After opening the 2026 season on the road, the Carmi-White County Bulldogs will finally get to play in front of their home crowd on Friday night when they welcome the Flora Wolves to Harrington-Jeffries Stadium.
And after what both teams showed in Week 1, the Bulldogs won’t be getting any sort of easy home opener.
In fact, two of the biggest surprises in the Black Diamond Conference last Friday came from these two teams.
Not many people outside of White County expected Carmi to go toe-to-toe with Johnston City, the reigning BDC champions and one of the most successful programs in the conference over the last several years, but that’s exactly what the Bulldogs did.
Carmi took a 14-8 lead into halftime and had the Indians on the ropes before Johnston City eventually pulled away for a 24-14 victory. The Bulldogs may have come up short, but they showed plenty of people that this year’s team is going to be much different than the 0-9 team from a year ago.
And while Carmi was turning heads in Johnston City, Flora was doing the same thing up in Clay County.
The Wolves hosted Sesser-Valier and absolutely took care of business, rolling to a 49-8 victory over the Red Devils. The 41-point win was one of the most impressive results of Week 1 in all of southern Illinois and immediately put the rest of the conference on notice.
Flora is coming off a storybook 2025 season in which the Wolves won the first playoff game in school history before advancing all the way to the IHSA Class 2A quarterfinals.
The Wolves did graduate several important pieces from that team, including first-team All-BDC quarterback Parker Helm, but they also return a large portion of their playmakers.
One of those playmakers is senior Kehlin Crawford.
The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Crawford is the reigning IHSA Class 1A high jump state champion and led the BDC in receiving yards last season. He picked up right where he left off in Week 1, catching three passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns against Sesser-Valier.
Flora also returns senior Gage Dugan, another big target at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. Dugan caught three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown in the season opener.
Then there’s senior running back Kormik Massie.
The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Massie is entering his third year as the Wolves’ starting running back. He was named 2nd Team All-BDC in 2024 before earning 1st Team honors last season, and his combination of size and strength makes him a tough player to bring down once he gets moving.
While Flora has plenty of familiar faces returning, the Wolves do have a new quarterback.
Senior Thane Warren has taken over for Helm, giving him some big shoes to fill, but he certainly didn’t look overwhelmed in Week 1. Warren threw for 187 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Sesser-Valier, giving the Wolves another weapon to go along with their talented group of receivers and running backs.
And that’s where Friday night’s game will look completely different from what Carmi saw in Week 1.
Johnston City wanted to pound the football with its foot-to-foot double-wing offense. Flora is almost the complete opposite.
The Wolves will spread the field and operate primarily out of the shotgun, often putting multiple receivers on each side of the formation. Their goal is simple; get the ball into the hands of their athletes as quickly as possible and let them make plays in space.
That can come through quick screens, short passes or taking shots down the field.
For Carmi’s defense, it will be a completely different test.
Instead of having to deal with Johnston City’s physical running game and big offensive line, the Bulldogs will have to cover Flora’s receivers, keep Warren from getting comfortable and make sure the Wolves’ playmakers don’t get loose in the open field.
Head coach Clinton Wolff knows his defense will have to be ready for the challenge.
“You got two of them on each side. Crawford on one side, Dugan on the other. Our guys are just going to have to make plays,” said Wolff. “I am really hoping that our guys up front can put some pressure on the quarterback in those throwing situations.”
If Carmi can get pressure on Warren, it could make things much more difficult for the Flora offense. But if Warren has time to throw and Crawford, Dugan and the rest of the Wolves’ receivers are able to find open space, it could be a long night for the Bulldog defense.
As for Carmi, there was plenty to like about the Bulldogs’ performance last week, the biggest takeaway being the balance in the running game. Six different Bulldogs carried the football against Johnston City, combining for 229 yards on the ground, but the Bulldogs also showed that they can make plays through the air.
Dakota Brown connected with Lex Day for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter, marking Carmi’s first passing touchdown in 658 days.
There is plenty to be excited about with this Bulldog offense, but Wolff knows there are still things that need to be cleaned up.
“We still need to clean up some of our blocking schemes, not only up front, but with our backs,” said Wolff. “We have to make sure we take score of our responsibilities in the blocking game.”
That will be especially important against Flora.
If Carmi can establish the run and control the clock, it could help keep Flora’s offense on the sideline and give the Bulldogs a chance to control the pace of the game.
The Bulldogs will also get a boost on the offensive line this week with the expected return of senior Jayse Digman.
Digman, one of just four seniors on the Carmi roster, missed the season opener with a shoulder injury but is expected to return Friday night and take over at right guard.
His return should give the Bulldogs another experienced body up front as they try to improve on what was already a pretty solid showing against Johnston City.
After only getting to play three home games in 2025 because of field conditions, Wolff and the Bulldogs are excited to finally be back at Harrington-Jeffries Stadium and in front of their home fans for the first of five home games this season.
“It’s nice to be back home. Our facilities look great, our staff has done a phenomenal job making sure those are ready to go for Friday,” said Wolff.
Carmi showed in Week 1 that it can hang with one of the best teams in the conference, and now comes another big test.
Flora showed last week why many believe the Wolves could be one of the teams to beat in the BDC this season. Carmi will need another strong performance, and this time they’ll have their home crowd behind them.
Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM Friday night at Harrington-Jeffries Stadium. Fans can listen to the game on 97.3 FM WRUL and watch the broadcast on the WRUL Sports YouTube Channel. The Taylor Eye Care pregame show will begin at 6:30 p.m.