Chester improves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division
BY JIM BEERS
The Chester YellowJacket Football Team traveled to Wesclin Friday September 18 to take on the Warriors. It was mostly a one-horse (YellowJacket) show with Chester leading 17-0 after one quarter of play and 34-0 at halftime.
The third quarter was a tie with both Chester and Wesclin scoring one touchdown apiece. Chester led, 41-7. The final quarter was likewise identical wash with neither team scoring down the stretch. At the final buzzer, Chester led, 41-7 to win the game.
The YellowJackets scored three times in the opening quarter. Alex Blechle started with a 14-yard quarterback keeper for Chester’s first touchdown. Karim Landeros followed with the extra-point kick and the Jackets led, 7-0.
Karim Landeros stepped up his game a bit for Chester’s next score when he drained a beautiful 30-yard field goal for three points. The Jackets led, 10-0. The final YellowJacket score of the first quarter was a 30-yard touchdown run by quarterback Alex Blechle. Karim Landeros remained perfect for the night with his second extra-point kick. CHS led, 17-0 after one quarter of play.
TaShawn Palacio is a senior wide receiver and defensive back for the Chester High School YellowJackets. In the 41-7 win over the Wesclin Warriors Friday September 18, Palacio caught 4 passes for a total of 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. The first was an 83-yard TD and the second was a 58-yard catch for the score. On defense, TaShawn had 4 tackle assists. Jim Beers Photo
The second quarter was the TaShawn Palacio and Karim Landeros show as the two YellowJackets joined forces to score an additional 17 points. Palacio started things off by catching a wonderful 83-yard pass from Alex Blechle for Chester’s third touchdown and fourth score of the game. Karim Landeros kicked the extra-point. That touchdown extended Chester’s lead to 24-0.
The Palacio-Blechle duo struck again when Alex Blechle threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to TaShawn Palacio for Chester’s fourth TD of the game. Karim Landeros remained perfect in his kicking game with a clean extra-point kick. That extended the YellowJacket lead to 31-0.
To finish off the first half, Karim Landeros knocked down yet another field goal for Chester with a 38-yard boot. At the end of the first half, Chester led, 34-0 over Wesclin. No doubt, the YellowJacket offense was running hot throughout the first half, however, the defense was air-tight stopping all of the Warrior’s scoring attempts.
The entire second half was two quarters of identical scoring, with each team scoring a touchdown in the third quarter and neither team scoring in the fourth quarter.
Chester drew first blood in the 3rd quarter when Rhett Creason caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Alex Blechle. Karim Landeros finished his kicking game with a perfect record with five extra points and two field goals for the night for a total of 11 points.
The Warriors scored their only touchdown of the contest on a 14-yard run and a successful extra-point kick. After three quarters of play, Chester led, 41-7. That would be the final score as neither team scored in the fourth quarter.
In the win, quarterback Alex Blechle led the Jackets with 200 yards passing and 77 yards rushing. Chester ran 35 plays and Wesclin ran 60 plays. The YellowJackets recorded a total of 317 yards (200 passing and 117 rushing). The Warriors recorded a total of 170 yards (62 passing and 108 rushing).
CHS reached 11 first downs. WHS had 14 first downs. Chester was 1-for-4 on 3rd down (25% efficiency) while Wesclin was 2-for-4 (with 18% efficiency. There was only one turnover in the game. Wesclin fumbled the ball and Chester was perfect with no turnovers. Chester committed 3 penalties for 17 total yards and Wesclin committed six penalties for 30 total yards.
Chester High School Quarterback, Alex Blechle, was Chester’s top rusher in the 41-7 win at Wesclin last Friday September 18, Blechle ran six times for 77 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed 7-of-12 passes for a total of 200 yards and three touchdowns. For the win, he recorded a total of 277 yards. Blechle is a senior and orchestrates the YellowJacket’s offense. On defense he recorded two solo tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. Jim Beers Photo
In the passing game Alex Blechle completed 7-of-12 passes (58%) for a total of 200 yards and three touchdowns. Wesclin completed 9-of-24 passes (37%) for 62 yards and no touchdowns. YellowJacket TaShawn Palacio led the game in pass receptions with 4 catches for as total of 163 yards and two touchdowns. Trey McCartney had two catches for 34 yards. Rhett Creason caught 1 pass for 3 yards and 1 touchdown. Wesclin had a total of nine receptions for 62 yards and no touchdowns.
The YellowJackets ran 19 times for a total of 117 yards and two touchdowns. Alex Blechle led the pack with six runs for a total of 77 yards and 2 touchdowns. Danny Worley followed with five rushes for 37 yards. The Warriors ran 29 times for a total of 108 yards. B. Hoffman was Wesclin’s leader with seven runs for 27 yards. The Warriors had one rushing touchdown.
Chester’s “ace kicker”, Karim Landeros was perfect for the night with 2 field goals and 5 extra-point kicks for a total of 11 points. He also kicked-off seven times for 380 yards and 2 touchbacks.
Chester had a great defensive game 24 solo tackles, 38 tackle assists, and 8 tackles for a loss (TFL). CHS caused one fumble and Trey McCartney recovered the fumble for the Jackets. Rhett Creason led the YellowJackets with five solos, 2 assists, and 2 TKL’s. Trey McCartney recorded three solos, 5 assists, and 2 TFL’s. The Warriors recorded 11 solo tackles, 18 tackle assists, and 2 tackles for a loss (TFL). They were led by C. Farias who had 3 solos and 3 assists.
Coach Billy Belton said, “I thought the boys played extremely hard. It was good to see the boys get off the bus and play together for four full quarters. They played well on all three phases.”
“Alex (Blechle) and TaShawn (Palacio) had big days on the offensive side of the ball. The Offensive line did a great job of opening up running lanes. On the defensive side of the ball, the D-Line played extremely well. Karim Landeros and Trey McCartney both had big days. The Linebackers did really well. Rhett Creason led the team with a bunch of tackles (5 solos, 2 assists, and 2 tackles for a loss). Kanon Jany and Zane Eggemeyer do a good job. Overall, the secondary played very well.”
“Karim had a big day kicking the ball. He had two field goals, one from 30 yards and the other from 38 yards. He also kicked five extra points.”
In closing, Coach Belton said, “We have a big match-up this week! Carlyle is 4-1 and they are playing really good football. We will have to be at our best this week. We need a great week of practice. NO DAYS OFF!”
With the win, Chester improved to 3-2 overall and undefeated, 2-0, in the Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division.
This is Homecoming Week 2026 and the YellowJackets will host the Carlyle Indians Friday September 25. Kickoff is 7 P.M. at Chester High School’s W.O. Smith Field with lots of Homecoming action throughout the game. At halftime the 2026 Homecoming Queen will be crowned. There will be several CHS Classes attending the game celebrating their Class Reunions.