Linton-Stockton's Adam Rose (88) gets a drink during the Miners' 42-21 win over North Knox last week. The Class A No. 4 Miners will play at Union (Dugger) at 7 p.m. Friday. (By B.J. Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

Linton-Stockton (7-0, 4-0) at Union (Dugger) (5-2, 2-2) -- The longest running series in the area will continue at 7 p.m. Friday at Dugger when the Class A No. 4 Miners visit the Bulldogs in a Southwest Seven Conference match-up.

The Miners are coming off of a 42-21 victory over North Knox Oct. 3. Union (Dugger) snapped a two-game skid with a 21-6 victory at Eastern Greene.

Union's Gerran Wilkes (70) and Trent Collins (80) gang up to tackle Eastern Greene QB Gunnar Porter in the Bulldog's 21-6 win last week. (By Travis David/Greene County Daily World).

Linton-Stockton has won 20 consecutive regular-season games and 21 in a row in the conference. They have never lost a Southwest Seven game since the conference began in 2005.

The Miners have beaten Union (Dugger) 33 games in a row. Union (Dugger) last defeated Linton-Stockton 18-6 in 1973.

Despite those gaudy numbers, Linton-Stockton coach Steve Weber said a conference title is not a foregone conclusion.

"This season is far from over," said Weber, whose Miners won 41-6 at Linton last year. "Union cannot be taken for granted.

"They have a great fan base and a very talented quarterback in B.J. Howard."

Howard has thrown for 753 yards and eight touchdowns. He also has rushed for 414, 4.5 yards per carry, and an area-best 10 touchdowns.

Weber added that he is glad to see the conference more competitive this season.

"We have had two tough battles the last two weeks," said Weber. "There is no doubt this is the strongest the conference has been. And that is better for all the teams in our league.

"Our conference is finally getting the respect it deserves."

Union head coach Todd Gambill also agreed with Weber on the competitiveness of the conference this season.

"This is the most competitive that I have seen the conference as far as the teams in the middle of the pack," Gambill said. "Linton is still the cream of the crop, but the rest of the teams are really starting to be bunched together more closely.

"It really helps us a team to face good quality opponents week after week."

The Miners amassed over 400 yards of total offense in the victory over the Warriors, who came into the game unbeaten.

Quarterback Keith Cunningham has completed 57 of 94 passes for 1,104 yards. He has thrown 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.

The senior also has rushed for 432 yards (9.8 per carry) and four TDs.

Evan Magni (10) and Mickey Tosti (nine) have combined to score 19 total touchdowns.

"They definitely have a lot of weapons at their disposal on offense," Gambill said of the Miners. "Our defense will have their hands full all night long."

Jordan Tharp leads the Miners with 19 catches, four for touchdowns.

Cameron Coleman scored three TDs (one receiving) last week. He averages over seven yards per rush and 22 yards on each of his 10 receptions.

Gambill mentioned that he feels both teams skilled players matchup well against each other, but depth my come into play in the outcome.

"I don't feel like they are much more talented than us at any of the skilled positions," the veteran Bulldogs head coach said. "But they can sub their seniors out for another experienced player where when we sub we don't really have that luxury."

The game will mark the final regular season home game for 12 Bulldog seniors.

"Being senior night the kids will want to make a good showing," Gambill said. "Unlike homecoming where the kids may have been distracted by everything going on around them, I think Friday night the kids will be more focused and concentrate on the task at hand."

The task will be a tall one, but Gambill pointed out his team really has nothing to lose.

"Linton is the team that is playing for the conference crown, there is no pressure on us. We are just going to come out play hard and try to keep the game close until the end and see if we can pull off the upset."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Notes: The Miners lead the series 45-7-2. But before the current streak, Linton-Stockton was ahead just 13-7-2 and the Bulldogs had won 4 of 5.

Paoli (7-0) at Eastern Greene (1-6) -- It will be senior night at Eastern Greene Friday night when they play host to undefeated Paoli. The Thunderbirds will be looking to end the home portion of their season with their first win on their new field.

Paoli continues to be one of the hottest teams in the state. The Rams, who posted a 11-59 record between 2000 and 2006, have started 2008 by winning their first seven games.

