Motivated Belleville East rolls past Granite City, claims Class 8A playoff berth
Entering Friday night’s season-finale, Belleville East’s football team had a combined, yet, singular goal: Win and, in turn, make the playoffs.
Mission accomplished.
The host Lancers exploded for five first-quarter touchdowns and hammered struggling Granite City for 26 points over the final three quarters en route to a 66-0 homecoming win. In the process, East clinched an IHSA Class 8A playoff berth thanks to a 5-4 regular season finish.
Making the playoffs for the first time since 2015 was an emotional and satisfying feeling for Lancers senior running back Markevious Curiton.
“It feels really good (to be going back to the playoffs) man,” Curiton said. “It’s really emotional because I’m a senior and I couldn’t do it without (the blessing) of God. It’s indescribable.”
The playoff pairings were announced Saturday night and the Lancers, seeded No. 29, will face 4th seeded South Elgin (9-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, in Class 8A.
East came out strong early as, on a 3rd and 5 at the Granite City 26, the defense forced a fumble and Jayden Howard scooped it up and returned it to the end zone for a touchdown just 1:04 into the game. Howard reached a major milestone with four first-half tackles to reach the 100 career tackle mark for his career at Belleville East.
Up 6-0, the Lancers’ offense then got rolling.
After getting the ball in Granite City territory, Curiton broke off the left end on a first down play at the Warriors’ 35 and dashed into the end zone for a 13-0 lead with 6:41 left in the first quarter.
“I got the ball and I couldn’t do anything without my O-line first of all,” Curiton said. “They blocked very well and made them miss and from there it was a touchdown. It felt good to get the team rolling and get the (team) energy going on.”
East added three more touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the opening quarter as Moisey Trimble scored on a 19-yard run followed by a 61-yard run and catch for a TD from Armon Vison to Ahmad Liddell and a 25-yard pick-six by Javion Mobley Jackson.
Getting a 34-0 lead was just the approach Lancers coach Michael Harrison wanted to see.
“That’s one of the things we talked about all week long is we really wanted to come out and execute from the start,” Harrison said. “We wanted to make sure that what we were doing was kind of trending in the right direction and then get ready for next week.”
The Lancer onslaught continued early in the second quarter as Luke Freppon scored on a 4-yard run and then just before the half, Brandon Coleman scored on a 2-yard plunge. Freppon then added his second touchdown of the night on a 25-yard romp giving East a 53-0 halftime lead that left the young Warriors in a no-win situation.
“We’re young and there’s gonna be a time when we’re going to get a little bit better and you’ll see something different and we’ll be back better and be a lot stronger,” Granite City coach Kindle Lyons said. “We couldn’t get anything going early, so that’s the result we got.”
East added a touchdown in the third quarter and a score in the fourth quarter. The shutout win was the Lancers’ second straight to close the regular season.
Pleased, not satisfied
Harrison was glad to see his group end the school’s playoff drought and said his team will not be happy simply making the postseason.
“Obviously, it’s huge for us (to be back in the playoffs) and it’s nice for the guys, nice for the school, nice for the program and I’m really happy that we could accomplish that goal,” Harrison said. “Our goal (in the playoffs) is to play the best Belleville East football we can play and our goal is we’re gonna go in trying to win a football game next week.”
Granite City finished the season at 1-8.
This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 6:00 AM.