Colvis, McCartney, Blechle, and Palacio score Touchdowns; Blechle runs for 2-point conversion and Landeros kicks 1 extra point
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – The Chester YellowJacket Football Team traveled to Sparta Friday September 19 to face the Bulldogs. It was the first Cahokia Conference game of the 2025 season.
In a game that was plagued with a scoreboard that didn’t work, a 30-minute lightening delay, four touchdowns that were called back (3 for Chester and 1 for Sparta), numerous penalties, and lots of unexplainable calls, the YellowJackets still managed to shut out the Bulldogs, 27-0. With the win, Chester improved to 3-1 overall and started the Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division at 1-0.
Sparta won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball to begin the game. On the Bulldog’s first possession, Chester’s defense stood firm and held the Dogs to 4-and-out and Sparta turned the ball over to CHS on downs.
On Chester’s first play from scrimmage, Ethan Colvis, Chester’s top rusher, was stopped dead in his tracks. That only made him mad, and on the second play from scrimmage, Colvis scored Chester’s first touchdown on a 22-yard run at the 9:18 mark. The extra point kick failed. Chester led, 6-0.
On Sparta’s second possession, the Chester Orange Crush defense held the Bulldogs again to three and long, forcing a Sparta punt. Chester’s Alex Blechle returned the punt 45 yard line. Chester took over 1st and ten at the 45 yard line with 7:14 to play in the first quarter.
Chester’s Ethan Colvis ran for a first down on the first play from scrimmage. Four plays later quarterback Tray Peters threw to Trey McCartney for a second first down. The ball was first and goal with 5:15 remaining in the first quarter.
The next three plays resulted in a false start penalty by CHS, a holding penalty by CHS, and a quarterback sack by Sparta. Tray Peters found Trey McCartney on the next play for a 16-yard touchdown pass. On the 2-point conversion attempt, the Jackets were called for a block in the back and had to replay the attempt from five yards further back. On the next attempt, Alex Blechle found TaShawn Palacio for the 2-point conversion. Chester extended its lead to 14-0 with 3:36 left in the first quarter.
CHS defended the Dawgs on their first two plays. Chester’s Morgan Miers made a huge stop on the second play. On the third play, SHS quarterback, Dariontez Monroe ran for a first down. Chester’s Donnie Sabo made the stop. As the first quarter ended, Sparta faced 3-and 12 and the YellowJackets enjoyed a 14-0 lead.
Sparta continued with the ball to start the 2nd quarter. Facing 4-and-2, the Bulldogs decided to go for it. Quarterback Monroe ran for a first down. The Jacket defense then went to work and with excellent defensive plays by Kanon Jany, TaShawn Palacio, Ethan Colvis, and Donnie Sabo CHS held the Dawgs and forced a turnover on downs at the 8:44 mark.
Sparta then returned the favor and held the Jackets to four and out two minutes later (6:44). The routine continued as Chester forced a Bulldog punt after four plays (4th and long at the 5:05 mark). Then, with little warning, the referees called a lightening delay after seeing a flash in the distance. The break lasted 30-minutes. Both teams had to retire to their locker rooms.
Play resumed after 30-minutes with Chester beginning the next possession with 5:05 left to play in the first half. On the first play from scrimmage. The Bulldogs mounted a huge blind-side quarterback sack resulting in a 10-yard loss. CHS faced 2-and-20 from the 29 yard line.
Coach Billy Belton then mounted three first downs beginning with a huge breakaway run by Ethan Colvis that took the ball to the 45 yard line. Colvis repeated with a second successful run a minute later. Alex Blechle and Colvis then teamed-up for yet a third first down with the ball on the 25 yard line. Colvis then unlashed another huge run taking the ball to the eight yard line at the 2:50 mark in the 3rd quarter.
Facing 1st and goal, Blechle took charge and ran the ball into the end zone for Chester’s third touchdown with 2:16 on the clock. Karim Landeros kicked the extra-point and the YellowJackets extended their lead to 21-0.
To end the first half, both teams experienced a series of very odd circumstances resulting in several time outs, inadvertent whistles, turnovers on downs, and several YellowJacket incomplete passes. The half ended with CHS ahead, 21-0.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Chester received the opening kickoff to begin the second half. The Jackets did achieve two first downs on nine plays, but were held to turn the ball over on downs at the 8:00 mark.
