The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Illini West Chargers picked up their 5th win in a row by downing the host West Hancock Titans last Friday night in Hamilton by a decisive final score of 46 – 12. The victory moves the Chargers season record to 5 – 3 overall and makes IW playoff eligible with one game still remaining on their 2024 regular season schedule.
The Titans drew first blood in this Hancock County gridiron rivalry when they scored on their 2nd possession of the first quarter with a 65-yard pass. The Chargers responded quickly on their 2nd possession to go 60 yards in six plays for a tying touchdown run of 4 yards by junior halfback Isaiah Knotts.
The big play of the drive was a 47-yard run by senior halfback Nick Johnson. IW quarterback Ethan Carlisle hit senior wingback Max Kinnamon for the 2-point conversion and an 8 – 6 Charger lead early in the 2nd period.
The Charger offense then stepped up to force a Titan punt on West Hancock’s ensuing possession, giving the football right back to a very hungry Charger offense. A 10-yard run by Johnson and a 30-yard gallop by Knotts put the Chargers back deep in Titan territory.
Junior QB Carlisle then connected with Kinnamon again, this time for 16-yard touchdown pass into the right corner of the east end zone. Carlisle ran in the successful 2-point conversion and the Chargers now led 16–6.
The Titans responded with a 14-play drive, mixing the run and the pass with some untimely Charger penalties, to drive 70 yards for their 2nd touchdown. The IW defense did step up to turn away the Titan’s conversion try and the Chargers maintained a 16–12 lead.
The Chargers’ offense then showed their resilience to the Titan score with a late first half score of their own. This time Carlisle would hit senior flanker Tre Neiderman with a 25-yard scoring strike. Neiderman had to jump high and fight a Titan defender for possession, but ultimately came down with the acrobatic catch with only 8 seconds left in the first half. The Chargers successful conversion run by Johnson put the IW lead at 24–12 at the halftime break.
The teams opened the 2nd half by exchanging turnovers on their initial possessions of the half. The Chargers took advantage of their positive field position after the exchange by quickly going 40 yards to an eventual score. Carlisle did the honors himself this time with a 10-yard keeper up the middle. The junior QB then hit Neiderman for a successful 2-point conversion pass and a 32–12 Charger lead midway through the 3rd quarter.
Five plays and a couple of minutes later, the Chargers were again on the march to another score. This time they would march 50 yards in 7 plays, with the big play being a 27-yard run by Johnson. The senior running back would eventually cap the drive with a 7-yard TD run on the 2nd play of the 4th quarter. Carlisle again hit Kinnamon for the successful 2-point conversion pass and a 40–12 IW lead.
The Chargers would later tack on one more score as Johnson added another TD to his big night with a 15-yard run. This TD would end the scoring fore the night as the Chargers would run away with a 46–12 victory.
The Chargers’ next game will be their final game of the regular season. This contest with Tuscola will be played Thursday night at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield. The Warriors will come in at 5–3 overall as both teams are playoff eligible and looking to get win number six. Kick-off is slated for 7:00 pm