With depth and experience, Belleville East looks to extend football playoff run

A talented roster of stacked with experience should allow Belleville East to hit the ground running for the 2025 high school football season and possibly improve on last fall, which saw the Lancers’ return to the IHSA Class 8A playoffs.

East returns 18 players from a third-place finisher in the stacked Southwestern Conference.

“We’ve got a good group ready to go,” said seventh-year coach Michael Harrison.

The top returners for the Lancers include senior running back Jaedon Beamon, junior wideout James Johnson Jr., junior quarterbacks Kingston Jones, Kayden Wood, senior lineman, University of Cincinnati recruit Jonathan Rulo, senior lineman Maddox Carroll, and senior lineman Bayden Schwab.

Junior CJ Willis is back at receiver with Johnson, and at tight end, juniors Ja’Cory Brown and Antwon Brown will work there after starting on defense last season.

On offense, the Lancers will lean on Beamon to anchor the running game, Harrison said. Beamon led the team in rushing with 784 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior.

“Jaedon Beamon, we’re hoping he can eclipse the 1,000-yard number on the ground and we’ll be balanced (offensively) again,” Harrison said.

Both Jones (948 yards passing, 10 touchdowns) and Wood (700 yards passing, six touchdowns) will look to connect often with Johnson, a tall, rangy target, who hauled in 40 receptions for 602 yards with four touchdowns last year. Johnson averaged 15.1 yards per catch as a sophomore.

“James Johnson will be our feature receiver in the passing game,” Harrison said.

The defensive line will be anchored by Rulo (59 tackles, six sacks) and Hunt (29 tackles, two sacks).

On the linebacker corps, Ja’Cory Brown and Antwon Brown will man the outside spots. Newcomers Tyler Tosh, Madden Coleman, and Trey Smith will all see time as inside linebackers.

“We’ll feature those and kind of look for those guys to step up and make a name for themselves at our inside linebacker spots,” Harrison said.

East also has plenty of experience in the defensive backfield. Junior Jordan Williams is back at safety, while junior Brandon Bush returns at one of the two cornerback spots, along with Willis at cornerback and safety. Johnson will also see time in the secondary.

“I’m pretty excited with that group of guys that we’ve got coming back there,” Harrison said.

Harrison says his returning group is capable of taking the Lancers farther than last fall’s first-round playoff loss at to Wilmette Loyola Academy.

“The team goals are the same as they always are: compete for the Southwestern Conference championship and make the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve made the playoffs for the last three years, so an additional goal there is to make a run and make sure we have a home playoff game.”

Belleville East opens the season on August 29 at 7 p.m. against Collinsville.