Sparta was on a good start to begin its possession with good runs by junior Gavin Watson. Facing 3-and-1, the Bulldogs were then called for a 15-yard block-in-the-back to halt the Sparta advancement. On the fourth play of the possession, Chester’s defensive back Derrius Shoemate intercepted a Dariontez Monroe pass to end the possession.
Chester’s next possession appeared to be off to a fantastic stat as quarterback Tray Peters (6 yards) and Alex Blechle (3 yards) combined for a 9-yard effort. Facing 3-and-1, Ethan Colvis crossed the goal line for what was thought to be a Chester touchdown at the 4:07 mark.
The celebration was short-lived, however, as the touchdown was called back for a CHS block-in-the-back penalty. That resulted in a 5-yard penalty. Facing 4-and-7, a Tray Peters pass was short and CHS turned the ball over on downs. (3:21).
The final Sparta possession of the 3rd quarter was a “mixed-bag” of plays. Chester’s Ethan Colvis stopped a Gavin Watson run on play No. 1. Chester was called for a face mask penalty on play No. 2. To end a potential Sparta drive, Chester’s Zane Eggemeyer and a massive Chester defensive “swarm” stopped the Bulldog advancement and the Dogs turned the ball over on downs. Chester still led, 21-0.
Each team had three possessions in the 4th quarter. Chester had a great start to kick off the quarter on a good run by Alex Blechle for a first down. Then, back-to-back false start penalties, an incomplete pass, and a broken pass play in the end zone caused Chester to turn the ball over on downs (9:54).
Sparta’s possession resulted in some good potential after a Chester penalty gave the Bulldogs a first down. However, two incomplete passes, and a mad scramble that ended with a huge Ethan Colvis tackle, forced a 4–and-long ending with a Bulldog punt.
Things got “testy” on Chester’s next possession as frustration on both sides of the ball mounted. A nice TaShawn Palacio pass reception that gained 8-yards was spoiled after Chester was called for holding. Then Sparta was called for a personal foul. Flags were flying all over the field and referees had to stop the game to sort out the mess.
The situation ended up with two personal fouls being assessed to Chester and another assessed to Sparta. With 4:43 left on the clock, TaShawn Palacio carried what was thought to be a Chester touchdown pass into the end zone. That was called back due to another reported holding penalty on Chester (4:21).
On the next play, Palacio scored again, this time on a 71-yard touchdown pass. Chester extended its lead to 27-0. (4:06). Then, there was a 15-yard penalty called on Chester that resulted in that distance to be added to the Karim Landeros extra point attempt. The kick failed.
Sparta had one last possession. The Jacket defense held the Bulldogs to 4-and-10 with 2:21 remaining in the game. Sparta went for it and attempted a big pass play which was intercepted by Chester defender Donnie Sabo. The Jackets took a knee on back-to-back plays to run the clock out to end the game with Chester winning in a shut-out, 27-0.
Head Coach Billy Belton said, “Our defense played great! Sparta has some talented athletes. It’s hard to stop them. Our defense did a great job vs the run. The Bulldogs had -16 yards rushing. Our boys were flying around and playing very hard to accomplish that task.”
“Coach Danny Roth has done a great job with the defense. We created several turnovers. Derrius Shoemate had a huge interception at a crucial time in the game. The D-Line had three sacks. Morgan Miers played extremely well. The last two weeks he has been amazing. He is so disruptive and he never quits. He goes 100 miles per hour on every snap for all four quarters. Kanon Jany has also played amazingly at linebacker all season. Overall the defense has played great!”
Offensively the O-Line did a great job. We rushed for 270 yards vs a really good Bulldog defensive line. Ethan Colvis had another big night. He runs really hard and he is hard to bring down. This is his fourth game in-a-row with 100 yards rushing.”
“Alex Blechle had a big touchdown early in the game for us. TaShawn Palacio had another big night with over 100 yards receiving. I am really impressed with our blocking on the edge. Zane Eggemeyer had a great game with several big hits on defense and several huge blocks on offense.
“Trey McCartney, TaShawn Palacio, and Ethan Colvis all do a great job blocking for each other. Trey McCartney and Tray Peters each had a really good night on offense. McCartney had another receiving touchdown, and Peters had two passing touchdowns.”
“Overall it was a great game and a great way to start conference play. I am very proud of the boys and how hard they worked all four quarters for the win.”
In the win Chester ran 64 plays vs Sparta’s 52 plays. CHS had a total of 421 yards (151 passing & 270 rushing) and SHS recorded a total of 37 yards (53 passing and -16 rushing). The Jackets were 2-of-6 on 3rd downs (33%). The Bulldogs were 2-of-14 on 3rd downs (14%).
