CARTERVILLE — You can’t blame Carterville head football coach and athletic director Brett Diel for hoping this fall will go smoother than the recent COVID-shortened spring season.
The Lions finished 5-1, but getting there was anything but easy.
Perhaps no team in the state had more hurdles to clear to play games during the spring football season than the Lions. Due to opponents’ decisions not to play and another that had to miss due to COVID, the Lions wound up playing only three of their six originally scheduled opponents.
They added a pair of Missouri teams just days before their games in weeks four and five and proceeded to win both games. The Lions started four sophomores on the offensive line during the spring. Diel says retention has been great with the quick turnaround, especially on the o-line.
The Lions will have to replace some key seniors who graduated including quarterback Eli Downen and running back Preston Sumner, but Diel likes what he’s seen so far from the younger guys eager to get their numbers called.
Carterville will open the season August 27 at Benton. There are two new additions to the Lions’ schedule. Week seven Madison replaces Sparta, who left the SIRR Mississippi, and week nine, Harrisburg replaces Mascoutah.