The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Illini West Charger football team won their final game of the regular season Friday night.
They defeated the Rebels of South Fulton by a score of 40 - 26.
Illini West found themselves down 12 - 0 in the second quarter before Joe Adkisson got the Chargers sparked to life when he returned a Rebel kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Jace Norman caught the 2-point conversion pass from Quarterback Jackson Porter to make the score 12 - 8.
Porter would go on to throw two touchdown passes on the night. One of those was to split end Jace Norman who Porter also connected with for three more 2-point conversion plays.
The Chargers were led on the ground by the 91 rushing yards of Connor Artman behind the blocking of offensive linemen like DeVante Jackson and Ross Neff. Artman would record three touchdowns on the night. One came on the ground, one through the air, and Artman would even pick off a South Fulton pass and return it 95 yards for a touchdown.
Artman also caught a 2-point conversion pass in the first half to make the score 16 - 12.
The Charger fullback, Nick Vorhies, would also add 45 yards on 13 carries and picked up some crucial first downs for the Chargers.
Defensively, the Chargers were led by the 9 tackles of Linebacker Nick Vorhies. Jace Norman and Ty Jackson would add 6 tackles each and both of them had big hits on Rebel running backs in the second half to help sway the momentum for the Charger's defense.
And of course Connor Artman had the big interception return for a touchdown in the first half.
The Charger's win puts their season record at 5 - 4 which qualifies them for the IHSA playoffs.
The Illini West Chargers play the Mendon Unity Mustangs at 1:00 p.m. this coming Saturday (Oct 29th).