CHS quarterback Tray Peters completed 9-of-17 passes (53%) for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Receivers included TaShawn Palacio (4 for 103 yards and 1 touchdown), Trey McCartney (4 for 46 yards and 1 touchdown), and Alex Blechle (1 for 2 yards).
The Jackets ran 35 times for a total of 270 yards and two touchdowns. Leaders included Ethan Colvis (13 for 154 yards and 1 touchdown), Alex Blechle (8 for 65 yards and 1 touchdown), Tray Peters (9 for 40 yards), and Zane Eggemeyer (4 for 17 yards). The rest of the team ran once for -6 yards.
Coach Belton attributed a great deal of importance of the YellowJacket’s success on the defense. The Jackets recorded 19 solo tackles, 38 tackle assists, 3 quarterback sacks, and 8 tackles for a loss (TFL).
Defensive credit goes to the following players. Ethan Colvis (7 solos, 2 sacks, and 4 TFL), TaShawn Palacio (2 solos, 2 assists, and 1 TFL), Kanon Jany (2 solos, and 7 assists), Donnie Sabo (2 solos and 1 assist), Alex Blechle (1 solo and 3 assists), Zane Eggemeyer (1 solo, 4 assists, and 1 TFL), Morgan Miers (1 solo, 4 assists, and 1 TFL), Karim Landeros (1 solo, 2 assists, and 1 TFL), Derrius Shoemate (1 solo, and 2 assists), Paxton Beam (2 assists), Bently Valleroy (1 assist), Gage Beam (1 assist). The rest of the team contributed 1 solo, 9 assists, 1 sack, and 1 TFL. Derrius Shoemate and Donnie Sabo each contributed interceptions.
The Jackets ended their three-game road swing with two wins and one loss. Including their opening night home win, Chester is now 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division.
They host Trenton-Wesclin this Friday September 26 at W.O. Smith Field. It will be the second conference game of 2025. Friday night will feature the 2025 CHS Dance Team Dance Camp performance prior to the game.
Also, Friday September 26 the CHS Class of 1965 Football Team will be on hand to celebrate its first outright conference championship. At that time Chester was a member of the SWE Conference (Southwestern Egyptian Conference). Players and families from that team will be at the game to celebrate their accomplishment.
Chester’s Trey McCartney (88) at left, jumps to block a pass from Sparta’s quarterback Dariontez Monroe (3) in the game at Sparta Friday September 19. For the night, McCartney had a good night on defense, and on offense, he scored Chester’s second touchdown on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Tray Peters to extend Chesters’s lead to 14-0. Jim Beers Photo
TaShawn Palacio (11) is hard to bring down on one of his runs against the Sparta Bulldogs. Shwon here, Sparta’s Brock Wilson (77), Diego Perez (52) and Chaze Reed-Fajardo (16) attempts t being Palacio down. For the night Palacio caught a 71-yard touchdown pass and caught a total of four passes for 103 yards and a TD. Jim Beers Photo
At the 4:21 mark if the 4th Quarter at Sparta, Chester wide receiver TaShawn Palacio (11), makes his way into the end zone for a YellowJacket touchdown. The score extended Chester’s lead to 27-0 on Palacio’s 71-yard TD effort. Jim Beers Photo
Chester’s Alex Blechle (3) returns the ball after taking the kickoff at the Sparta vs Chester game Friday September 19. For the night Blechle scored Chester’s third touchdown in a 6-ysrd run to extend the YellowJacket’s lead to 21-0. He recorded a total of 65 yards on eight carries and one TD in the game. He also caught one pass for 2 yards. On defense Blechle made 1 solo tackle and 3 tackle assists. Jim Beers Photo
Donnie Sabo (20) a sophomore wide receiver and defensive back makes a quarterback sack in the game at Sparta Friday September 19. In this play, Sabo sacks Sparta quarterback Dariontez Monroe (3). For the night Sabo recorded two solo tackles and 1 tackle assist. Jim Beers Photo
Karim Landeros attempts an extra-point at the 4:21 mark of the final quarter in the 27-0 shut out of Sparta. This attempt missed its mark, however Landeros made his earlier attempts to help give Chester a 21-0 lead at the 2:16 mark of the second quarter. On defense, Landeros recorded 1 solo tackle and 2 tackle assists. Jim Beers Photo