Week 1 produced several interesting storylines in Southern Illinois to review and week 2 has several intriguing games to preview. As always, I appreciate input on teams as I'm not an expert on everyone and it's nice to hear what others think.
Southwestern Conference
East St. Louis: Their week 1 36-33 loss to Mt. Carmel has already(understandably) been discussed at length on here and I'm not sure what there is left that has been unsaid. Obviously, penalties and extra points cost the Flyers in this one, but they had plenty go right to stand toe-to-toe with a fellow heavyweight. Next up for the Flyers(0-1) is a home game against St. Frances(0-2) out of Baltimore, who bested East Side 20-13 when they met in Canton, OH week 1 last year. This year's matchup is probably about as good of a football game as you'll be able to see between two currently winless programs. I'd keep my eye on the matchup between St. Frances's offense(averaging just 7 PPG) and the Flyer defense(surrendered 36 points) as both units are still looking to prove themselves. My read is this should be a good one, but nothing would surprise me too much here. Whoever loses will be unfamiliar territory however as East St. Louis has not started 0-2 since 2014 and 2015 was the last season St. Frances lost more than two games, which predates their transparently recruiting players from throughout the nation and being forced out of Maryland's playoffs.
Edwardsville: Kelsey Pickering was one of several rookie head coaches in the area to pick up a win last week, snagging a 30-21 verdict over Jackson(MO). Their win in Edwardsville comes a year after handing the Indians their first home loss in year's at their notoriously challenging playing site. This year's meeting came down to the wire, with Jake Curry tossing a game-winning touchdown to Joey DeMare with just over 30 seconds left to break a 21-21 deadlock(Jackson gave up a safety on the ensuing drive). Curry finished this game with 4 touchdowns and apparently the Tigers did not have star Iose Epenesa for most of this one. The Tigers(1-0) should figure as big favorites next week as the face a solid, but much smaller Cahokia squad.
Belleville East: The Lancers had a wild week leading up to their bout with Collinsville as the heat wave caused them to move to Friday night to 10 am Saturday before lighting strikes moved this back to an afternoon start. Belleville East employed their homefield advantage to the tune of a 10-0 halftime lead, but the Kahoks led 21-10 headed to the fourth. Even after pulling within 21-17, things looked grim for the Lancers late game as the Kahoks had marched down to their 19 yard line with just two minutes remaining. East regained possession inside their own redzone, setting up quarterback a game-winning drive where Armon Vinson found Justin Spears at the goal line for the game-winner in the final minute. The Lancers(1-0) make the lengthy trip to Pekin(1-0) next week in a bid to knock off a Dragon squad that has bested them the last two falls.
Belleville West: The weight of an 18 game losing streak was lifted of the shoulders of the Maroons last week, taking down Mascoutah in a 33-28 tiff. This battle of St. Clair County also marked the debut of head coach Ken Turner with the Maroons after snagging multiple state championships in Missouri. Mascoutah's only lead of the game lasted for a few minutes in the second quarter after taking control 14-13, but this was still a close one throughout. Next week, the Maroons will cross the mighty Mississippi River to face Fort Zumwalt West. This would be another upset if West pulls it off, but a path to playoffs would become viable with it.
Other Scores: O'Fallon(1-0) 54-9 Granite City, Next at Buchanan(MO) | Alton(0-1) 12-22 Cahokia, Next vs Quincy.
I'll update later to include the South 7, Mississippi Valley and other schools
Southwestern Conference
East St. Louis: Their week 1 36-33 loss to Mt. Carmel has already(understandably) been discussed at length on here and I'm not sure what there is left that has been unsaid. Obviously, penalties and extra points cost the Flyers in this one, but they had plenty go right to stand toe-to-toe with a fellow heavyweight. Next up for the Flyers(0-1) is a home game against St. Frances(0-2) out of Baltimore, who bested East Side 20-13 when they met in Canton, OH week 1 last year. This year's matchup is probably about as good of a football game as you'll be able to see between two currently winless programs. I'd keep my eye on the matchup between St. Frances's offense(averaging just 7 PPG) and the Flyer defense(surrendered 36 points) as both units are still looking to prove themselves. My read is this should be a good one, but nothing would surprise me too much here. Whoever loses will be unfamiliar territory however as East St. Louis has not started 0-2 since 2014 and 2015 was the last season St. Frances lost more than two games, which predates their transparently recruiting players from throughout the nation and being forced out of Maryland's playoffs.
Edwardsville: Kelsey Pickering was one of several rookie head coaches in the area to pick up a win last week, snagging a 30-21 verdict over Jackson(MO). Their win in Edwardsville comes a year after handing the Indians their first home loss in year's at their notoriously challenging playing site. This year's meeting came down to the wire, with Jake Curry tossing a game-winning touchdown to Joey DeMare with just over 30 seconds left to break a 21-21 deadlock(Jackson gave up a safety on the ensuing drive). Curry finished this game with 4 touchdowns and apparently the Tigers did not have star Iose Epenesa for most of this one. The Tigers(1-0) should figure as big favorites next week as the face a solid, but much smaller Cahokia squad.
Belleville East: The Lancers had a wild week leading up to their bout with Collinsville as the heat wave caused them to move to Friday night to 10 am Saturday before lighting strikes moved this back to an afternoon start. Belleville East employed their homefield advantage to the tune of a 10-0 halftime lead, but the Kahoks led 21-10 headed to the fourth. Even after pulling within 21-17, things looked grim for the Lancers late game as the Kahoks had marched down to their 19 yard line with just two minutes remaining. East regained possession inside their own redzone, setting up quarterback a game-winning drive where Armon Vinson found Justin Spears at the goal line for the game-winner in the final minute. The Lancers(1-0) make the lengthy trip to Pekin(1-0) next week in a bid to knock off a Dragon squad that has bested them the last two falls.
Belleville West: The weight of an 18 game losing streak was lifted of the shoulders of the Maroons last week, taking down Mascoutah in a 33-28 tiff. This battle of St. Clair County also marked the debut of head coach Ken Turner with the Maroons after snagging multiple state championships in Missouri. Mascoutah's only lead of the game lasted for a few minutes in the second quarter after taking control 14-13, but this was still a close one throughout. Next week, the Maroons will cross the mighty Mississippi River to face Fort Zumwalt West. This would be another upset if West pulls it off, but a path to playoffs would become viable with it.
Other Scores: O'Fallon(1-0) 54-9 Granite City, Next at Buchanan(MO) | Alton(0-1) 12-22 Cahokia, Next vs Quincy.
I'll update later to include the South 7, Mississippi Valley and other schools