Prep Football: Heavyweight Fight
For the new school, there will be no Bruce Buffer.
For the old school, there will be no Mills Lane.
But for Eldorado, the reigning, defending, undisputed champions of the Black Diamond Conference, their chance at repeating starts and could likely end Friday night at Fairfield.
The heavyweight fight that could determine the fate of the BDC crown will go down Friday night between the two schools that have a long history of putting up points.
The Mules are 6-0 on the season - their best start in 22 years - and for the Eagles and head coach Brandon Hampton he's already prepared for a knock down, drag out war for conference bragging rights at the Train Yard.
"The Train Yard is a tough place to play and we are at that Big Three part of our schedule with Fairfield, Johnston City and Chester, but Friday night is a chance for us to stay in the hunt," Hampton said. "We win this week, we stay alive with the opportunity to win the Black Diamond Conference."
Hampton added the ball is in Eldorado's court and that his team controls its own destiny, which he said is a good position to be in.
The Mules have put up 216 points on offense this season, while limiting the opposition to 58. Fairfield beat Chester to start the season 22-12 and then ripped off a 62-6 win over Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton Week 2. They followed that up with a 32-0 shutout win over Hamilton County and knocked off Edwards County 36-14 in Week 4. Fairfield beat Carmi 28-14 in Week 5 and this past Saturday finished off Vienna-Goreville 36-12 on the road.
Hampton equates Fairfield to his own Eagles team when breaking down the two clubs.
"They're built real similar to us," he said. "They have a very physical style of offense and if you get your eyes in the wrong spot they can hurt you. They have a lot of team speed and throw the ball very well. It's a type of offense that the first time you get your eyes in the wrong spot or don't do your job, they hit you with a knockout blow. It will be a heavyweight fight and the first team to put their gloves down is the one that will likely get hit with a knockout blow."
The Eagles' Thunder and Lighting duo of Trey Vessel and Payton Price will counter the three-headed monster of Fairfield's Brant McGill, Wyatt Borah and Devon Butler.
Price is the conference's leading rusher - almost by a landslide - as the senior has accounted for 1,118 yards on 63 carries and a league high 17 touchdowns.
The next best is Carmi's Andrew Burnett (116 carries for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns).
McGill ranks seventh in the conference with 530 yards on 64 carries and seven TD's, while Borah is ninth with five touchdowns on 59 carries for 563 yards.
Right behind Borah is Vessel with 66 carries for 515 yards and three TD's and Butler is 12th with three touchdowns on 335 yards and 65 carries.
The difference, according to Hampton, is this year's Fairfield team is not as one dimensional as they have been in the past after the graduation of Colton Land.
"They have a lot of team speed," Hampton said. "Those three are about as good as you're going to get on one team, plus, they're able to throw the ball with success and you can't totally abandon the pass game."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register and Eldorado Daily Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.