By Jim Beers, Contributing Writer
CHESTER – The Chester High School Boys’ Basketball Team closed out the regular season with a win against Red Bud and a loss to Wesclin. It was Week 13 and games NO. 27 and No. 28 for the Yellow Jackets.
CHS split the final week of regular-season play to finish with 15 wins and 13 losses overall and a Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division record of 5-4. The Jackets completed another winning season both overall in conference action.
Chester 59 – Red Bud 56
Monday February 14 Chester hosted Red Bud in a game that was originally scheduled for Friday February 4 that had to be re-scheduled due to the ferocious ice, sleet and snow storm that hit the area. The first time that the Jackets played the Musketeers was December 17 at Red Bud. On that outing the Musketeers beat Chester 71-57.
The Chester High School Cheerleaders take the floor to “pump up” the crowd in the exciting, action-packed, game against the Red Bud High School Musketeers. Chester won the battle, 59-56, but the contest was a “toss-up” until the final 12.2-seconds. Pictured are Alex Hennrich, Emma Eggemeyer, Dyson Helmers, Savanna Guebert, Ellen McCormick, Bethany Baughman, Peyton Cole, and Kourtney Welten. Not pictured: Reese McCormick. The Cheer Squad is coached by Danielle Laramore and Kandice Williams.
Colbert Gym was packed with fans from both Chester and Red Bud. The Chester High School Pep Band was in full force to provide entertainment and spirit for the event, and the CHS dance Team was on hand to entertain at halftime of the varsity game with a routine they learned at their UDA Dance Camp.
Last but certainly not least, Cheer squads from both Chester and Red Bud were active throughout the game to get both sides of the gym fired-up for their favorite teams. To add a bit of flavor to the cheer scene, former Chester High School student and cheerleader Miki Sternberg, now Miki Friess, is the Cheer Coach for the Red Bud Lady Musketeer Cheer Squad.
The gym was full of rowdy spirit and support from both schools throughout the contest and the game provided plenty of opportunity for excitement, thrills and suspense right up until the final buzzer.
The first quarter was a neck-and-neck battle. Chance Mott and Trace Fricke got things off to a fast start for the YellowJackets with back-to-back baskets and Chester led, 4-0. The Musketeers took a 6-4 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers for a 6-4 lead.
With 5:11 remaining in the first period Chester’s Trace Fricke scored again to tie the game at 6-6. Cooper Eggemeyer kept the Cheater ball rolling with a bucket at 4:13 to re-take a lead, 8-6.
Red Bud’s third 3-pointer of the game allowed the Musketeers to re-take their lead, 9-8 at the 3:36 mark. Yellow Jacket Cooper Eggemeyer scored again at 2:52 to take back the Chester lead, 10-9, after which Red Bud called a time out at 2:35.
Trace Fricke (44), a 6’4″ junior, pulls-up for a six-foot jumper for Chester’s second basket of the night against the Red Bud Musketeers Monday February 14. Fricke was the second-highest scorer for the YellowJackets with 16 points in the 59-56 win against Red Bud. Jim Beers Photo
After Red Bud’s Time out, Trace Fricke hit his third basket of the first quarter to give CHS a 12-9 lead with 1:21 to play. The Jackets defended well the rest of the period but a buzzer-beating three-point prayer from Red Bud tied the game at 12-12.
The exciting first quarter featured four lead changes and three ties to set the tone for a very competitive and boisterous atmosphere from the opening tip-off!
The first minute-and-a-half of the second quarter was a defensive deadlock. Red Bud’s Nic Fehr broke that deadlock by draining a beautiful 3-pointer at the 6:27 mark to re-take a 15-12 lead.
That only stirred the YellowJacket’s nest as they followed with a nice 10-0 run the take a commanding 22-15 lead with 2:49 remaining in the half.
Davante Palacio started that run with a basket at 5:58. Lucas Thomas connected for a 3-pointerat 4:41 and Trace Fricke hit first 3-pointer of the game at 3:50. Davante Palacio capped-off that run with another basket to complete the 10-0 run.
The Musketeers answered with a two-pointer from Logan Cathell to pull back within five points, 22-17 with 2:18 to play.
Two minutes later Trace Fricke drained his second 3-pointer of the half to give the Jackets a 25-17 lead with just 17.1-seconds remaining.
Just when everyone thought the half was over, Red Bud’s Sam Easter was fouled with 16.6-seconds remaining and went to the line for two shots. He missed the first and made the second. CHS led, 25-18.
With just 4.9-seconds to play in the half, Chester’s Chance Mott was fouled and was also given the opportunity to go to the line for two charity shots. Mott made both to extend Chester’s lead to 27-18. When the final buzzer sounded, Chester had completed a 15-6 second quarter run to lead, 27-18 at halftime.
