Goalline stand, key interception highlight Belleville East vs. Collinsville football game
Belleville East’s defense came up aces at the most opportune times during Friday night’s high school football season opener against Collinsville.
Trailing 20-12 in the fourth quarter, the Kahoks had the ball first and goal at the Lancers’ 2-yard-line. The Belleville East defense stonewalled Collinsville three times before capping the goalline stand by stopping junior quarterback Ethan Bagwell at the 2-yard-line with five minutes left.
After the Kahoks forced a punt, the Lancers’ defense again delivered as senior Jaedon Coleman’s interception with 1:40 remaining sealed the deal and helped East defeat its former Southwestern Conference rival.
“Those guys were able to step up, play and get that goalline stand,” said East coach Michael Harrison, whose team overcame three turnovers. “Just a hat’s off to the kids. They did an outstanding job. They really buckled down and played some great defense and allowed us to come out on top.”
Lancers senior Moisey Trimble, who contributed a 70-yard touchdown run to the victory, also lauded the defense.
“Defense wins games. We couldn’t do anything without our defense,” he said. “If our defense doesn’t get the stop down there, maybe it goes to overtime, maybe they win. Defense wins games.”
Collinsville coach Colton Rhodes, whose team committed five costly turnovers, lamented the late missed opportunity.
“The goalline stand was really tough for us,” said Rhodes, whose team began their fourth season outside the SWC for football on Friday. “We just couldn’t sniff the end zone. We didn’t do all the little things well enough tonight. We just made so many simple mistakes that we’re not used to making and that’s what cost us the game tonight.”
Belleville East struck first on junior quarterback Darrion Millender Jr.’s 9-yard touchdown run with 4:41 left in the opening quarter. Junior Rico Lee hit the extra point for a 7-0 lead. The Lancers converted a 2nd and 14 and a 3rd and 12 on the drive.
The Kahoks drew even at 7-7 with 7:34 left in the half when Bagwell connected with junior KJ Thorps-Watt on a 60-yard touchdown pass. Thorps-Watt actually wrestled the ball away from the Belleville East defender and then scampered unimpeded to the end zone. Senior Andrew Chi booted the point after.
The Lancers went back ahead with 1:53 remaining in the second quarter when Millender Jr. hit junior Justin Spears on a 54-yard scoring strike. The point after failed.
The Lancers missed a golden opportunity to pad the lead as they recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. On fourth down, however, Millendor Jr. narrowly missed an open receiver near the end zone, keeping the score at 13-7 heading into intermission.
Collinsville drew to 13-10 on Chi’s 31-yard field goal with 8:31 left in the third quarter. A 35-yard pass interference penalty keyed the drive. The Kahoks got within 13-12 when Belleville East snapped the ball over the punter’s head for a safety with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.
The Kahoks then took over with good field position, but a fumbled in Lancers territory. East then faced a 2nd and 21 on the ensuing possession before Trimble busted loose for his 70-yard scoring run, upping the lead to 19-12. Lee added the extra point.
“It was an outstanding run,” Harrison said. “The big boys up front blocked well and he hit the hole and took off.”
Added Trimble, “It was a good run, but I can’t do anything but thank my offensive line for the good blocks. I can’t do anything without my offensive line.”
That set the stage for the late-game heroics by the Lancers defense.
“It’s extremely difficult to win a varsity football game on any Friday night,” Harrison said. “You’ve got to have the ball bounce your way a couple times; you have to have some things happen right. Luckily, for us tonight, they did.”
Next up for Lancers
Belleville East now will look for a 2-0 start when it hosts Pekin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. The Lancers finished 3-6 in 2021 — which included a 13-6 loss to Collinsville — but won three of their final five contests including the final two. And Trimble has high hopes this fall.
“I think we’ll be playoff worthy — hopefully make it to state,” Trimble said. “We won. We have confidence on our back. We’re 1-0. We’ll try to stay undefeated.”
Next up for Kahoks
Collinsville, meanwhile, is coming off an 8-2 season in which they lost 28-21 to Geneva in the first round of the playoffs. The Kahoks now will look to even their record when they visit Triad at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2.
“I said this is going to be up to you guys,” Rhodes said. “We know what we need to work on. This is what we’ve got to focus on this upcoming weekend. We’re going to bounce back. It’s going to be another battle against another good team.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 5:37 AM.