The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Chargers of Illini West defeated the Rockets of Rushville-Industry by a score of 30 - 20 on Friday night in Carthage.
Both teams would score twice in the first half. Nick Vorhies would score first for the Chargers on a 4 yard run behind a big double team block from, Kennedy Gooding and Ross Neff, two very good offensive linemen.
Jace Norman caught a two yard pass to score on the 2-point conversion to make the score 8 - 6 Chargers. Nick Vorhies would finish the game with 66 total yards on 10 carries.
Connor Artman would score the other three touchdowns for Illini West. His first touchdown came on a one yard run right at the end of the first half to put the Chargers up 14 - 12 at the break. All told Artman had 82 rushing yards on 14 attempts and he would go on to catch two touchdown passes in the second half from Quarterback Jackson Porter. One of those scores came on a 37 yard screen pass.
Again, Jace Norman would catch a two yard pass for the 2-point conversion. Artman's last touchdown came with 2 minutes left in the game. He would also score on the 2-point try with a two yard run to seal the victory for Illini West.
Defensively, the Chargers had arguably their best performance of the year. A recharged unit was led by Jace Norman's 12 tackles.
Linebacker Drake Huss would also add 10 tackles of his own and he recovered a Rushville-Industry fumble on a blitz late in the game to help the Chargers preserve their lead.
IW will finish up the regular season this Friday night against South Fulton at 7:00 p.m. in Table Grove.
A win would give the Chargers a good chance of qualifying for the postseason.