WOOD RIVER — Although the final score of Friday night’s football game at East Alton-Wood River Memorial Stadium was Taylorville 45, East Alton-Wood River 6, one couldn’t help but notice that the 2016 edition of the Oiler side are not going to back down, no matter the score or situation.
East Alton-Wood River showed a fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude throughout the second half despite trailing 33-6 and being on the short end of a couple of breaks, something that pleased head coach Garry Herron.
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“That’s what I talked to the kids about at halftime,” Herron said. “If we quit in the second half, the other teams would know it. If we didn’t, it would show that we’re not pushovers anymore. I was super, super proud of the kids of the way they responded tonight.”
And Herron and his team knew that they were in for a tough fight, with the Tornadoes coming off a 11-1 playoff season as champions of the Apollo Conference.
“We knew that they were going to be a tough, athletic team, but I feel that we have a very athletic team too,” Herron said. “It was going to come down of who was going to be more aggressive.”
It was indeed a very rough start for the Oilers, as they gave up two touchdowns in the opening minutes. Evan Champley opened the scoring on a 3-yard run two plays after taking the opening kickoff, with Jagger Moore adding on the convert to give the Tornadoes a 7-0 lead.
The ensuing kickoff surprised everyone, as Taylorville recovered an onside kick to put themselves in business again. It paid off with a 48 yard pass play from Brandon Odam to Trey Crites for the second Tornado touchdown. Moore’s kick made it `14-0 before even two minutes had been played.
“They didn’t show the onside kick on the film, but our kids weren’t ready for it.” Herron said. “I thought we had the ball, but they came up with it.”
Justin Wright extended the lead with a 18-yard touchdown run later in the term, making it 20-0 Taylorville when the convert was missed.
The Tornadoes scored twice in the second quarter, getting a 21-yard pass from Odam to Wright and a 13-yard run from Odam himself before Zach Womack scored from 2 yards out for the Oilers’ only touchdown of the night. It made the score 33-6 as the teams went in for the long break.
The Oilers came out of the locker room determined to play to the end, and on the Tornadoes’ first possession of the second half, EA-WR ended it when Zach Wells made a nifty interception of a Odam pass to thwart the drive.
The Oiler offense, led by quarterback Justin Englar, kept pounding away with an aggressive ground game that featured nice runs by both Womack and T.J. Lawson. Defensively, EAWR kept playing hard and aggressive despite giving up two nine play touchdown drives.
The first drive ended with a one yard plunge by Odam, the second a Crites run around end, both in the final quarter, Both converts were missed, accounting for the 45-6 final.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
