Junior guard Tyler Oakley and the rest of his Charleston High School boys’ basketball teammates have been looking forward to Saturday’s game for a while.
Ever since the Trojans (9-13, 1-3) began their season, they’ve had their Apollo Conference matchup against Mattoon (6-16, 0-5) circled on the calendar.
“Each team comes in and seemingly everyone always plays their best,” Oakley said. “It’s really just a game that’s exciting for both sides and we both want to come out winning.”
While Charleston playing Mattoon in basketball may not quite be the spectacle that the Coles County Clash is, plenty of people will still flock to Baker Gym.
Especially when Charleston is going to host two games against its biggest rival on the same night.
For the first time in the tenure of Charleston athletic director and boys basketball coach Brian Deadmond, Charleston will host a doubleheader, with both the girls and boys basketball teams playing Mattoon.
“I don’t think I need to say a whole lot to get [the Trojan boys’ basketball team] ready for that game,” Deadmond said. “I don’t need to get them psyched up for that game.”
The Mattoon-Charleston rivalry has boiled over in boys’ basketball. In the final regular season game last season, the Trojans hosted the Greenwave at Baker gym on Feb. 15.
Immediately following the Greenwave’s 61-53 win, a few Mattoon players spit on the logo at center court, prompting Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 Superintendent Tim Condron to issue a statement condemning the actions.
“On behalf of the Mattoon School Community, we extend our sincere apologies for the decisions of some of our students and take responsibility for the inappropriate behavior exhibited,” Condron said in a statement. “While nothing will undo those actions, we remain committed to rectify this situation.”
Deadmond said that he will do whatever he can to make sure that the Trojan’s motivation doesn’t stem from those events.
“To me, it’s our rival,” Deadmond said. “We’re going to just be motivated because of that, because it’s Mattoon-Charleston.”
Charleston must play back-to-back games starting with an away conference game against Taylorville. Mattoon is also scheduled to play two games in as many days with one against Lincoln at home Friday.
“Taylorville is far away, so it’s not like we’re gonna be getting back early, Oakley said. “I’ll be trying to get as much sleep as I can and get as much rest before coming and playing Mattoon.”
The key for the Trojans is not to treat Saturday’s game any different than any other game this season, according to senior guard Andrew Kukykendall.
“Everybody’s talking about it,” Kukykendall said. “It’s just about coming out there and acting like it’s a normal game and playing as a team like we usually do.”
The doubleheader, dubbed “Mega Night,” was scheduled for Jan. 10, however it was rescheduled due to inclement weather.
Trojan girls head coach Alex Koebele and his Charleston team (4-19, 0-6) feel like the ability to share the night with the boys’ team is going to benefit them.
“The Mattoon game always brings in a pretty good crowd, but having the varsity boys right after us and everybody playing that day, I expect a pretty good crowd and for it to get a little rowdy which I enjoy and hope it helps the girls,” Koebele said.
In both games, Charleston and Mattoon occupy the fifth and sixth places in the Apollo Conference.
For the Mattoon girls (6-18, 1-4), the team is coming off a 69-10 loss on Thursday to first-place Effingham. Charleston is coming off the back of a loss of its own, 64-35 against Mahomet-Seymour, which extended the Trojan’s conference losing streak to 41 games.
“When you play Mattoon, you can really throw the records out the window,” Koebele said. “It’s a big game. The girls are hungry to win and beat them and get an Apollo [Conference] win which we haven’t had in quite some time.”
Dating back to the 2019-2020 season, the Trojan girls are 2-8 against Mattoon and have lost their last six games against the Greenwave.
In that same timespan, the Trojan boys’ team is 7-5 against the Greenwave but were swept by Mattoon last season.
“Mega Night” starts with the girls’ game at 5 p.m. The boys’ game is set for a 6:30 tipoff.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
