Charleston rolls into this game with a quality 20-point victory over Mount Zion to start the Apollo season 1-0 for the first time since 2015. The Trojans look to give Mahomet-Seymour a double-dose of Coles County defeat, as Mattoon were recent victors over the Bulldogs last week. 

Here is the preview of tonight’s game. 

Team Records: Charleston (4-2, 1-0) vs. Mahomet-Seymour (2-3, 1-1)

Where: Baker Gym

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at Charleston High School

School Size: Charleston (796), Mahomet-Seymour (943)

JV Tip-Off: 6:00 p.m.

Varsity Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m.

Opponent’s History: Ryan Bosch enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Bulldogs. In his first season, the team went 12-17. That was followed by a 19-11 record in 2019-2020 and a second-place finish in the Apollo Conference. Last year, the Bulldogs were 9-4 in the shortened season. Altogether, Bosch owns a 40-34 record. 

Mahomet-Seymour’s Past Results: Mattoon defeated Mahomet-Seymour on the road 34-33 last Thursday Two days later the team defeated Mount Zion 53-45. Mahomet opened the season with a 86-79 triple-overtime victory over Champaign Centennial. The team’s two losses on the record appear to be  67-66 loss to Belleville West and 68-64 to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin. 

Mahomet-Seymour’s Top Players: According to coaches around the league, junior Brian Wolters could lead the league in scoring. Wolters is a top baseball prospect in the state of Illinois. He has already verbally committed to Purdue to pitch. Wolters led Mahomet-Seymour with 33 points in their win over Champaign Centennial. Dream Eagle-Morgan was Apollo’s top wide receiver this past football season and is listed at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. Nolan Nierenhausen, a senior, appears to be a leading scorer for the team. 

“We will need to be efficient on the offensive end to get great looks against them,” said head coach Cody Drone. “Defensively, we will need to be solid and disciplined to have success.” 

Mahomet-Seymour’s Team Stats:  Individual and team stats are not available. 

Charleston’s Past Results: After losing to Mount Zion in the championship game of the Paris Holiday Tournament by 20 points, the Trojans reversed the roles by defeating the Braves 71-51. William Applegate scored 21 points, Jaksen Braun scored 19, and Caleb Oakley added 15 points. 

Charleston’s Team Stats: After trailing 13-9 in the first quarter, Charleston posted three straight 20-point quarters to win by twenty points. As a team, Applegate and Braun have bounced back and forth as the team’s leading scorers. JV coach AJ Alexander will resume head coaching duties, while Drone is quarantined. 

What Mahomet-Seymour Said: Coach did not respond to comment. 

What Charleston Said: “We need to continue to get better each and every day,” said Drone. “We valued our possessions against Mt. Zion and got a high percentage looks playing inside out. Against Mahomet, we will need to continue to look for high percentage looks and not settle on the offensive end.”