outcome, which gave Carlinville a 51-29-3 edge in the all-time series, could be traced to the first 6-plus minutes of the game.

Gillespie fumbled the opening kickoff, and Carlinville’s Jacob Shaw recovered at the Miners’ 28-yard line. The Cavaliers were stopped on their first possession at the Miners’ 23. But Carlinville’s Zac Dixon intercepted a pass by Gillespie quarterback Matt Davis on first down.

Three plays later, on fourth-and-5 at the Gillespie 21, quarterback Dixon rolled to his left and hit Darnell Scott with a short pass. Scott eluded several Gillespie tacklers and went all the way for a touchdown.

The Miners went three and out on their next series, and a short punt gave Carlinville the ball at the Miners’ 30. Running back Josh Rives broke two tackles and spun away from two others as he went 30 yards for another score. Shawn Crouch’s extra-point kick made it 14-0 with 5:40 left in the first quarter.

“They’re a big-play team, and we knew that,” said Borgini, whose team is 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the SCC West. “They’ve won the games they have with big plays. But when you have speed like they do, you can make big plays. But other than that, I thought we did a wonderful job defensively.”

The Cavaliers got one more big play in the second quarter from Rives, who also was a track standout for the Cavaliers last spring. On third-and-16 from the Carlinville 33, Rives got the handoff on a counter play and got loose for a 67-yard TD run. Dixon’s pass to Trevor Rhodus opened a 22-0 lead with 4:13 left in the first half.

Carlinville’s defense, meanwhile, came up big when it had to. The Miners eventually had more first downs than the Cavaliers (11-7) and had 155 rushing yards to Carlinville’s 191. But the Miners finished with three turnovers on the night, and they didn’t break the shutout until Davis connected with Quinn Hellman for a 16-yard TD pass with just :32.2 left in the game.

“Give all the credit to our front eight guys on defense,” Easterday said. “They really stayed on top of things. Offensively, we struggled a little in the second half. I was a little disappointed we didn’t get a first down or two when we needed it, but that’s something we have to work on for next week.”

Rives finished with 104 yards on just 11 carries, while Davis and tailback Jordan Ferratto picked up 56 and 49, respectively, for the Miners.

Borgini said coaching against many of the players he’d coached himself at Carlinville made Friday’s game a special challenge — not to mention matching wits against Easterday and some of his other former assistants.

“Those guys were a big part of my life for a long time,” Borgini said of the Cavaliers. “Chad’s done a tremendous job of keeping the tradition going there. But going out there before the game . . . they look at me, I look at them, and then the game’s on.”

Dave Kane can be reached at 788-1544

AT GILLESPIE

Carlinville (4-3)	14	8	0	0	-	22
Gillespie (2-5)	0	0	0	7	-	7

 

 

  C — Darnell Scott 21 pass from Zac Dixon (Shawn Crouch kick)
  C — Josh Rives 30 run (Shawn Crouch kick)
  C — Josh Rives 67 run (Trevor Rhodus pass from Zac Dixon)
  G — Quinn Hellman 16 pass from Matt Davis (Zac Ruyle kick)

STATISTICS
  RUSHING — Carlinville (42 carries, 191 yards): Josh Rives 17-121; Bobby Simmons 13-51; Zac Dixon 6-10; LeRon Walton 1-6; Darnell Scott 5-3. Gillespie (45-155): Jordan Ferratto 21-49; Matt Davis 11-56; Zeke Clements 8-38; Wade Knowles 4-12; Jon Odle 1-0.
  PASSING — Carlinville (1 complete, 6 attempts, 21 yards, 1 int.): Zac Dixon 1-6-21-1. Gillespie (3-11-28-1): Matt Davis 3-11-28-1.
  RECEIVING — Carlinville: Darnell Scott 1-21. Gillespie: Quinn Hellman 3-28.
  PUNTING — Carlinville: Shawn Crouch 5-160 yards (32.0 ave.). Gillespie: Matt Davis 7-169 (24.2).
  FIRST DOWNS — Carlinville 7, Gillespie 11.
  PENALTIES — Carlinville 10-55, Gillespie 5-25.
  RECORDS — Carlinville 4-3, 4-0 South Central West Division; Gillespie 2-5, 1-3.

Thursday, October 9

Carlinville dominates in 53-0 victory over Roxana

Rives rushes for 5 TDs

By Jim Rawlins
Macoupin County Enquirer~Democrat

Some nights everything seems to go perfectly for one team. The offense clicks on all cylinders, while the defense shuts down the opposition.

That was the case Friday night as  Carlinville blew out Roxana 53-0. Aside from an early turnover and a few penalties, Carlinville dominated the action for 48 minutes.

Josh Rives was a force, rushing for 212 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Cavies. Just as impressive, it was the Carlinville defense that shut out the Shells, holding their running backs to -45 yards. That’s right, Roxana gained negative 45 yards.

The game started off on a bad note for the Cavaliers. Carlinville drove the ball all the way down the field before fumbling the ball at the Shell 5. A couple of penalties on the first drive, and fans wondered if this was a sign of things to come.

They never had to worry after that. Carlinville got the ball back at their 43, and on the first play of the drive Rives headed to the end zone to give the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead.

