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In a game picked by most in the media to have a far different outcome, the visiting Illini West Chargers got off to a fast start and then held on to defeat the host Elmwood-Brimfield Trojans 34-14. The Chargers jumped out to a three-touchdown lead and the Illini West defense made several key stops to make that lead stand up. Illini West’s win now improves their early season record to 1-1 overall and in the large school division of the newly merged Prairieland-Lincoln Trail Conference.
The Chargers got on the scoreboard first after receiving the opening kick-off and driving to midfield. At that point, Charger junior quarterback Max Kinnamon dropped back and found classmate Nick Johnson with a nice pass in the middle of the Trojan secondary. Johnson did the rest, as he split the E-B defense and raced into the endzone for a 50-yard touchdown toss and run. IW senior running back Ian
Bentzinger added the successful conversion run and the Chargers led early with an 8-0 advantage.
The Chargers then got the ball back later in the first period after forcing a Trojan punt on the host’s first offensive possession. After a couple of short runs advanced the ball out to about the IW 30-yard line, Kinnamon went to the air again, and this time he found junior receiver Stephen Sparks racing down the right sideline. Sparks was well covered by a Trojan defender, but he went up and took the ball away for a 50-yard grab that set the Chargers up inside the E-B 35-yardline.A pair of Bentzinger runs and a 17-yard Kinnamon to Sparks connection, now had the Chargers down inside the Trojan 5-yard line.
Bentzinger then found the endzone with a dive right up the middle for the 2nd Charger touchdown of the night, very early in the second quarter.
Johnson’s successful conversion run pushed the IW advantage to 16-0.
The Trojans took the next Charger kick-off and quickly advanced across midfield on their next possession. Good fortune would smile upon the Chargers here in the form of a Trojan fumble that IW linebacker Nick Johnson would scoop up. The junior would then continue his big night by racing 55-yards for a defensive scoop and score. The IW conversion attempt would fail this time, but the Chargers would now lead 22-0.
This time the Trojans would respond as they took the ensuing Charger kick-off and marched methodically down the field with their punishing ground game doing most of the damage. They finally dented the endzone for their first score of the game mid-way through the second quarter and the successful conversion run narrowed the Charger advantage to 22-8.
The Charger offense could not get going on their next possession and IW was forced to punt the ball right back to the Trojans. E-B took advantage of the apparent shift in momentum and began another punishing drive down the field. This drive would culminate with another E-B score to further close the scoring gap to a 22-14 IW edge.
The next Charger possession would end in a Kinnamon interception, and it appeared that the early IW lead might be lost before the halftime buzzer. The Trojans marched inexorably downfield and quickly the Chargers found their backs up against their own endzone. The Chargers’ defense would not break however as they turned away the Trojans in this pivotal defensive stand.
The halftime break seemed to be just what the Chargers needed as they came out and reasserted themselves both offensively and defensively in the second half.
The Charger defense forced a Trojan punt on the host’s first possession of the third quarter and the IW offense would soon capitalize on the stop. Using their ground attack to march into E-B territory, the Chargers found themselves with a first down at the Trojan 41-yard line. Nick Johnson took the next hand-off from Kinnamon and found a nice hole over the Chargers left side and raced the final 41 yards to the score. The conversion failed but momentum was firmly back on the side of the visiting Charger sideline as the lead now became 28-14 in favor of IW.
The Chargers would get the ball right back as senior defensive back Lucas Finch would make a diving interception of an errant Trojan pass on the next E-B possession. The Charger offense would take advantage of the Trojan turnover and use their ground game, and a couple of nice Kinnamon passes to march down deep into E-B territory. Early in the 4th quarter IW sophomore running back Isaiah Knotts would cap the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. That TD proved to be the game’s last score and set the final margin of victory at 34-14 in favor of the visiting Chargers.The Chargers would amass 311 yards of total offense on the night, with 173 yards coming on the ground and 138 through the air. Kinnamon completed 6 of 12 passes for all the passing yardage, including one touchdown and one interception, in his first varsity start at QB. Johnson had the 1 TD grab for 50 yards, while Sparks had 2 catches for 67 yards, and junior receiver Tre Neiderman had 3 catches for 21 yards.
The Charger ground game was led by senior Ian Bentzinger’s 14 carries for 62 tough yards. Johnson had 5 carries for 50 yards, Knotts had 12 for 48, and Kinnamon carried once for 5. The Charger offensive line did a really good job of creating running lanes against a much bigger Trojan defensive front. Center Nick Huls, guards Shawn Watkins and Thomas Chandler, tackles Johnny Ravenscraft and Izik Jones, and ends Stephen Sparks, Roan Jackson, and Lucas Finch were vastly improved in their second game of the season.
Also much improved was the Chargers defensive effort. They got a pair of turnovers, a defensive score, and made the Trojans earn almost every yard that they were able to gain. This was a big jump from their week one performance against Farmington, when they often seemed to be lacking in the fight and will to stop their opponent. Hopefully this trend continues to build throughout the weeks to come.
Topping the Illini West tackle chart on this night were Bentzinger and Finch with 8 tackle involvements (solo tackles and assisted tackles combined) each. Huls and Watkins were involved in 7 stops, while Brady Blanton, Bradley Miller, and Thomas Chandler were involved in 5 each. Also, on the chart were Neiderman (4 stops), Jackson (4), Johnson, (4), Ethan Carlisle (3), Jones (3), Justin Baxter (2), Carson Purdy (2), and Sparks (2).
The Chargers return to action this Friday night when they travel to Macomb to face the Bombers in a key 7:00pm conference battle. Both teams will take identical 1-1 records into this pivotal early season game.