GRANITE CITY - Collinsville quarterback Ethan Bagwell and running back Jerry Richardson ran for two touchdowns each, while Bagwell threw for another score late in the first half as the Kahoks defeated the Warriors 46-0 on Granite's Senior Night and Pink Out game for breast cancer Friday night at Memorial Stadium/Kevin Greene Field.
In the annual pregame ceremonies, the Warriors honored the Class of 2023 - Ian Poston, Marquese Berry, Brady Smallie, Tristin Riggins, Maurice Dotson, Jerrod Nelson, Antonio Washington and Delon Whittaker - along with the senior cheerleaders and dance team members and their families, thanking and honoring them for the contributions to the Warrior football program.
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During the game, the Warriors showed great heart and resilience throughout, but in the end, the Kahoks put together their most complete game of the season in taking the win. Granite City kept hanging in, playing hard throughout the entire 48 minutes but were shut down at every turn by a very good Collinsville team.
"This year's a learning experience for this group," said Warriors' first-year head coach Kindle Lyons. "We've got a bunch of sophomores and juniors that we're trying to get to learn how to win. And I think just to go through the trials and tribulations that they're going through right now, it's going to teach them and they'll be ready for it next year."
The Warriors kept on playing hard and didn't quit, which is a very encouraging sign for the program in the upcoming years.
"Yep, I'm happy to see them fight like they did," Lyons said. "But sometimes, the chips don't fall your way. And tonight, it didn't fall for us, so, we'll get it back."
Lyons agreed that the Kahoks are a very good team and will be making noise during the final three weeks of the season.
"They are," Lyons said. "Watching some film, we talked about it and we knew they were a very good football team coming in and we knew it was going to be tough sledding today. So we went through it and now, we've got to get back to the drawing board."
The Kahoks took the opening kickoff and drove down the field, with the climax being an eight-yard touchdown run by Bagwell almost four-and-a-half minutes in the game to give Collinsville a 7-0 lead after Andrew Chi's conversion. The Kahoks then made it 13-0 later in the quarter when Richardson went four yards up the middle for the touchdown to make it 13-0 when Chi missed the conversion.
The Warriors put together some on the next drive, starting with a 14-yard run by quarterback Kendrick Lyons, but the defense stiffened, forcing the Warriors to punt. The Granite defense put the clamps on the Kahoks for much of the second quarter, coming up with a few good plays to stymie Collinsville, but late in the first half, the Kahoks put together a good drive of 10 plays and 85 yards, with Bagwell and Richardson carrying most of the load. It ended with Bagwell throwing six yards to Isaiah Gordon with 30.2 seconds left until halftime to make the score 20-0 for Collinsville, which is where the teams left the field for halftime.
In the third quarter, the Kahoks scored on their opening possession as Bagwell kept four yards for the touchdown to make it 27-0, then after a three-and-out by Granite, Collinsville score on their next possession as Richardson went 40 yards to the left side to put the ball on the Warriors' two, where Richardson scored from one yard out three plays later to make it 34-0.
Collinsville made it 40-0 late in third as Kolby Anderson went 27 yards up the middle to set the ball on the Granite 16, then went the final 16 yards himself on a nice run to make it 40-0 after the conversion was missed, but triggering the second half running clock rule. A Kahok touchdown on the final play of the game in the fourth quarter made the final 46-0.
The Warriors are now 1-5 on the year and travel to Breese Mater Dei Catholic next Friday in a 7 p.m. kickoff. Lyons is looking forward to going up against the Knights and their head coach, Jim Stiebel.
"Mater Dei is a good football team," Lyons said. "I had an opportunity to play with coach Jimmy Stiebel, so it'll be an exciting one. I hope we get the kids back doing and then, we should be alright."
Lyons knows the Warriors will take their lumps now, but will be emerging as a very good and exciting team in the years ahead.
"We've got a bunch of sophomores that are going to get better," Lyons said. "We'll get them better and you're going to see a much more exciting team as the weeks come and on to the next season."
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