The Rams, ranked No. 12 in Class 2A, has outscored opponents by almost 29 points per game. They allow 12.7 ppg while scoring 41.3.

After going 0-10 in 2006, the third winless season in four years, coach Brian Balsmeyer's Rams went 6-5 a year ago. They have won 13 of their last 15 games, including ending a eight-year post season drought with a 23-20 win in the sectional victory over Clarksville a year ago.

Before the recent streak of success, the Rams won just two games while losing 41.

They blasted Corydon Central 47-6 at home a week ago.

"Coach (Brian) Balsmeyer has done a great job of turning things around down there," Eastern Greene head coach Luke Dean said of the Rams. "They are the most fundamentally sound team that we have seen all year."

Last season, the first ever meeting of the two teams, the Rams came away with a 46-14 win on their home turf.

"Last year we got off to a slow start and was down 21-0 in less than six minutes," Dean said. "It's crucial that we do not have that type of start Friday night."

The offense of the T-Birds possess the top two leading rushers in the area in the form of Miguel Olvera (605 yards) and Gunnar Porter (502 yards). Olvera was held to a season-low of just 13 yards in last week's 21-6 loss to Union, while Porter picked up the slack with 93 yards.

"We feel like we had the worst offensive showing last week," Dean said of the T-Birds 201 total yards of offense against the Bulldogs. "That is something that we are trying to correct and hopefully we will have a better showing Friday night."

The lackluster performance on the offensive side of the ball came one week after they scored a season-high of 28 points against North Central and piled over 350 total yards in a 35-28 heart-breaking loss.

In addition to being the second leading rusher, Porter is also the signal caller for the T-Birds. Last week the sophomore tossed for 95 yards through the air connecting on nine passes.

Fellow classmate Zach Ingram caught three passes for 29 yards in the loss.

Tanner Bailey leads the team in receptions (11) and yards (128) for the season.

Dean mentioned a key for the T-Birds this week will be ball control and getting first down to keep the chains moving.

"Paoli is a great team. They are an option team and they execute it very well," the first year head coach said. "I think the game will come down to ball control and turnovers. We have to be able to continue to move the chains and create some turnovers."

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

SOUTHWEST SEVEN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

Linton-Stockton 34, Eastern Greene 16

North Knox 33, Pike Central 7

Tecumseh 12, North Daviess 7

Union (Dugger) 48, North Central 8

Wood Memorial 14, Princeton 6

Friday, Aug. 29

Linton-Stockton 48, Sullivan 8

North Daviess 52, N. Central 0

North Knox 49, Eastern Greene 14

Tecumseh 44, Wood Memorial 8

Union (Dugger) 35, Riverton Parke 13

Friday, Sept. 5

Union (Dugger) 20, Indiana Deaf 0

N. Daviess 36 Eastern Greene 8

S. Vermillion 34 North Central 13

North Knox 34, Sullivan 0

Linton-Stockton 42, Wood Memorial 0

Friday, Sept. 12

North Knox 25, Wood Memorial 0

Linton-Stockton 14, West Vigo 0

North Daviess 26, Washington 10

Union (Dugger) 13, Monrovia 8

N. Vermillion 22, North Central 6

Saturday, Sept. 13

Forest Parke 51, Eastern Greene 14

Friday, Sept. 19

Eastern Greene 16, Wood Memorial 8

Linton-Stockton 67, Springs Valley 0

North Daviess 22, Union (Dugger) 21

North Knox 56, North Central 0

Friday, Sept. 26

Linton-Stockton 22, North Daviess 7

North Central 35, Eastern Greene 28

Perry Central 31, Wood Memorial 0

Saturday, Sept. 27

North Knox 31, Union (Dugger) 7

Friday, Oct. 3

Riverton Parke 20. N. Central 17

Linton-Stockton 42, N. Knox 21

Union (Dugger) 21, Eastern Greene 6

North Daviess 26, Wood Memorial 12

Friday, Oct. 10

Linton at Union (Dugger), 7 p.m.

North Daviess at North Knox, 7 p.m.

Paoli at Eastern Greene, 7 p.m.

Wood Mem at N Central, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 17

Eastern Greene at Eastern (Pekin), 7:30 p.m.

