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Chargers Fall to Rockets 30–14 in Prairieland Football

The Illini West Chargers traveled to Farmington last Friday night and were soundly beaten by the Farmers 49 – 0 in a Prairieland conference tilt. Both teams came into the contest with 2 – 1 records, but the Chargers were no match for their perennial play-off contending hosts.

Farmington jumped out to a quick lead by scoring on their first 4 possessions, while also smothering the Charger offensive attack. A 14 – 0 Farmer lead at the end of the first quarter soon swelled to a 35 – 0 advantage by halftime. A pair of Farmington TD’s in the 3rd quarter closed the scoring on the 49 – 0 Farmer rout.

A quick look at the game’s statistics gives evidence of Farmington’s total domination of the contest. The Farmers amassed 462 total yards of offense to only 74 yards for the Chargers. Farmington averaged 9.2 yards on their 50 total plays, while Illini West could only garner 1.8 yards per play on their 41 offensive snaps.

Illini West finished with 46 yards passing and 28 yards rushing. Senior quarterback Gannon Bergmann finished with 9 completions on 22 pass attempts for the 46 yards, while also throwing one interception. Bergmann was also the team’s rushing leader with 14 yards on 9 carries.

Also contributing to the very limited Charger offensive attack were senior wide-out Max Dittmer (2 catches for 33 yards), sophomore Nick Johnson (1 catch for 9 yards), junior Jorge Espinoza (3 catches for 7 yards), senior Drake Mudd (1 catch for 2 yards), Ian Bentzinger (1 rush for 8 yards), senior Peyton Brown (2 rushes for 6 yards) and Thomas Chandler (6 rushes for 3 yards).

The Illini West tackle chart was led by junior linebacker Ian Bentzinger’s 7 total tackles, while junior defensive end Reese Shoup added 6 total stops. Peyton Brown and Sophomore nose tackle Shawn Watkins were involved in 3 tackles apiece, while Dittmer, Bradley, Miller, Lucas Finch and Thomas Chandler had 2 tackles each. Seniors Braxton Heath and Jerick LeMaire added one tackle apiece.

The Chargers will now have to recover quickly this week as they will travel to Rushville this Friday night for a pivotal week #5 game with the host Rushville-Industry Rockets. Both teams will be entering the contest with 2 – 2 overall records and looking to build momentum for a play-off push in the season’s second half. Kick-off will be at 7:00 pm.