BY JIM BEERS, Contributing Writer
CHESTER – The Chester YellowJacket Football Team opened its 2022 season at DuQuoin Friday August 26. Chester went to Indian territory confident and ready to upset the Indians on their brand new turf field.
Until late in the week it was uncertain if the game could be played on the new turf because installation was incomplete. Construction crews came through, however, and the game was played at DuQuoin. There was hope by many Chester fans that the Jackets would be able to give the Indians a loss for their first game on the new field, however, DuQuoin had other plans and shut the Jackets out in a devastating 26-0 Chester loss.
DuQuoin led 14-0 after one quarter of play and added another six points in the second period to lead 20-0 at halftime. Neither team scored in third quarter and the score remained, 20-0 after three quarters of action. Down the stretch the Indians scored again to win the game, 26-0.
DuQuoin’s Cameron Ford scored first for the Indians on a 2-yard run. Patrick Winters kicked the extra point and DQ led, 7-0. It was a repay later in the period when Ford scored a second touchdown, this time on a 14-yard run and Winters was successful on his extra-point kick. DuQuoin led, 14-0 to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter just as the YellowJackets appeared to be on a successful run, DuQuoin blocked a punt, recovered the ball and ran it 62-yards for a third touchdown. The two-point conversion failed against a tough YellowJackets defense. The Indians ended the half leading, 20-0.
The third quarter was a stalemate and both defenses held their opposition scoreless. DuQuoin maintained its 20-0 lead after three quarters of battle.
Down the stretch both teams continued to play good defense keeping the score untouched until DuQuoin’s Jonathan Hamilton scored on a 2-yard run to give the Indians six more points. Patrick Winters’ extra point kick was no good. DuQuoin ended regulation play shutting out a young Chester offense and winning the contest, 26-0.
Chester Head Coach, Billy Belton said, “We had a lot of sophomores playing tonight. They were not quite prepared for the speed of varsity football. Besides that, DuQuoin was very fast and were all over us all night long defensively.”
“Due to those factors, we had difficulty establishing out offense. I think those sophomores have now had some experience with the game speed of varsity ball. They should be more ready for our next game against Benton next Friday September 2 at W.O. Smith Field.”
I think our defense played well enough to win the game. We had a young quarterback behind the ball and he had to learn what to expect playing at the varsity level. The DuQuoin defense also made it extremely difficult to get good field position. I think we will be better Friday night!”
“The blocked punt and DuQuoin recovery and 62-yard touchdown return also kind of took the wind out of our sails in the second quarter. That gave the Indians a 20-0 lead going into the locker room at the half. That was hard to recover from.”
For the game, Chester ran 44 plays. DuQuoin ran 48. The Indians accumulated a total of 190 yards. The Jackets recorded 50. DuQuoin passed for 86 yards. Chester only recorded nine yards in the air. DuQuoin rushed for 104 yards. CHS had just 41 yards on the ground.
Chester committed three turnovers in the game. DuQuoin had none. The Jackets fumbled twice and was intercepted once. DuQuoin was called for four penalties for 26 yards. Chester just had two penalties for a total of five yards.
In the passing game, Chester’s Al-Jassim was 1-10 for a total of nine yards. DuQuoin’s Green connected for 7-of-10 passes for 86 yards. Chester’s D. Palacio had the only YellowJacket reception and that was for nine yards. DuQuoin’s J. Colvis caught three passes for 27 yards and J. Smith caught two passes for 26 yards.
Chester’s Will Schuwerk (28) led the YellowJackets on the ground against DuQuoin Friday August 26 with a total of 39 yards on 11 runs for the night. Jim Beers Photo
Chester’s Will Schuwerk led the Jackets in rushing with 39 yards on 11 tries. Koby Jany followed with 25 yards on five runs.
Indian J. Hamilton led DuQuoin with 64 yards on 11 tries. Teammate L Bauman had 48 yards on three attempts.
On defense, Chester’s T. Eggemeyer led the team in tackles with five solo tackles and three assists. G. Hopkins recorded four solos and four assists while K. Jany had three solos and three assists. C. Ford led the Indians with three solo tackles and one assist. G. Morgan recorded three solos and two assists.