Former Chester coach Bryan Lee returns to CHS with Terrier Football team for friendly evening of high school football vs CHS Coach Billy Belton and YellowJackets
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – Chester High School’s W.O. Smith football field came alive Monday July 15 for a two-hour friendly football scrimmage between the Chester YellowJackets and the Carbondale Terriers.
The event featured a 1-hour period of 7-on-7 football scrimmages from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. followed by a second 1-hour period of 11-on-11 scrimmages between the YellowJackets and the Terriers from 8-9 p.m.
The Chester Football program is led by Head Coach Billy Belton, while the Carbondale Football Terriers are led by former Chester coach, Bran Lee.
It was a hot, steamy, humid night at W.O. Smith Field, but the action was friendly and limited to light contact between the two Southern Illinois teams that elected to get some mid-summer experience against teams that are not seen during the regular season.
The varsity teams scrimmaged on the north end of the field while the YellowJacket freshman team worked out on the south end of the field. Carbondale did not bring freshmen to the event. This year’s CHS freshman squad features 20-plus players which allows for inner-squad scrimmages.
Head Coach Billy Belton said, “Our freshman squad is one of the biggest in years. That allows them to scrimmage against each other. Overall as a whole, the 2024 YellowJacket program has roughly eight more players than last season. That is encouraging!”
The varsity teams from Chester and Carbondale had a friendly evening of running offensive and defensive plays. Throughout the two-hour event, players from both teams were very cordial and exchanged friendly comments and even joked and shared laughter from time-to-time.
When a tackle was made or a pass play was broken-up, players from each side of the ball slapped hands and even congratulated each other on a successful execution. Good sportsmanship and professionalism was demonstrated by both the YellowJackets and the Terriers.
At the end of the scrimmage, both teams were treated to a delicious and well-deserved dinner of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, chips, and ice cold beverages. The CHS administration and football program co-sponsored the meal. CHS Principal, Jeremy Blechle and his wife Meagan served as both cooks and servers for the evening.
Overall the event was a huge success with both teams able to see where they stood at the mid-point of summer workouts. Both Chester and Carbondale had some really great plays on offense and both offenses were able to execute well at times to stop the offensive attacks.
Even though the freshmen did not fully scrimmage, they had an opportunity to get on the high school field and see what it was going to be like once the regular season begins in several weeks. It was an evening of fun and learning for the rookie YellowJacket players!
The YellowJackets open their 2024 season Friday August 30 at DuQuoin High School against the Indians. The home opener for CHS will be the following week, Friday September 6 at W.O. Smith Field when the Jackets host the Pinckneyville Panthers.
Both DuQuoin and Pinckneyville are former River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division foes when all three teams competed in the same conference. The Indians and Panthers are still members of the River-to-River Conference and the YellowJackets are in the Cahokia Conference in the Illinois Division.
Billy Belton, Head Football Coach at Chester High School, observes his YellowJacket squad as the Jackets scrimmage Monday July 15 against the Carbondale Terriers. The event took place on W.O. Smith Field at CHS and welcomed former CHS Head Coach Bryan Lee and his 2024 Terrier Football Team from Carbondale to a friendly event in Chester. Jim Beers Photo
The YellowJacket offense runs a play Monday July 15 when the Jackets hosted the Carbondale Terriers in a mid-summer scrimmage. The Jackets looked good on both offense and defense and quarterback Zain Al-Jassim connected several times for touchdowns with YellowJacket receivers. Jim Beers Photo
Chester High School Principal Jeremy Blechle and his wife Meagan grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and served a delicious meal of burgers, dogs, chips, and ice cold beverages to both players and coaches of both teams that took part in the YellowJacket vs Carbondale Terriers scrimmage Monday July 15 at W.O. Smith Field. Blechle noted that the meal was courtesy of the CHS Administration and the CHS Football Program. The event was a huge success and featured friendly competition with excellent sportsmanship on both sides of the ball! Jim Beers Photo
Coaches Mueller and Roth take time out for a brief photo after talking to the YellowJacket lineman during the 7-on-7 and 11-on-1 scrimmage with the Carbondale terriers Monday July 15 at W.O. Smith Field at Chester High School. The event concluded with a delicious joint cookout with both teams enjoying a meal prepared by CHS Principal Jeremy Blechle and his wife Megan. Jim Beers Photo