During halftime the CHS Dance Team performed a routine that they learned during the summer of 2021 when the Universal Dance Association (UDA) came to CHS for a dance camp. The routine was titled, “Top-40-s” and the team, under the direction of Head Coach, Adrianne Kern, did a wonderful job of performing the lively routine.
The Jackets came into the second half with a quick two-pointer by Chance Mott at 7:30 to give Chester a 29-18 lead.
Red Bud answered with a 16-0 run to let Chester know that the game was not over. At the end of that decisive run, Red Bud tied the game at 29-29 at the 4:59 mark, and then proceeded to take an extended lead to 34-29 by the 4:14 mark.
In the final 4:14 there was still a lot of battle left between the Jackets and the Musketeers. Trace Fricke began the Jacket’s comeback by draining a 3-pointer at 3:48 and Davante Palacio followed with a bucket for a quick 5-0 run to tie the game at 34-34 with 3:10 to play in the 3rd quarter.
Logan Cathell hit a bucket to give the Musketeers a 36-34 lead Trace Fricke drained a 3-pointer and Chance Mott hit a 2-pointer to bring the lead back to Chester 39-36 at 1:54. The see-saw continued as Red Bud connected for their fourth 3-pointer of the 3rd quarter to tie the game at 39-39 with 1:42 remaining.
Chester called a time out at that point. Following the time out, Chance Mott got the lead back, 41-39, for Chester at the 56-second mark. Immediately following Mott’s bucket, Chester was called for a technical foul and Red Bud’s Trent Sternberg drained both free throws to tie the game again at 41-41.
The final 21.9 seconds were hot and heavy as both teams fought for a loose ball. The possession went to Chester after much discussion, but the Jackets couldn’t do anything with it as time elapsed. The score remained tied, 41-41 after three quarters of battle.
The third featured three ties and two lead changes. During that 8:00 Red Bud outscored Chester by nine points, 23014, to keep the Musketeers alive.
The fourth quarter remained very exciting and challenging. The final 8-minute period featured three lead changes and two ties to indicate the gravity of the situation. It was anybody’s game for the taking right up until the final buzzer.
Chance Mott broke the tie right out of the hive following the quarter break. Jared Landeros scored his first points of the game on a fast break and layup the 7:21 mark to complete a Chester 5-0 run and extend their lead to 45-41.
Red Bud’s Nic Fehr popped a 3-pointer at 5:32 and the score was 45-44. Trace Fricke answered with a bucket 11-seconds later to extend the CHS lead to 47-44 at 5:21. Trent Sternberg scored a 2-pointer at 5:10 to pull the Musketeers to within one point, 47-46.
The dog fight continued Chester’s Jared Landeros sank two free throws at 4:57 to give the Jackets some breathing room, 49-46. Just 32-seconds later Red Bud’s Logan Cathell connected for a huge 3-pointer to tie the game at 49-49, with 4:25 to play in the game.
The battle continued with neither side willing to give up and the drama proceeded. Chester’s Jared Landeros drained his first trey of the night at the 3:50 mark to give Chester a 52-49 lead. Red Bud’s Nic Fehr answered Landeros’ trey with a trey of his own to tie the game for the second time in the final period, 52-52 at 3:38.
CHS Basketball player Chance Mott (4), a 5’11” junior, drives hard to the basket for a layup to kick-off the second half of the CHS vs Red Bud game Monday February 14. Mott led the Jackets in scoring with 19 points in the 59-56 win over the Musketeers. Jim Beers Photo
With just 2:49 to play in the game, Chester re-took the lead for the third time in the quarter with a Chance Mott 3-p0inter. The Jackets led, 55-52.
At the 2:23 mark, Trace Fricke fouled Red Bud’s Devin Hall who was awarded two free throws. He missed the first and made the second. Red Bud pulled within two points, 55-53.
Chester had the ball with 2-minutes to lay in the game. The Jackets burned clock until the 44.2-second mark when they called time out. Red Bud had to foul three times in the next 14-seconds before the Jackets went to the free throw line. With 22-second remaining, Jared Landeros back-to-back free throws to extend Chester’s lead to 57-53.
On Red Bud’s next possession, Max Diewald, who had come off the Musketeer bench, drained a huge 3-pointer to bring Red Bud back within one point, 57-56, with 13.6-seconds to play.
With 12.2-seconds to play, Chester’s Jared Landeros was fouled, sent to the free throw line and made both of his free shots to give Chester a 59-56 lead. The YellowJackets defended their lead in the final seconds to secure a very hard-fought win!
Chester YellowJacket fans storm the floor after the final buzzer in the 59-56-win Monday February 14 over the Red Bud Musketeers. The CHS Student Section has been very supportive of both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams throughout the 2021-22 season. Jim Beers Photo
In the win, the Jackets were led by three players in double figures including Chance Mott (19), Trace Fricke (16), and Jared Landeros (11). Other offensive contributors included Devante Palacio (6), Cooper Eggemeyer (4), and Lucas Thompson (3).
