Chester ends with 5-4 overall record; will play Decatur St. Teresa in opening round of IHSA Class 2A Playoffs
By Jim Beers, Contributing Writer
CHESTER – The Chester High School YellowJacket Football Team made the long trip to Tremont, Illinois Saturday October 22 to close out the 2022 regular football season. Their opponent was Eastland High School in Pearl City, Illinois, about a 45-mimute drive from the Wisconsin boarder.
Both Chester and Eastland traveled approximately 3 ½ hours to the neutral site of Tremont for the game. Both the Jackets and the Wildcats had openings in their last-week schedule and agreed to play each other by splitting the distance and driving half-way to Tremont to play at the neutral site.
Chester was treated to a complimentary FREE breakfast at Chester’s favorite smorgasbord breakfast location, Reid’s Harvest House, and departed Popeye Town at approximately 8:00 a.m. for the long drive.
Coach Billy Belton said, “We really appreciated the FREE breakfast at Reid’s and thank them for the gesture. About halfway we stopped along the highway at a rest area and stretched our legs and ate a small lunch. We then made the last half of the long drive to Tremont.”
“When the boys got off the bus at Tremont they were a bit fatigued and didn’t have the energy and motivation that they usually have at our Friday night games. I think the trip did have somewhat of a negative effect on us.”
The 2-6 overall record of the Eastland Wildcats was definitely a misleading prediction factor as the northern brand of football is different than Southern Illinois football and the Wildcats have a rich history of successful football. They also played a fairly tough schedule, thus, possibly creating the misconception by some Jacket fans that the game would possibly be easier than thought!
The game was competitive throughout the first quarter with Eastland leading, 7-0 after the Wildcats scored on a 3-yard run and a successful extra-point kick by William Birchen.
The second quarter was equally competitive, however, Eastland managed another touchdown, his time on a 51-yard run. Birchen was once again successful with his extra-point kick and the Wildcats led, 14-0 heading into the halftime break.
Chester opened the 3rd quarter with a positive answer of a 27-yard touchdown pass from Jacket quarterback Zain Al-Jassim to Yellow Jacket receiver Devante Palacio giving the Jackets six points.
Chester’s Shane Bicket, a 6’1″, 245-pound YellowJacket offensive lineman, changed roles after Chester’s first touchdown of the game against Eastland. Quarterback Zain Al-Jassim connected with receiver Davante Palacio for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Coach Billy Belton pulled Bicket off of the line and ran him as a fullback for the two-point conversion. Bicket succeeded in his run and scored the two-extra points bringing Chester within six points, 14-8 to start the 3rd quarter. Jim Beers Photo
On the extra-point attempt Coach Billy Belton tried a change of attack going for a two-point conversion. That fact is not unusual in itself, but the fact that he took Shane Bicket, a 6’1”, 245 pound offensive lineman off the line and ran him as a fullback was a shock to most fans! Bicket successfully crossed the goal line for the 2-point conversion and the Jackets pulled within six points, 14-8.
Unfortunately Eastland did not lay down and answered with a 55-yard touchdown run to increase their lead to 20-8. Birchen’s kick failed, but the Wildcats led, 20-8 to end the third quarter.
About halfway through the 3rd quarter Chester quarterback Zain Al-Jassim was injured and left the game. Junior Aden Runge, a 6’0, 162 pound quarterback/free safety, came into the game to lead the Jackets in the remaining portion of the 3rd quarter and all of the fourth quarter.
Eastland struck again early in the final period, this time on a on a 34-yard pass play. The two-point conversion failed, but the Wildcats increased their lead to 18-points, 26-8.
Chester quarterback, Aden Runge took the ball 10 yards across the goal line for Chester’s second touchdown of the game. The two-point conversion failed and the YellowJackets trailed by 12 points, 26-14.
That is how the game ended with Eastland winning, 26-14. The win ended Eastland’s season with a 3-6 record. They also finished 8th in their conference and a state rank of 281.
On paper it might appear as if Chester had the upper hand in several statistical categories, but Eastland’s huge plays of 51-yards, 55-yards and 34-yards made the difference in the game with each of those big plays resulting in touchdowns.
In the loss, Chester ran 68 plays. Eastland ran just 43 plays. The Wildcats accumulated a total of 298 yards vs Chester’s 230 yards. Chester won the passing game with 153 yards vs Eastland’s 83 passing yards. The Wildcats won the rushing game with a total of 212 yards on the ground. Chester only accumulated 77 rushing yards.
Chester earned 15 first downs while Eastland only recorded 12 first downs. Regarding 3rd down efficiency, the Jackets were 6-of-14 (43%) and the Cats were 3-of-8 (38%). Both teams had high percentages on 4th down efficiency with Eastland 1-for-1 (100%) and Chester 3-for-4 (75%).
In the game, Chester recorded just one turnover, a fumble, while Eastland had no turnovers. Neither team threw any interceptions. Chester had 7 penalties for a total of 43 yards and Eastland had 4 penalties for a total of 27 lost yards.
In the passing game, the YellowJackets recorded a total of 153 yards. Zain Al-Jassim completed 12-of-20 passes (60%) for 91 yards and Aden Runge completed 4-of-7 passes (57%) for 62 yards. Eastland completed 6-of-10 passes (60%) for 83 yards.
The Jackets recorded just 77 yards rushing. Kolton Jany led the team with 11 runs for 25 yards. Will Schuwerk ran 13 times for 23 yards. Aden Runge ran 4 times for 21 yards and 1 touchdown. Eastland’s #43 led the Wildcats with 16 runs for 141 yards. The Cat’s #21 ran 4 times for 53 yards.
In the passing game Chester threw for a total of 153 yards, led by Devante Palacio who caught 8 passes for 73 yards. Aden Runge caught 2 passes for 11 yards. Gage Hopkins caught 1 pass for 5 yards and Korbin Jany grabbed a pair of passes for 4 yards.
In the loss, the Jackets recorded 11 solo tackles, 38 tackle assists and 1 tackle for a loss. Will Schuwerk had 2 solos and 1 assist. Gage Hopkins had 2 solos and 5 assists. Cayden Brunkhorst had 2 solos and 3 assists. Kolton Jany recorded 1 solo and 2 assists. Matt James had 1 solo and 4 assists. Gavin Cowan recorded 1 solo and 3 assists.
Eastland was led defensively by W. Birchen who recorded 4 solo tackles and 5 assists. As a team, the Wildcats had 34 solo tackles, 20 tackle assists, 2 quarterback sacks and 5 tackles for a loss.
With the loss the YellowJackets ended the regular season with 5 wins and 4 losses. The loss against Eastland probably had a negative effect on Chester’s playoff pairings. A win might have improved the Jacket’s seed, but not significantly.
Chester is the No. 16 seed in their bracket and will travel to No. 1 seeded Decatur St. Teresa Saturday October 29 for a first round game in the 2022 IHSA Class 2A State Football Playoffs. Kickoff is 3:00 p.m.