By John Estridge, Sports Editor

Franklin County’s football team members will get a chance to experience football in a big stadium.

Saturday, September 7, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is hosting Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference games at the stadium.

With the exception of East Central, the rest of the EIAC teams plus Milan will take part in a four-game extravaganza.

Greensburg and Connersville open action at noon. Rushville and Franklin County are next up and are advertised to start their action at 2:45.

After the Wildcats’ game, Batesville and South Dearborn start the action at about 5:30 p.m.

The last two teams on the field are Lawrenceburg and Milan. Start time should be around 8 p.m.

“It's just an amazing experience for our players, coaches, and community,” FC coach Wes Gillman said. “Lucas Oil is one of the nicest stadiums in the country. I truly believe that. It's really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You shoot for playing their on Thanksgiving Weekend, but the reality is, only a few teams get to that point. I'm excited for our kids and student body.”

FC is entering the contest at 2-0 while the Lions are 0-2.

In the season’s opening Friday, Aug. 23, the Lions lost to a very tough Milan team, 40-20, before falling to New Castle 39-2 Friday, August 30.

“They're 0-2, but they played a Milan team week one who just beat Batesville pretty handily (35-14). In fact, I think they were leading Milan, at Milan, heading into the fourth quarter.”

For Gillman, he was surprised by how badly the Trojans defeated the Lions on the Rushville gridiron.

“I was a little shocked by that score,” Gillman said. Rushville looked a heckuva lot better against Milan than what they showed against New Castle. I think they really struggled with New Castle's spread offense, and New Castle did a great job of stopping their run game.”

Gillman said he would like to not remember the 2018 matchup between the two teams at Rushville.

FC lost the game 15-14, but it was a very unusual and ugly game.

Thirty penalties were accepted by the two teams while many more penalties were called but not accepted. The accepted penalties added up to 293 yards.

Some Rushville fans were kicked out of the game, and at game’s end, the officials were escorted off the field by Rushville Police Department officers.

Rushville relies on misdirection and the running game; however, the quarterback has a strong arm, Gillman said.

“Like us, they aren't deep, but they have some athletes,” Gillman said. “Offensively, they do a lot of misdirection, jet motion, and try to confuse you in the backfield. Their quarterback has a really strong arm, and from what I've seen on film, they play hard. It's a game we'll have to play well in order to win.

“We'll make that very clear throughout the week, and our kids understand that,” Gillman continued. “Fortunately, playing in a venue like Lucas Oil, playing with high energy and effort shouldn't be an issue.”