N Central at Linton-Stockton, 7 p.m.

North Daviess at Springs Valley, 7 p.m.

North Knox at Washington, 7 p.m.

Union (Dugger) at Wood Me 7:30 p.m.

Linton-Stockton vs. Union (Dugger) Football series

Since 1946

Linton-Stockton leads series 45-7-2

Linton-Stockton has won 33 in a row

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

1948 -- Union (Dugger) 21, LINTON-STOCKTON 0

1949 -- Union (Dugger) 32, LINTON-STOCKTON 0

1950 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 35, Union (Dugger) 25

1951 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 45, Union (Dugger) 7

1952 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 7, Union (Dugger) 6

1953 -- Union (Dugger) 20, LINTON-STOCKTON 7

1954 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 13, Union (Dugger) 6

1955 -- Union (Dugger) 13, LINTON-STOCKTON 12

1956 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 20, Union (Dugger) 13

1957 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 28, Union (Dugger) 14

1958 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 27, Union (Dugger) 6

1959 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 46, Union (Dugger) 0

1960 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 35, Union (Dugger) 0

1961 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 43, Union (Dugger) 0

1967 -- Linton-Stockton 33, UNION (DUGGER) 0

1968 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 12, Union (Dugger) 12, Tie

1969 -- UNION (DUGGER) 32, Linton-Stockton 6

1970 -- Union (Dugger) 16, LINTON-STOCKTON 0

1971 -- Linton-Stockton 8, UNION (DUGGER) 8, Tie

1972 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 8, Union (Dugger) 6

1973 -- UNION (DUGGER) 18, Linton-Stockton 6

1974 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 25, Union (Dugger) 0

1975 -- Linton-Stockton 14, UNION (DUGGER) 0

1976 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 37, Union (Dugger) 0

1977 -- Linton-Stockton 14, UNION (DUGGER) 0

1978 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 41, Union (Dugger) 0

1979 -- Linton-Stockton 48, UNION (DUGGER) 0

1980 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 32, Union (Dugger) 14

1981 -- Linton-Stockton 49, UNION (DUGGER) 0

1982 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 66, Union (Dugger) 0

1983 -- Linton-Stockton 15, UNION (DUGGER) 14

1984 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 27, Union (Dugger) 8

1985 -- Linton-Stockton 26, UNION (DUGGER) 0

1986 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 27, Union (Dugger) 0

1987 -- Linton-Stockton 40, UNION (DUGGER) 7

1988 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 30, Union (Dugger) 6

1989 -- Linton-Stockton 39, UNION (DUGGER) 6

1990 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 13, Union (Dugger) 12

1991 -- Linton-Stockton 21, UNION (DUGGER) 6

1992 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 55, Union (Dugger) 14

1993 -- Linton-Stockton 37, UNION (DUGGER) 3

1994 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 6, Union (Dugger) 0

1995 -- Linton-Stockton 26, UNION (DUGGER) 13

1998 -- Linton-Stockton 76, UNION (DUGGER) 12

1999 -- Linton-Stockton 53, UNION (DUGGER) 12

2000 -- Linton-Stockton 54, UNION (DUGGER) 26

2001 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 29, Union (Dugger) 16

2001 -- *Linton-Stockton 53, UNION (DUGGER) 22

2002 -- Linton-Stockton 35, UNION (DUGGER) 15

2003 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 56, Union (Dugger) 14

2004 -- Linton-Stockton 71, UNION (DUGGER) 18

2005 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 41, Union (Dugger) 13

2006 -- Linton-Stockton 34, UNION (DUGGER) 6

2007 -- LINTON-STOCKTON 41, Union (Dugger) 6

*Sectional

1999 game was played at Dugger, but it was Linton's home game.

Union (Dugger) had won four of five games before the current losing streak to Linton began back in 1974.

