Charleston High School would not be denied victory in its home opener against Paris High School, winning 25-18 in week two of the Illinois High School Association football season.
The game was a back-and-forth thriller, with neither team able to really pull away at all.
Here are some notable numbers to keep track of:
1: Charleston has been involved in four one-score games dating back to last season. The Trojans are 3-1 in those games, with their only loss being round two of the 2023 IHSA 4A Playoffs.
They won games by point margins of four and three last season, against Effingham High School and Freeburg Community High School respectively, to go along with a point margin of seven in Fridays win.
2: After his low line drive kick on a field goal that gave the Trojans their first points of the game, junior kicker and punter Max Weber had two extra points blocked by Paris. When he was called upon to kick a 35-yard field goal late in the game, he made sure that the kick had a higher trajectory so that it wasn’t blocked.
Him making that field goal was crucial because it put the Trojans up seven, which took the pressure off the defense. Instead of Paris (0-2) trailing by four and only needing to score a touchdown to win, the Tigers needed the touchdown and a conversion on either the extra point or a two-point conversion.
The Tigers missed the extra point on their first touchdown and failed twice at subsequent two-point conversions.
3: Charleston had issues containing Paris running back and linebacker Mason Byrnes, who went off for 207 total yards, scoring all three of Paris’ touchdowns.
The silver lining for the Trojans, however, is that no other Tiger had a large impact on the ground. The Tigers attempted 17 rushes with someone other than Byrnes, and only gained 28 yards between four players.
Charleston would love to limit the big passing plays, which is how Paris most effectively moved the ball when it wasn’t with Byrnes.
8: Third down conversions were a big problem for both teams. Charleston only moved the chains on third down once in nine attempts, and Paris was 2-for-10. Both failed on eight occasions to pick up a first down once it got to third down.
Paris was a lot more willing to go for it on fourth down; however, they only converted once at the end of the first half on fourth. Five turnovers on downs for the Tigers, with two of those the result of a busted play due to a bad snap on a punt attempt.
45: Charleston’s drives on average began at their own 45-yard line, compared to Paris’ average start on their own 22. Paris’ offense outgained Charleston’s, despite the Trojans possessing the ball for eight minutes longer than the Tigers, mainly because they had to put together longer drives than the Trojans.
113: Senior running back and linebacker Ben Coffey had 113 yards on the ground for the Trojans, and senior quarterback and defensive back Luke Bonnstetter had 113 yards in the air on 10-for-20 passing.
Bonnstetter did well throwing the ball when the Trojans ran plays that were designed to get him on the move, with the highlight of that being his first passing touchdown of the season to senior wide receiver and defensive back Chase Clough.
The Trojans will host Jersey Community High School next Friday at Trojan Hill.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
