The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Illini West Chargers football team entered the IHSA Class 2-A playoffs as an 11-seed and certainly an underdog to the 6th seeded Chicago Christian Knights. To make matters worse, the Chargers would make their 4-plus hour journey knowing they would be without a pair of their key pieces. Both junior quarterback/linebacker Ethan Carlisle and junior linebacker Isaiah Knotts would be unavailable due to injuries suffered in their week 9 win over the Tuscola Warriors.
The Knights showed they were for real and used their speed and strength advantage to blitz the undermanned Chargers 53 – 16, putting an uncomfortable end to what had been a resurgent season for the IW program. The Knights scored 46 unanswered points to start the game, as the Chargers couldn’t find any momentum on either side of the ball.
The Chargers finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half to avert a shutout. After a Knight touchdown late in the 2nd quarter pushed their advantage to 46 – 0, The Chargers offense took possession at their own 30-yard line.
Senior Max Kinnamon, now at QB due to Carlisle’s injury, hit classmate Tre Neiderman on a short pass in the right flat. Niederman made the first tackler miss and then cut across the field to advance the ball for a 30-yard gain. A 10-yard run by sophomore wingback Draiden Heath advanced the ball to inside the Knight’s 20-yard line.
With the clock winding down on the half, Kinnamon dropped back to pass again, and this time found senior end Stephen Sparks in the left corner of the south end zone. Sparks out-battled the Knight defender and eventually secured the tipped football for a Charger touchdown as time expired on the half. Kinnamon hit Neiderman on a successful conversion pass to give the IW faithful something to cheer about.
The second half saw a running clock after the Knights scored with a little over a minute to play in the 3rd quarter to take a 53 – 8 advantage. The Charger offense would have one more score before the final horn ended the play. This drive was unique in that it featured six runs by junior lineman turned running back Izik Jones. Jones picked up all 77 yards on this scoring drive and eventually scored on a 9-yard run around the Charger left side. The conversion pass was again a successful connection between Kinnamon and Neiderman to set the game’s final score.
Despite this disappointing end to the Chargers’ 2024 season, this team can be proud of what they were able to overcome and accomplish. They fought through injuries and a 0 – 3 start to win 6 games in a row to make the program’s first play-off appearance since 2018. They are to be commended for their hard work and dedication to the Charger football program now and moving forward.