O’FALLON – Backup quarterback Dean Williams got the start in place of the injured Yale Weaver, and ran for one touchdown, and threw 92 yards to Eric Smith for another score, while receiver Devyon Hill-Lomax ran for two touchdowns as Edwardsville bounced back nicely with a 35-3 win over O’Fallon in a week seven football game Friday night, Oct. 10, 2025, at OTHS Panther Stadium.
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The Tigers played very well against the Panthers, bouncing back from a 54-0 loss to East St. Louis last week, and improved their record to 3-4 with two games remaining.
“The boys really did a great job tonight executing,” said Edwardsville head coach Kelsey Pickering. “We talked about last week, Dean being put in a really difficult situation, and it shows just what kind of young man he is, to have a week of practice, obviously, the belief in the (offensive) line, and then, all of our skill players. We just came out, and were able to execute a game plan. I think it helps when Dean gets a week of practice.”
Williams played very admirably against the Flyers last week, and against O’Fallon, he played exceptionally well.
“I think it shows what he can be," Coach Pickering said. "He’s a very good quarterback, and I think is can only get better.”
Smith got the Tigers off on the right foot by taking the opening kickoff back 60 yards to the O’Fallon 30 to put the Tigers in great field position, and things went right from there.
“There’s no doubt,” Pickering said. “We talk about being a three-phase team. We have to have special teams, offense, and defense, and I think we got to see some of that tonight, where all three phases really contributed to the win. We talk about it a lot, and it’s important to us not to be one-sided or two-sided. We have to be a three-phase team to try to make sure we’re going to win ball games.”
The Tigers host Alton in their final Southwestern Conference game next week, and finish the regular season at DeSmet Jesuit in suburban St. Louis the following week. There is still time for Edwardsville to do good things and make the playoffs.
“Our back’s been against the wall since, we think, week three,” Pickering said, “so we understand, our kids understand where we’re at and what we’ve got to do to try to make the playoffs. But, obviously, it’s all one game at a time right now to move forward and try to earn that playoff berth.”
Things started right for the Tigers when Smith returned the opening kickoff back to the O’Fallon 30 to set up the opening drive, which climaxed with a six-yard touchdown run by Rayqwon Wallace to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead after the convert. Late in the quarter, Hill-Lomax took a direct snap and went in from two yards out, leaping into the end zone to give Edwardsville a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers defense took over and stymied O’Fallon drives, Late in the first half, the Panthers got the ball on their own three, and launched a drive that featured quarterback Gunner Hoffman pick up key first downs on runs, and hitting Levi Hicks on a 22-yard pass play in the final seconds, where Blake Keller hit a 26-yard field goal with one second left to cut the Edwardsville lead to 14-3 at halftime.
The defense continued to shine at the start of the second half, getting stops on O’Fallon drives, in particular late in the third quarter, where a Hoffman pass was intercepted deep in Tiger territory by Bryan Cox. It only took Edwardsville two plays to score on the first play of the fourth quarter when Williams hit Smith in stride over the middle, and Smith sprinted 92 yards for the touchdown that opened up the game and gave the Tigers a 21-3 lead.
Later in the quarter, Hill-Lomax scored his second touchdown, from two yards out, and Williams himself climaxed the scoring with 6:41 left after Edwardsville recovered an on-side kick, running in from eight yards away to give the Tigers their 35-3 win.
The Tigers, 3-4, host Alton next week, then travel to DeSmet for the regular season finale Oct. 24. The Panthers finish up on the road, playing at East St. Louis next week, then winding up the regular season at LaSalle-Peru, with all games starting at 7 p.m.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
