Prep Football: Finishing On Top?

Chester will want to make it a track meet, that much Eldorado head coach Brandon Hampton knows.

The Eagles skipper wants to make Friday night's regular season finale more a fist fight.

Chester sits 4-4 in the Black Diamond Conference and will need a win to be playoff eligible. Eldorado (7-1) is firmly in the postseason, but there will likely be some scoreboard watching in Randolph county.

Eldorado, along with Carmi and Fairfield are all 7-1 going into the final week of the season and if all three come away with victories, the BDC crown will be split three ways. For the Eagles to take home the championship by themselves, they'll need some help.

Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn will need to beat Carmi and Johnston City has to knock off Fairfield.

It's a thought on Hampton's mind, but not at the forefront as he just wants to end the season on a high note heading into next week's postseason.

"None of that matters right now. My message to the team this week has been we have to finish. Everything we wanted to accomplish is right in front of us. I think the last three weeks, our schedule has really benefited us and has prepared us for the playoffs.

"Chester is a tough matchup, they always have been and it's a tough trip. They're a hungry team trying to get into the playoffs at 4-4. They want to get that win and it's their Senior Night. They are an extremely fast football team and three or four of their best athletes just happen to be the fastest kids in our conference. We're going to have to slow it down if we want to win."

Chester has had a string of bad luck in the last couple of meetings. They got beat at Carmi after scoring the go-ahead touchdown, but a penalty offset the score and Chester didn't crack the end zone again. At Edwards County, the Yellowjackets had a combined five TD's called back.

"They are explosive and they are hungry," Hampton said. "We have handled adversity early in the season and we have played some really good football teams down the stretch. The way our schedule sets up, I think, has been very beneficial as the postseason gets closer."

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register and Eldorado Daily Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.