It is another showdown week in Little Illini Conference football. This Friday’s premiere battle pits Mt. Carmel against Olney, vying for the undisputed league lead.

Mt. Carmel (3-0 conference record, 5-0 overall) just missed the Top 10 in the latest Associated Press Class 3A poll (they did receive votes), though the Golden Aces are rated sixth in the latest Massey Class 3A listing. Olney (3-0, 3-2), the two-time defending LIC champions, have bounced back from an 0-2 non-conference start with three straight league wins since. That’s 17 straight LIC wins over three years, in case you’re counting.

Paris (2-1, 4-1), after a heartbreaking last-minute loss to Mt. Carmel which broke up a perfect start, will try to bounce back against always-dangerous Newton, which took Olney to the wire last week before losing.

The national rating service Massey and our own in-house prediction service agree on three of the four scheduled conference games this week. They differ on the outcome of what is often termed the “Clark County Civil War,” the yearly duel between ancient rivals and LIC charter members Casey-Westfield and Marshall. Massey likes Casey-Westfield, while our service prefers Marshall.

Here is the lineup for Friday night, including conference and season records, kickoff times (CDT). plus predictions:

Olney (3-0, 3-2) at Mt. Carmel (3-0, 5-0), 7:00 p.m.
Massey says: Mt. Carmel by 18 points
Our prediction: Mt. Carmel 37-20

Robinson (1-2, 2-3) at Lawrenceville (0-3, 0-5), 7:00 p.m.
Massey says: Robinson by 21 points
Our prediction: Robinson 31-24

Casey-Westfield (1-2, 2-3) at Marshall (1-2, 2-3), 7:00 p.m.
Massey says: Casey-Westfield by 22 points
Our prediction: Marshall, 18-16

Paris (2-1, 4-1) at Newton (1-2, 2-3), 7:00 p.m.
Massey says: Paris by 7 points
Our prediction: Paris, 31-27