Hankins, Belleville West defense have a big night in opening win at Mascoutah

By Jonathan Duncan For the News-Democrat

Updated August 31, 2024 4:57 PM

MASCOUTAH

Belleville West coach Ken Turner likes to have fun and likes his teams to have fun.

On Friday night, West junior Nick Hankins and the Maroons’ defense had a ball at the expense of the Mascoutah Indians.

Hankins scored a touchdown on a 55-yard interception and hauled in a 98-yard scored pass while West’s defense shut down in the Indians in rolling to a 34-21 season-opening road victory.

“We still were a little sluggish tonight but there’s always things to work on and feel like we played well,” Turner said. “I feel like we started to turn it on on offense. We got it rolling off and on and we’ll only get better from this.”

Hankins, a junior cornerback, got the West defense rolling when he picked off Mascoutah quarterback Baruk Jonnson and raced 55 yards for a touchdown.

Hawkins said he made the play -- which put the Maroons on top just 2:34 into the game -- thanks to some practice week motivation by coach and former NFL linebacker Tommy Polley.

“Coach Polley was on me all week at practice because when it happened in practice I wouldn’t get the pick,” Hankins said. “It happened, I was ready for it and Coach Polley prepared me for it. We were in a cover two, I was in my zone, I saw the quarterback throw it, jumped up caught it, and ran for the touchdown.”

West quarterback Caiden Capell got the offense going after a quiet first quarter. He connected with Hankins on a slant pass that went 98 yards for a score making it 13-0 with 10:39 left in the second quarter.

Belleville West sophomore QB Caiden Capell celebrates a touchdown during the first game of the season against on Aug. 30, 2024. By halftime, the Belleville West Maroons led the Indians by three touchdowns. Joshua Carter Belleville News-Democrat

Mascoutah (0-1) answered on the ensuing drive as Jackson Redenus scored on a 1-yard run cutting the lead to 13-7.

Just before the half, Capell and DeShaun Gage connected on a 45-yard touchdown, which pushed the lead to 20-7.

Jonnson scored on a 3-yard run to make it a one-possession game, 20-14, at the end of the third quarter. But West (1-0) put the game away in the fourth quarter thanks to a 2-yard TD run by Capell and a 7-yard scoring dash from Troy McClean.

It was a rough night for the Mascoutah offense as the Maroons’ physical and fast defense forced the Indians into six turnovers.

“We feel like we gave up some huge plays and in turn we turned the ball over,” Mascoutah coach Aaron Hilgendorf said. “It’s a bad formula to win and it almost always results in a loss.

“Credit to Coach Turner and their team. We’ve gotta fix it for sure on both sides ... But If you lose the turnover battle you’re gonna lose.”

Hankins was thrilled with the Maroon’s strong showing on defense.

“The game plan is always to get turnovers and make it hard for the other team’s offense to score,” Hankins said. “I feel like our defense got way better from last year.”

Redenius scored his second and final touchdown of the night on a 4-yard run with 2:23 left, rounding out the scoring for the Indians.