Tuscola football gears up for Thursday night lights

TUSCOLA — Andy Romine is familiar with having to schedule nonconference opponents.

The veteran Tuscola football coach had to find two nonconference foes every fall for his first eight seasons leading the Warriors with Tuscola in the eight-team Central Illinois Conference.

Then, four nonconference opponents last season when the CIC became a six-team league.

This fall, however, most of the Warriors’ games during Romine’s 10th season leading the program have come against conference opponents. Albeit mostly new ones for Tuscola since it is now part of the Heart of Central Illinois Conference Small division, a football-only league built out of the CIC and the Heart of Illinois Conference in its first year of existence.

Either way, Romine and his program needed a Week 9 opponent after the first eight games were against HOCIC Small teams.

“A Week 9 nonconference game is usually fairly easy to get,” Romine said. “We had contacted a number of schools, but we couldn’t get anybody to commit to a contract.”

Then, Illini West entered the picture. The tradition-rich program located in Carthage on the western side of the state had a Week 9 opening and was interested in playing Tuscola this year.

But neither school was real interested in making a three-hours plus bus trip on the final Friday night of the regular season to play a nonconference game at their respective home venues. And didn’t want to do so this Saturday afternoon since the IHSA playoff pairings will be released later this Saturday night.

So a Thursday night kickoff at Ken Leonard Field on the campus of Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin campus emerged. And that’s what will unfold when Tuscola (5-3) plays Illini West (5-3) at 7 p.m. this Thursday.

“SHG was gracious enough to let us use their facility,” Romine said of the on-campus stadium that opened in 2012, features a turf playing surface and is named in honor of the Hall of Fame coach Ken Leonard, who won 387 games and six state titles in charge of the Cyclones before retiring after the 2022 season. “It makes sense for both teams to meet there.”

Tuscola can clinch a playoff berth, the 33rd in program history and eighth in Romine’s tenure, with a win on Thursday night. The Warriors are already eligible for the playoffs, though, and Romine is confident his team will get a berth based on the 39 playoff points they’ve already accumulated this season. But a win against Illini West, which has won five straight games after an 0-3 start, could maybe be enough to secure a first-round home playoff game for Tuscola.

The Warriors are on their third quarterback of the season after junior Dylan Graves began the season at the position before shifting to running back. Sophomore Jon Pettry then became the starter before the Warriors won their first game on Sept. 6 at Fisher, but missed last Friday night’s 43-0 home win against Fieldcrest with an injury after throwing for 612 yards and five touchdowns in six games. Fellow sophomore Evan Vearil started against Fieldcrest, completing 5 of 16 passes for 82 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown.

Graves is Tuscola’s lead running back, having racked up 697 yards on 115 carries and nine touchdowns, including a 258-yard effort during Tuscola’s 25-20 win at Heyworth on Oct. 11, with junior Cooper Lyons adding 304 rushing yards and three TDs. Senior Parker James is the Warriors’ top receiver, with 33 catches for 392 yards and three touchdowns, with seniors Zach Rennels and Jayden Conner capable pass-catching options, too.

“Dylan has been really, really good at running back,” Romine said. “We’ve had to simplify some things we like to do because we’re so young at some spots, and we haven’t been good enough on the offensive line, especially from a consistency standpoint. We’re still so far from our ceiling, and that’s frustrating to say in Week 8. Our kids are watching film and they know it, too, but if we can get our group to have some confidence and belief, then we’ll be moving in the right direction at the right time of the season.”

This is the second straight season Tuscola has played a nonconference game at a neutral site after opening the 2023 season against St. Bede at Tucci Stadium on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus in Bloomington.

Having this year’s non-traditional, nonconference game at the opposite end of the schedule against a successful program like Illini West — the Chargers have 36 playoff appearances and six state championships in their history — is a different feeling. But one Romine doesn’t anticipate going away in the future as high school football programs continue trying to fill nonconference games on their schedules and conference realignments continue to take place.

“It’s been totally different being in this new league this year, and the uncertainty of what our schedule looks like moving forward will drive you batty if you let it,” Romine said. “I don’t know what happens, but I wouldn’t bet a dollar on what our schedule looks like next year actually happening.”