Take a look at controversial play from Belleville East, Edwardsville showdown

Despite getting a 10-6 first-half lead on a 1-yard Machal Henderson touchdown and a 31-yard Grayson Parker field goal, the Belleville East Lancers could not come away with a win in high school football action at Edwardsville Friday night.

The host Tigers scored a pair of second-half touchdowns and their defense stopped the Lancers cold in posting a 20-10 Southwestern Conference win Friday night.

A second-quarter 13-yard touchdown run by Steven Moore, Jr., gave the Tigers their first-half points.

Edwardsville (6-1, 4-0 ) pulled ahead with six minutes left in the third quarter on Javion Smith’s 5-yard touchdown run, going up 13-10.

Tigers junior quarterback Yale Weaver gave the lead some cushion with a 2-yard keeper run for a touchdown, making it 20-10 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

The game was not without controversy. Weaver and Edwardsville running back Steven Moore misconnected on a handoff, setting off a scramble for the loose ball in the Tigers’ backfield. East senior linebacker Jerry Avan appeared to scoop up the loose ball with nothing but open field between him and a score, but the referees blew the ball dead, ruling Weaver had regained possession.

Belleville East slipped to 4-3 and 2-2 in conference play with the loss.

This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 3:33 PM.