Cardinal hosting Pekin for homecoming showdown

Last year, neighboring rivals Cardinal and Pekin came into their matchup with 0 wins on the season.

This time around, things are a little more positive for both squads, though one team seems to have all the momentum.

Pekin (2-3, 2-1 District 6) is coming off a huge 60-6 win over Van Buren last week, while Cardinal (1-4, 0-3 District 6) fell to Alburnett 61-16 in Week 5.

To turn things around, Cardinal has been making changes throughout the lineup in recent weeks. Dakota Showman replaced Tyler Batterson at quarterback vs. Alburnett and went on to throw 9-of-10 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown. Either quarterback ? or both ? may see action behind center vs. Pekin.

?We put in Dakota because he is a little more athletic and seemed to give us more of a chance against Alburnett,? said Cardinal head coach Adam Hadenfelt. ?They?re both getting reps in practice this week and I?m confident in both of them.?

While Cardinal is primarily pass, Hadenfelt wants to see his team establish the run first-thing Friday.

?We?ve got to be able to run the football if we want to be successful,? said Hadenfelt. ?If we can mix it up, we will be able to do some things.?

Pekin head coach Joe Donovan said he hopes to see a more disciplined Panther defense when his team takes the field Friday.

?They spread the ball around and run multiple formations,? said Donovan. ?We?re going to have to be disciplined and make sure we know our assignments.

While Cardinal?s offense likes to throw the ball, Pekin has a running game that can be dangerous.

Shutting down the run will be priority No. 1 for the Comets, but it will be tough sledding for a Cardinal defense that allowed 412 yards rushing against Alburnett last week.

Bruising running back Quentin Garrels leads Pekin in rushes with 576 yards and six touchdowns, while the Panthers also have a big-play threat in Bryce Sines, who scored three touchdowns on carries and two more on runbacks vs. Van Buren last week.

?[Against Van Buren] we did really good running between the tackles and we?ll look to do that again,? said Donovan.

The Panthers also will look to cut back on their turnovers. Against Van Buren they had four.

?The kids are going to be up for it,? added Hadenfelt. ?They?ll be playing kids they know ? many of our kids are friends with their kids ? so that always adds a fun dynamic.?

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Eldon.