For the night the Jackets hit 15 two=pointers, seven 3-pointers, and 8-of-11 free throws (73%).
Red Bud was led by two players in double figures including Nic Fehr (22) and Trent Sternberg (10). Other contributors were Max Diewald (9), Logan Cathell (7), Devin Hall (4), and Sam Easter (1). The Musketeers six two-pointers, 13 three-pointers, and made 5-of-7 free throws (71%).
With the win the Yellow Jackets improved to 15-12 for the season and closed out the conference season with a final record of 5-4 in the Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division. This record placed then 4th out of six teams in that division.
Wesclin 64 – Chester 49
Chester hosted Wesclin Tuesday February 15 at Colbert Gymnasium. It was “Senior Night” at CHS and on this night CHS said goodbye to four senior basketball players including Cooper Eggemeyer, Aiden Jany, Jared Landeros, and Ethan Stumpe.
Also included was senior Basketball Manager, Johnathon Wahl, and senior Cheerleaders, Hannah Blechle and Alex Hennrich. Senior recognitions took place prior to the start of the varsity basketball game.
The first time that Chester played the Rockets was Friday January 7 at Wesclin. The Rockets defeated CHS, 66-36. The Rockets were undefeated in the Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division and proved to be a formidable opponent.
In the first quarter the Rockets blasted out to a 16-9 lead behind the scoring of four players, Trey Marks (6), Grant Friday (4), Luke Tasker (3), and Harrison Rakers (3). The foursome hit four 3-pointers in the opening blast.
The YellowJackets’ offense was provided by Jared Landeros who made all nine of Chester’s points on four traditional field goals and a trey.
The second quarter was more competitive, but Wesclin outscored CHS by just two points, 13-11. In this period Landeros led the Jackets again with six points including one field goal and perfect 4-for-4 shooting at the free throw line. Trace Fricke made two field goals and Cooper Eggemeyer hit a bucket and a plus-1 free throw.
The Rockets continued to shower the Jackets with 3-pointers as Grant Fridley knocked down a pair of treys, and Trey Marks hit his third trey of the night. Brandon Oelrich rounded out the Wesclin second quarter with a traditional two-pointer. Wesclin led 27-22 at halftime.
During halftime festivities senior band members and dance team members were honored including 22 Pep Band members and two Dance Team members.
Pep Band Members included Abby Bollmann, Anna Childs, Hannah Colvis, Jerald Copple, Aaron Fitzwilliam, Oddessy Flores, Jordanna Frazer, Amaya Hannigan, Haley Ann Haslett, Salem Heins, Cayla Sibley, Alex Hennrich, Blake Huffman, Lilith Lochhead, Luke Miller, Megan Miller, Kaitlyn Pfeiffer, Kaleb Rehmer, Camille Schroeder, Ryan Springston, Cristen Tucker, and Jonathon Wahl.
Dance Team members included Kylie Fortner and Maria Nickle.
The Rockets blasted off the launch pad to open the second half with a 19-7 outing that devastated the Jackets in the third quarter. Seth Macke led the charge with nine points and Trey Marks hit back-to-back 3-pointers which totaled five for the first three quarters. Grant Fridley closed out the scoring with a field goal and 2-for-2 free throw shooting.
Chester had trouble getting on the scoreboard to start the second and was held to just seven points including five from Jared Landeros and two points from Cooper Eggemeyer. Wesclin led, 46-29 after three quarters of play.
The YellowJackets outscored the Rockets, 20-18 in the final period behind the scoring of six YellowJacket players. Ethan Stumpe led the fourth quarter charge with six points on three field goals.
Cooper Eggemeyer hit a trey and 1-of-3 free throws for four points. Jared Landeros and Lucas Thompson each hit 3-pointers, and Chance Mott and Devante Palacio each hit traditional two-pointers.
In the fourth quarter the Rockets went to the free throw line 14 times and made 12 (86%). Grant Fridley, Trey Marks, and Carson Spalding each hit field goals for Wesclin’s final six points.
At the final buzzer the Rockets led the YellowJackets by 15 points, 64-49, to win the game and sweep the Jackets for the season.
In the loss Chester was led by just one player who scored in double figures as Jared Landeros scored 23 points. Other scorers included Cooper Eggemeyer (9), Ethan Stumpe (6), Trace Fricke (4), Lucas Thompson (3), Chance Mott (2) and Devante Palacio (2).
The YellowJackets hit 14 two-pointers in the loss and drained five 3-pointers. For the night Chester went to the line nine times and made six (67%).
Wesclin was led by two players who scored in double figures including Trey Marks (22) and Grant Fridley (18). Other players who scored for the Rockets were Seth Macke (9), Luke Tasker (6), Brandon Oelrich (4), Harrison Rakers (3) and Carson Spalding (2). For the game Wesclin was 15-of-19 from the free throw line (79%).