Eastern Greene football series

vs. Paoli

Paoli leads series 1-0

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

2007 -- PAOLI 46, Eastern Greene 14

Area Football

Individual Statistics

(Unofficial)

Games through Oct. 3

Rushing

Player, Team Att. Yds Avg. TD

Miguel Olvera, E 105 604 5.8 6

Gunnar Porter, E 127 502 3.9 1 Mickey Tosti, L 89 496 5.6 7

Ke. Cunningham, L 44 432 9.8 4

B.J. Howard, U 92 414 4.5 10

Cam Coleman, L 34 246 7.2 3

Evan Magni, L 25 236 9.4 5

Frank Boyd, U 44 205 4.7 1

Brandon Stegura, U 49 178 3.6 3

Adam Lipscomb, U 33 146 4.4 1

Jesse Lipscomb, U 21 110 5.2 1

Anthony Morin, L 21 101 4.9 2

Jonathan Davis, E 15 100 6.7 1

Tanner Bailey, E 9 76 8.4 0

Trent Collins, U 7 36 5.1 1

Bradley Thomas, L 4 28 7.0 0

Kaleb Bridges, L 3 26 8.7 0

Miles Hutchison, E 3 23 7.6 1

Ty Scott, L 7 20 2.9 1

Levi Baysinger, L 1 18 18.0 0

Adam Rose, L 3 12 4.0 0

Fred Brust, U 2 11 5.5 0

Dustin Howard, U 1 8 8.0 0

Nick Sparks, L 3 4 1.3 0

Jordan Chubb, U 1 3 3.0 0

George Secrest, U 1 3 3.0 0

Kent Helton, L, 2 3 1.5 0

Keaton Langley, U 1 0 0.0 0

Logan Chesterfield, U 2 -2 -1.0 0

Ryan Campbell, E 2 -2 -1.0 0

Zach Ingram, E 1 -13 -13.0 0

Passing

Player, Team Comp Att Yds TD Int

Keith Cunningham, L 57 94 1,104 15 5

Porter, E 35 71 345 2 6

Ingram, E 1 3 44 1 0

Thomas, L 1 1 27 1 0

Scott, L 1 1 15 0 0

Hutchison, E 1 1 12 0 0

Receiving

Player, Team No. Yds Avg. TD

Jordan Tharp, L 19 359 18.9 4

Blane Boyd, U 18 278 15.4 1

Chesterfield, U 17 300 17.6 4

Magni, L 12 281 23.4 4

Ingram, E 11 95 8.6 1

Bailey, E 11 128 11.6 2

Coleman, L 10 222 22.0 2

Michael Love, E 8 89 11.1 1

Levi Baysinger, L, 6 76 12.7 1

Tosti, L 4 111 27.8 3

Ross Gentry, L 4 57 14.3 1

Adam Lipscomb, U 4 53 13.3 0

Olvera, E 4 44 11.0 0

Stegura, U 4 24 6.0 1

F. Boyd, U 3 21 7.0 1

Brust, U 2 7 3.5 0

Patrick Cullison, L 1 27 27.0 1

Wesley Marshall, U 1 26 26.0 0

Jesse Lipscomb, U 1 20 20.0 0

Caleb Stuppy, L 1 15 15.0 0

Hutchison, E 1 12 12.0 0

Jay Brinegar, E 1 12 12.0 0

Trent Collins, U 1 9 9.0 1

Scoring

Player, Team TD EP 2P S Pts

Magni, L 10 0 2 0 64

Howard, U 10 0 0 0 60

Tosti, L 9 0 0 0 54

Olvera, E 6 0 3 0 42

Chesterfield, U 4 17 0 0 41

Tharp, L 4 0 6 0 36

Coleman, L 5 0 2 0 34

Cunningham, L 4 0 0 0 24

Stegura, U 4 0 0 0 24

Gentry, L 1 13 0 0 19

Morin, L 2 2 0 0 14

Bailey, E 2 0 0 0 12

F. Boyd, U 2 0 0 0 12

Hutchison, E 1 0 1 0 8

Davis, E 1 0 1 0 8

Scott, L 1 0 1 0 8

A. Lipscomb, U 1 0 0 0 6

Baysinger, L 1 0 0 0 6

Cullison, L 1 0 0 0 6

Collins, U 1 0 0 0 6

Ingram,, E 1 0 0 0 6

C. Woerdman, E 1 0 0 0 6

Porter, E 0 0 3 0 6

Fred Brust, U 0 2 0 0 2