It took two plays for Carlinville to score its second touchdown. Darnell Scott ran 19 yards for a first down, followed by a 38 yard TD run by Rives. Later in the second quarter, the Cavaliers would score on an 11-play, 73 yard drive. Rives added his third TD of the game, a two-yard blast to put Carlinville up 18-0.

Carlinville found time to score once more in the second quarter. Bobby Simmons and Zac Dixon both had big runs, but this time the Cavaliers would score through the air. Dixon found Trevor Rhodus in the back of the end zone for a nine yard pass. Even with defensive pass interference, Rhodus managed to hang on to the ball. Shawn Crouch connected on the extra point, and Carlinville led 25-0 at the half.

Roxana did manage a little bit of success through the air, as Drew Fennewald connected on 9-10 passes. However, the Shells managed just one first down and 42 yards in the air during the first half.

The Cavaliers didn’t let up in the second half. Rives returned the opening kickoff from the 15 to the 37. Scott took the ball to the 41, then Dixon followed with a 59-yard pass to Simmons for the touchdown. Special credit goes to Rhodus, who did a flag maneuver to draw the corner man, freeing up Simmons for the score. Carlinville’s lead jumped to 31-0.

A Roxana fumble at their 20 gave the ball back to the Cavaliers. It took Rives one play to rush the ball in for a score, his fourth of the day. Later in the quarter, Rives  added a 43-yard run for another touchdown, his fifth on the day. Crouch’s kick made it a 46-0 Carlinville lead.

At this point the only suspense left in the game was whether Rives would end up rushing for over 200 yards. Rives  ended up hitting the two century mark late in the third quarter, finishing with 212 yards.  That’s the highest rushing total by a Carlinville back in over two years.

Carlinville  added one more score, an 8-yard run by Josh Carnduff. A Crouch extra point made the final score Carlinville 53, Roxana 0.

Along with Rives, several other Cavaliers made significant contributions on the day. Scott and Simmons both rushed for over 50 yards each, while Dixon had four carries for 36 yards. Dixon was also 4-7 for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns.

As for the defense, so many Carlinville players made statements during the game that it’s hard to list them all. Simmons and Will Thyer both recovered fumbles. Thyer, Dylan Kiehna, Michael Upton and Quantrel Williams each had a sack, but several Cavaliers also recorded tackles for losses. Jamal Zollicoffer once again led Carlinville in tackles (6 solo and 6 assists), while Eddie Ray had 7 and Travis Edwards added six.

Perhaps the most important stat comes from the record books. After an 0-3 start, the Cavaliers are now .500 with a 3-3 mark. Even more importantly, Carlinville sits at the top of the South Central West conference with a perfect 3-0 mark.

The next two weeks are key for the Cavaliers, who hope to defend their conference championship. On Friday Carlinville travels to Gillespie to take on the arch-rival Miners. Gillespie is  2-4 on the season, but should be  extremely motivated in the final Carlinville-Gillespie football contest.

Conference play wraps up Oct. 17 when the Cavaliers host Marquette Catholic. The Explorers are 2-1, tied for second with Southwestern. A victory over Carlinville could give Marquette a possible share of the conference title.

Congratulations goes to Coach Chad Easterday, his coaching staff, and the Carlinville Cavaliers for an impressive victory Friday

*****

Following the game, awards were announced. Rives was named the Gary Edwards Country Insurance Player of the Week.  The Carlinville Football Club Lineman of the Week award  went to Upton, while Zollicoffer was named The Goodman Agency Special Teams Player of the Week. All three players will receive their awards today (Thursday), along with a free pizza from either Little Italy’s or Reno’s Pizza.

*****

We want to acknowledge Bass Raich, who is a running back for Roxana. His grandfather, Charlie Raich, was a legend in central Illinois football, coaching the Shells for 28 years. He was so beloved in Roxana that they named the football field in honor of Raich, who passed away in May.

*****

Carlinville fans received an early Halloween treat during halftime Friday night. The Cavalettes brought their “Thriller” routine out early for the crowd. Only two-years old, “Thriller” has become a favorite.

*****

Tim Tarter is running the Carlinville Cavaliers’ website once again. On the site you’ll find complete stats, as well as a number of photos from each week’s game that didn’t make it into the paper. Visit the site at www.carlinvillecavaliers.com.

Carlinville's Darnell Scott tries to make a move around Roxana's Drew Fennewald during the Cavaliers' 53-0 rout.  Scott picked up 55 yards on 7 carries and is the second leading rusher for CHS this season with 436 yards.

Cody Stewart (53) and an unidentified teammate combine to bring down Roxana's Ryan Touchette for a loss of 6 yards while Travis Edwards (74) looks to get in on the play.  The Carlinville defense held the Shells to minus 45 yards on the ground.

Darnell Scott (1) and Will Thyer (64) have their eyes on a loose football.  Thyer recovered the ball for the Cavaliers, who rolled to a 25-0 halftime lead.

Josh Rives (20) gets a block from Alec Boente (3) and turns upfield on the way to one of his five TD runs against Roxana.  Rives rushed for 212 yards on just 13 carries and leads CHS with 645 rushing yards so far this season.

The Cavies take the field against Southwestern in 2005.