The Carmi-White County Bulldogs will hit the road Friday night as they travel to Sesser for Week 6 of the IHSA Football Season.
Carmi is coming off a heartbreaking 20-14 loss to Fairfield in Week 5. The Bulldogs scored to tie the game with under a minute to go in regulation before the Mules scored the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds, handing Carmi its second straight loss.
The Bulldogs now sit at 1-4 on the season with just four games remaining in the regular season. With the expanded IHSA playoff field this year, Carmi is still very much in the playoff conversation, but there isn’t much room for error over the final four weeks.
Standing in their way this week is a Sesser-Valier team that has given the Bulldogs plenty of trouble over the years. The Red Devils have defeated Carmi in eight of the last nine seasons, making Friday night’s matchup another tough test for the Bulldogs.
Sesser enters the game with a 1-4 record as well, but the Red Devils are coming off their first win of the season. Sesser traveled to Christopher last Friday and picked up a convincing 38-14 victory over CZRE.
The win may have caught some people by surprise considering the Red Devils opened the season with four straight losses, but those losses came against teams with a combined 16-3 record. Sesser was also outscored by a combined 105 points in those first four games.
Despite the rough start to this season, Sesser has been one of the more successful programs in the conference over the last decade. The Red Devils have won at least five games in each of the last 10 seasons, not including the shortened 2021 COVID season. Sesser had one of its best seasons in recent memory in 2023, going 11-1 and advancing all the way to the quarterfinal round of the IHSA playoffs.
Now in his second season as head coach, Nick Wingo is working to replace several important seniors from last year’s team. The Red Devils finished 6-4 a season ago, and five of those seniors were named to the All-Black Diamond Conference First Team, with another making Second Team.
Even with the losses from last year’s team and their 1-4 record, Sesser has shown flashes of being a competitive football team. Last week’s 38-point performance was the first time this season the Red Devils were able to put everything together offensively, and they will look to carry that momentum into Friday night.
Junior Jacob Potts has been the biggest piece of the Red Devils’ offense this season.
Potts leads the team in rushing with 462 yards and three touchdowns, while also catching seven passes for 70 yards. Potts has rushed for at least 90 yards in four of Sesser’s five games this season, including a 127-yard performance in last week’s win at Christopher.
Stetson Packer and Ty Galloway will also get their opportunities in the Sesser running game. The two have combined for 107 rushing yards on 23 carries this season.
At quarterback, Brian Mann has taken over the offense. Mann was an All-BDC Honorable Mention last season as a defensive back and has shown that he can make plays both through the air and on the ground. Mann has attempted 51 passes this season, throwing for 256 yards and one touchdown, but he has also thrown four interceptions.
Where Mann has really been able to make an impact is with his legs. He has rushed for 260 yards and four touchdowns this season, giving Carmi another major threat to account for when the Red Devils have the football.
Sesser likes to spread the field and create opportunities for its athletes in space, meaning keeping both Mann and Potts contained will be one of Carmi’s biggest challenges defensively.
“Their quarterback is a dynamic athlete,” said Carmi-White County Head Coach Clinton Wolff. “They’ve got two really nice running backs. We will definitely have to contain their running game.”
Sesser has built a reputation over the years for having athletes who can run the football, but another trademark of the Red Devils has been the size of their offensive and defensive lines, and that is once again be the case in 2026.
“They are probably the biggest line of scrimmage that we will face all season,” said Wolff. “They are massive up front.”
Two of the biggest players up front are junior left tackle Miller Rounds, who checks in at 6-foot and 340 pounds, and junior right tackle Kase Harris, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 340 pounds.
The Bulldogs will have to find a way to consistently move the football against a Sesser defense that will bring plenty of size up front. Carmi has shown flashes throughout the season, but sustaining drives and finishing those drives with points will be important as the Bulldogs look to get back in the win column.
“Offensively we have to get off the ball and drive, we have to engage, and we have to win those blocks and those battles and let our skill kids get to the second and third level,” said Wolff. “We have got to be able to do that to sustain drives this week.”
The Bulldogs have four regular season games remaining, and each one becomes more important as the postseason gets closer.
The IHSA expanded the football playoffs this season from 32 teams per class to 48 teams per class. Five-win teams are guaranteed a playoff spot, but the expanded field also means a number of teams with four wins, and even some teams with three wins will have a chance to extend their seasons.
That means both Carmi and Sesser still have plenty to play for.
Both teams enter Friday night’s game at 1-4, and a win would give either team a much-needed boost heading into the final three weeks of the regular season.
“We’re both 1-4, and we’re both going to finish the season around 4-5 or 5-4 depending on how this game goes,” said Wolff.
Carmi will look to put last week’s heartbreaking loss behind them and come away with a big road win against a Sesser team that has had the Bulldogs’ number in recent years.
Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM Friday night in Sesser. Fans can watch and listen to every play of the game on 97.3 FM WRUL and the WRUL Sports YouTube Channel. The Taylor Eye Care Pregame Show will begin at 6:30 PM.