Sensing the potential for a letdown following his team's huge win over East St. Louis last week, Belleville East coach Tim Funk and his staff spent this week urging the Lancers not to dwell on past accomplishments.
That includes Belleville West, which lost twice to Belleville East last season and is coming off a loss to the Collinsville Kahoks.
"They really haven't changed how they've acted this week in practice," said Funk, whose team has not lost to West since 2008. "Myself and the coaching staff made a big push toward not overlooking somebody that's got a 1-3 record whether it's a rivalry or not.
"We've kind of got to keep them grounded. There's no question that's a huge win, that's got to be up there in the top four or five wins since I've been here at East over a nine-year period."
The Lancers did plenty of celebrating after handing East St. Louis its first Southwestern Conference loss on the field since 2005.
Now that it's over, Funk wants to see more improvement in every aspect of the game.
The Lancers have piled up yards behind running backs ReShawn Bean and Chase Allen while quarterback David Carter has been efficient.
It could be a long day if the Maroons don't find a way to slow the Lancers' run game down.
West coach Cameron Pettus is quite familiar with Funk, even dating back to Pettus' playing days.
"I've known him for a long time. He actually coached me at Millikin and we coached together at McKendree," Pettus said. "I've got a lot of respect for their program and what they've been able to do.
"Honestly, we can learn a lot from their program."
Rivalry aside, Pettus needs to see improvement from a West team that is dealing with a new offense and numerous first-year starters.
"Any time we play them they're going to be ready to go, it really doesn't matter who they played (last week)," Pettus said when asked about the potential for an upset. "I'm trying to make sure this program understands where it needs to go. We need to learn and make sure we're doing things the right way. It's a building process and we understand that."
Funk had to do some building of his own at East.
"I think they're better than a 1-3 football team, but that's what it is," Funk said. "They do have weapons and we're going to have to make sure we know where they're at."
Today's game: Belleville West (1-3) at Belleville East (3-1), 1 p.m.
Last meeting: The teams played twice in 2010 and Belleville East won both times. The Lancers defeated the Maroons 33-14 in the regular season game and 21-13 in the state playoffs.
Last week: Belleville East hung a stunning 17-14 overtime defeat on the East St. Louis Flyers, while Belleville West dropped a 17-11 decision to Collinsville.
Belleville West players to watch: RB Deonte McCarvey (49 carries, 209 yards, 1 TD); QB Kyle Leadlove (48-95, 508 yards, 4 TDs, 0 int.); WR Ray Scott (15 catches, 179 yards, 1 TD); WR Demechico Spraggins (14 catches, 100 yards); LB Tremont Davis (49 tackles, 2 sacks); LB Pierre Gee-Tucker (40 tackles, 2 sacks); LB Tori Millender (15 tackles, 4 sacks); Kicker Austin Seibert (4 FG, 5 XP)
Belleville East players to watch: RB ReShawn Bean (85 carries, 523 yards, 7 TDs); RB-LB Chase Allen (20 carries, 158 yards, 3 TDs; 48 tackles, 1 sack, 2 int.); QB David Carter (17-38, 261 yards, 1 TD, 1 int.); TE Nolan Dowling (5 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD); WR Christian Herring (8 catches, 82 yards); DB Orlando Ward (24 tackles); Kicker Brandon Hoguet (2 FG, 13 XP)
Notes: The return of middle linebacker Tori Millender from an injury definitely impacted the West defense last week. Millender was in on 16 tackles and also had four quarterback sacks. ... West also hopes to have Marquis Cherry (stress fracture) back at noseguard and offensive tackle.
