Interstate 8 Conference Games to Watch In Week 5

<strong>Lumen Christi (4-0) vs Hastings (4-0) Sep. 24th</strong> The Lumen Christi Titans are coming off a 27-20 win over Marshall. The Titans are loaded at the skill positions. <strong>Cole Simpson </strong>is just one of their key playmakers. Simpson’s ability to make plays on offense and defense will be critical in the Titan’s success in this football game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99298" first="Nicholas" last="Wilson"]</strong> is one of the running backs Lumen Christi loves to feed the ball too. Hastings defense must contain Wilson and avoid letting him break long runs as he did against Northwest in week 3. For Hastings, it all starts with star running back <strong>TJ Russell. </strong>In Hastings’s 38-35 win over Harper Creek, Russell carried the ball 20 times for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns. Junior full-back <strong>Robby Slaughter </strong>has given Hastings key contributions in every game this season including a 9-yard rushing touchdown early against Middleville. With both teams having such firepower on offense, this game could easily be a high scoring back and forth football game. <strong>Parma Western (2-2) vs Battle Creek Pennfield (2-2) Sep. 24th</strong> If there was ever a must-win for both these teams, it is this game right here. Western and Pennfield both have their hopes of reaching the playoffs this season. A loss here and that task becomes more difficult. For Parma Western, one of their key players is their quarterback <strong>Nolan Wheeler.</strong> Quarterback Nolan Wheeler is a tremendous athlete who threw a crucial touchdown pass to Western’s wide receiver <strong>Cole Wilcox </strong>in their win over rival Northwest. Wilcox also showed his big-play ability with an incredible catch in the win over St. Johns. Battle Creek Pennfield may have the best quarterback in the Interstate 8 Conference in <strong>Luke Davis. </strong>Davis is fantastic at making defenders miss and was responsible for 240 rushing yards and 128 passing yards in Pennfield’s win over Marshall (<a href="https://twitter.com/lukedavis_33/status/1434228238738497538?s=20">Twitter</a>). Pennfield has a great player in wide receiver <strong>Shawn Gardner. </strong>This game should be very competitive and may come right down to the wire. <strong>Coldwater (2-2) vs Marshall (1-3) Sep. 24th </strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">The Marshall Redhawks have played a very tough schedule so far this season. Two of their losses coming to Hastings and Lumen Christ who are both undefeated. </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">[player_tooltip player_id="176792" first="Nate" last="Tucker"] </strong>the Marshall starting quarterback has a great size and throws with tremendous touch. The defense of Marshall has a strong, physical linebacker in <strong>Logan McCreary. </strong>McCreary was a tackling machine in the win over Gull Lake (<a href="http://Check out this video!">Hudl</a>). For Coldwater, they have one of the best running backs in the conference in <strong>Cam Torres. </strong>Torres had 102 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in the loss to a tough Grand Ledge defense. <strong>Cole Barker </strong>will look to contribute big plays on the defensive side of the football. Barker returned a fumble for a touchdown against Lumen Christi. Both of these teams are good historical programs that are competitive nearly every season. The Interstate 8 Conference always has competitive football teams with Lumen Christi always near the top or not at the top. Parma Western, Battle Creek Pennfield, Coldwater, and Hastings all have a chance to make a statement. Let's see who wants this conference!