MURPHYSBORO — It was the Thanksgiving Murphysboro football players and coaches had dreamed about. The Red Devils practiced at 8:30 in the morning on a cold and dreary day, but there were no complaints.
You see in Illinois, practicing on Thanksgiving means you’re playing in the football state championship, and this will be the Red Devils first football title game appearance in school history.
Murphysboro (11-2) will face unbeaten Richmond-Burton in the 4A championship game in DeKalb. The Rockets have allowed only 80 points all season, and took down two of the favorites to win it all, IC Catholic and Coal City, along the way.
The Red Devils say they’re not worried about being the underdogs. In fact, senior Zane Caraway said that puts all the pressure on the Rockets.
Kickoff will be at 7:00 at Huskie Stadium on the campus of Northern Illinois University. Earlier in the day, Nashville from the Mississippi side of the River to River will face Newman Central Catholic in the 2A title game. That game will start at 1:00.