With both the Southwestern and Mississippi Valley beginning conference play last weekend, the rankings have become even more clear. The South Seven also continued their jumbled up league schedule. Most of the winners were expected, but some of the scores indicated larger gaps than expected. Plus some thoughts on a 4-0 Roxana team that has outscored their opponents 155-13 this fall.
Southwestern
Edwardsville(4-0) 47-14 O'Fallon(2-2): Not that they weren't already, but Edwardsville just proved to everyone that they a legit. The Tigers were the favorite here, but not by anything close to 34 points and they even had a running clock early in the fourth when they led 47-7. There's obviously a lot that went right in this one for the road team, but quarterback Jake Curry was once again the star of the show with five touchdowns(three passing, two rushing). Losing in this magnitude drops O'Fallon to fourth in my conference power rankings, but close behind third place Belleville East. Edwardsville is solidly in second place, but they are probably closer to East St. Louis than most think.
East St. Louis(2-2) 48-0 Belleville East(3-1): It won't show up in the win column, but the Lancers did keep their visit to East Side scoreless for nearly 15 minutes. The Flyers broke free to a 19-0 lead by halftime before adding four more touchdowns in the second half. Even though it started slow, this score was still as expected. Maybe East St. Louis will get more respect in this week's AP Poll though?
Belleville West(2-2) 8-7 Alton(1-3): The last two seasons, these two teams finished with a combined record of 2-16 with the only wins coming when they played each other. Both teams have looked sharper than years past already, but I still expect this one to stand as the Last Place Bowl. The script perfectly fit that theme, as Alton led 7-6 at halftime. In the fourth quarter, Belleville West was awarded a safety after the Redbirds were flagged for holding in their own end zone. Alton also committed seven turnovers on their home field. You really can't write up a worse way to lose.
Mississippi Valley
Highland(3-1) 42-7 Mascoutah(1-3): What figured as the Valley's headline matchup of week 4 delivered in the first half, as Highland only led 13-7. For those that are arithmetically challenged, that means the Bulldogs blew this open with 29 unanswered points in the final two quarters. Sophomore Blake Gelly's razor sharp accuracy played a key role in this blowout by going 13/16 for 4 passing touchdowns and 197 air yards. Over half of those yards went to Dylan Beadle, who turned 8 catches into 121 yards and 2 TD's. Highland's offense should be expected to continue raining points down against the rest of the conference. Suffering this large a defeat is cause for concern for a Mascoutah team that only has one win to their name, but a viable path to five wins is still there.
Triad(2-2) 41-21 Waterloo(1-3): This read like a borderline must-win for both teams, so the Knights should be relieved by winning in what was a 27 point game late in the fourth. No surprise in a high-scoring game like this one, but Triad quarterback Isaac Ackerman had quite a day with 248 yards passing, 123 more on the ground, and three total touchdowns.
Southwestern
Edwardsville(4-0) 47-14 O'Fallon(2-2): Not that they weren't already, but Edwardsville just proved to everyone that they a legit. The Tigers were the favorite here, but not by anything close to 34 points and they even had a running clock early in the fourth when they led 47-7. There's obviously a lot that went right in this one for the road team, but quarterback Jake Curry was once again the star of the show with five touchdowns(three passing, two rushing). Losing in this magnitude drops O'Fallon to fourth in my conference power rankings, but close behind third place Belleville East. Edwardsville is solidly in second place, but they are probably closer to East St. Louis than most think.
East St. Louis(2-2) 48-0 Belleville East(3-1): It won't show up in the win column, but the Lancers did keep their visit to East Side scoreless for nearly 15 minutes. The Flyers broke free to a 19-0 lead by halftime before adding four more touchdowns in the second half. Even though it started slow, this score was still as expected. Maybe East St. Louis will get more respect in this week's AP Poll though?
Belleville West(2-2) 8-7 Alton(1-3): The last two seasons, these two teams finished with a combined record of 2-16 with the only wins coming when they played each other. Both teams have looked sharper than years past already, but I still expect this one to stand as the Last Place Bowl. The script perfectly fit that theme, as Alton led 7-6 at halftime. In the fourth quarter, Belleville West was awarded a safety after the Redbirds were flagged for holding in their own end zone. Alton also committed seven turnovers on their home field. You really can't write up a worse way to lose.
Mississippi Valley
Highland(3-1) 42-7 Mascoutah(1-3): What figured as the Valley's headline matchup of week 4 delivered in the first half, as Highland only led 13-7. For those that are arithmetically challenged, that means the Bulldogs blew this open with 29 unanswered points in the final two quarters. Sophomore Blake Gelly's razor sharp accuracy played a key role in this blowout by going 13/16 for 4 passing touchdowns and 197 air yards. Over half of those yards went to Dylan Beadle, who turned 8 catches into 121 yards and 2 TD's. Highland's offense should be expected to continue raining points down against the rest of the conference. Suffering this large a defeat is cause for concern for a Mascoutah team that only has one win to their name, but a viable path to five wins is still there.
Triad(2-2) 41-21 Waterloo(1-3): This read like a borderline must-win for both teams, so the Knights should be relieved by winning in what was a 27 point game late in the fourth. No surprise in a high-scoring game like this one, but Triad quarterback Isaac Ackerman had quite a day with 248 yards passing, 123 more on the ground, and three total touchdowns.
