Charleston High School has been outscored by a total of 162 points over its last three games, the same number as Major League Baseball’s regular-season game total.
However, just as those 162 games are in the rearview for the World Series teams, the Trojans (1-7, 1-4) are ready to leave their recent struggles behind as they aim to close the season with a win over Salem (2-6, 1-4).
One of Salem’s two wins came against Mattoon, the lone team Charleston has beaten this season, while the Wildcats’ other victory was over East Alton-Wood River, a team that hasn’t scored a point all year.
“I think we match up well, but we’ve matched up fairly decently with some teams from week one through now and have made some silly mistakes,” Charleston head coach Brian Halsey said.
But despite the rough season, Halsey said the team’s mentality has stayed positive.
“They’re working hard,” Halsey said. “We’ve had some kids that could have very easily, with some injuries, say, ‘hey, I’m going to call it a year,’ and they’re back. They’re going to play tomorrow night.”
One player, who had an injury scare last week which resulted in him missing the second half, was junior running back Treylin Couch. Halsey said he will be out on the field tonight.
“Treylin’s fine,” Halsey said. “That was precautionary.”
With their 1,000-yard running back in the lineup, the Trojans look to end their season on a high note.
Salem does have a 1,000 rushing yard junior running back of its own in Trey Clark. He rushed for a season high 222 yards against Mattoon and has rushed for over 90 yards in six games so far this season.
This means it will likely be a ground-heavy game.
“We need to get a win, then take the momentum into the offseason,” Halsey said.
It’s also senior night for a Charleston team with a rather small senior class. Being one of the younger teams in the Apollo Conference, the Trojans have nine seniors they will be honoring prior to the game.
Halsey said the goal is to send those players out with a win and take the momentum from this game into next season.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Trojan Hill.
Bryce Parker can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
