FRENCH LICK — Many folks in French Lick have been eagerly anticipating the opening of the new casino this week, but the buzz around Springs Valley High School has been about the upcoming football game.

The Blackhawks will entertain seventh-ranked Perry Central in the Sectional 40 championship game Friday night at Death Valley.

The Commodores escaped with a hard-fought 21-14 victory over Linton last week, while the Hawks are coming off a 28-6 drubbing of North Daviess, a win that secured Valley a spot in the sectional final for the first time since the year 2000.

The Hawks suffered a 14-8 setback to Perry Central on the same date (Nov. 3) six years ago and they’ll need an all-around team effort Friday night if they hope to ...

Valley dropped a 38-7 decision to the Commodores in action at Leopold on Oct. 6, but the Hawks have not lost since, downing North Daviess, 45-16, in the regular season finale before ousting West Washington, 9-6, and handing the Cougars another defeat in the sectional semifinal.

Coach Mark Hammond has been pleased with his club’s progress in recent weeks and he’s happy to be playing for a sectional title.

“This is what you play for,” Hammond said. “I’ve been coaching for a long time and winning a sectional title is something I’ve been thinking about ever since I started. Getting this program back to the point where people recognize it as one of the top programs is very important. Winning the sectional is the first step and we’ve put ourselves in position to do that and hopefully we can get the job done.”

Valley has been impressive on defense the last two weeks and they’ll have to find an answer this week for Perry Central junior Bo Gibson, who ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns the last time the two PLAC foes met.

“I really think it’s going to boil down to us being able to contain Gibson,” Hammond admitted. “We’re going to have to attack defensively and not give up any big plays and try to control the ball on offense and keep the momentum on our side as much as possible. That’ll be a big task, but if we can do that, I’ll like our chances.”

Senior quarterback Coulten Hauser has had some big games throwing the ball this season for Perry, which comes in averaging 29.6 points per game. The Commodores have been stingy on defense as well, giving up an average of 8.2 points per outing.

“They’ve got a very balanced team,” Hammond said. “Their offense can move the ball and their defense is very good and that’s what I’ve been most impressed with. They’re very active on defense and they don’t give up the big play, so their defense kind of keeps them going and that’s why we’ve got to be able to concentrate and try to move the ball and find ways to keep drives alive. We were able to have some success the last time we played, but we just weren’t consistent enough.”

Keeping the ball out of the Commodores’ hands will be a key, but the biggest challenge for the Hawks may very well be the big men up front for the Commodores, who average more than 260 pounds across the line.

“I think the last time we met, we were overwhelmed with their size,” Hammond said. “We’d seen them on film and heard how big they were, but until you’re out there standing toe to toe, you don’t really realize how big they actually are. But hopefully that experience from the first game will pay off. Our kids have played against them once and we had some success and maybe that’ll carry over and we’ll see a little different outcome up front this week.”

Senior tailback Brant Crowder racked up 142 yards on just 16 carries in the Hawks’ victory over North Daviess last week, while backfield mate Luke Allstott rushed for nearly 100 yards on 15 carries. The Hawks had some success throwing the ball against the Commodores in their previous meeting, when Dustin Land completed four passes for 55 yards and the lone score, a 28-yard connection with Taylor Wilkinson in the second quarter.

Game time at French Lick is 8 p.m.

Times-Mail Sports Writer Bill Keane welcomes comments at 277-7284 or by e-mail at bill@tmnews.com .