Tigers’ fourth-quarter surge sinks Belleville West at Edwardsville
Led by University of Illinois recruit Nick Hankins, the Belleville West Maroons pushed the Edwardsville Tigers for three quarters Friday night. In the end, Edwardsville’s offense was the difference, sparking a 19-point fourth-quarter surge that lifted the Tigers to a 48-30 victory in the Southwestern Conference opener for both teams at Edwardsville High School.
Quarterback Yale Weaver keyed the decisive run with a 21-yard touchdown and running back Oliver Brown added a 2-yard score, helping the Tigers (1-3, 1-0) earn their first win of the season and avoid an 0-4 start.
“We finally played better, and Belleville West is obviously a good team,” Edwardsville coach Kelsey Pickering said. “Give them all the credit, but it was nice to be on the other side this week and get a ‘W.’”
Belleville West (2-2, 0-1) struck first when Caden Capell hit Hankins for a 65-yard seam pass touchdown. After the missed PAT, the Maroons held a 6-0 lead. The Tigers responded with a 9-yard touchdown run by Brandon Houston Jr. to take a 7-6 advantage.
A 33-yard field goal by Hunter Lading pushed Edwardsville ahead 10-6, but early in the second quarter, Capell’s 11-yard touchdown run put West briefly back in front, 12-10.
The teams traded scores the rest of the half. Houston’s 14-yard touchdown run put the Tigers up 17-12 with 9:29 remaining. Hankins answered for Belleville West with a 77-yard touchdown run to make it 18-17 Maroons. Edwardsville regained the lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Weaver to Eric Smith, and the defense held to send the Tigers into halftime with a 23-18 lead.
In the third quarter, Weaver connected with Gavin Frey on an 11-yard fade route to extend the lead to 29-18. Hankins immediately answered for the Maroons, returning the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to trim the deficit to 29-24.
Hankins finished with over 200 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for Belleville West.
“My god, that kid’s special, and he’s on everybody’s radar,” Pickering said. “He’s on our radar, and we didn’t contain him much at all. He’s going to continue to do great things in this conference.”
Edwardsville took control in the final quarter. Following a defensive stop, Weaver broke free on a 21-yard touchdown run to make it 35-24 with 11:54 to play. The senior quarterback capped a strong night with two passing and two rushing touchdowns.
“We put in the work all week, and it just came together tonight. I’ve got a lot of chemistry with my guys,” Weaver said. “I love them up front, and we clicked tonight.”
Brown’s 2-yard touchdown run gave the Tigers a 42-24 cushion with 7:54 left. Capell cut the lead to 42-30 on a 39-yard scoring run for Belleville West, but Weaver sealed the win with a 16-yard keeper for his fourth touchdown of the game.
Belleville West was hurt by five missed extra point attempts and a pair of stalled second-half drives.
“We should have finished on a couple of drives, and if we kick our extra points, we left some points out there,” West coach Ken Turner said. “They just won, man, but we’re getting closer each year. So, we want to keep getting closer and getting better and keep competing.”
Belleville West visits East St. Louis next Friday for a conference matchup. Edwardsville travels to Belleville East on Friday.
Belleville East 23, O’Fallon 0
The Lancers shut out O’Fallon to improve to 4-0. It’s the best start for Belleville East since its 5-0 start in 2010.
East next plays at home against Edwardsville on Friday.
Marion 56, Althoff 24
Stephen Brown rushed for 176 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns for Althoff, but Marion (3-1) found the endzone three times in both the second and third quarters to sink the defending Illinois 1A champions. The Crusaders (2-2) next travel to Mount Vernon.
This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 6:26 AM.