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ALTON – Civic Memorial got off to a very quick start in their 2014 campaign, winning their first two games before hitting a wall and finishing 3-6.
The Eagles are hoping to avoid a similar start this year; that start came very quic
kly at Alton's Public School Stadium Saturday night as they ran out to a big lead early and never looked back, defeating Marquette Catholic 50-21 in a non-conference game.
A 23-point opening quarter and another 20 points in the second term were more than enough to send CM to a 1-0 mark, and the fact it came against backyard rivals didn't escape the notice of Eagle quarterback Adam Hill. “I know most everybody on the team and it was fun coming out and doing that,” Hill, who threw for four touchdowns and scored another himself, said. “We planned on coming out on offense first and scoring quick so they couldn't hold on the ball very long, and that's what we did.”
“Our seniors stepped up and Hill ran behind the offensive line and the Deckards (Brandon, Curtis and Andrew, junior triplets who make up three-fifths of the Eagle offensive line),” said Eagle assistant coach Mike Parmentier, “and that's a pretty deadly duo (Hill and John Whitworth) running and passing with those guys. I think we created a lot of matchup problems; John Whitworth had a great running game and at the same time, the defense played real well.”
What the Eagles did wasn't unexpected to the Explorers, said coach Darrell Angleton. “CM didn't do anything we didn't expect,” Angleton said, “and I take my hat off to them for executing what they did.
“They run their screen really well, they have big linemen who get out there and really hustle. Their guys move pretty well and you're always fighting downhill.”
Whitworth himself scored three times on the evening on runs of 12 and nine ya
rds and 85-yard kickoff return in the third term; Brandon Ricci also scored twice for CM and David Lane had a major score as well.
The Explorers got a pair of touchdowns from Jesse Simmons, one on a 69-yard run in the third and another on a great catch in the end zone from a pass from quarterback Trey Aquirre.
Marquette travels to Quincy Notre Dame for a Friday night matchup, while the Eagles travel to east-central Illinois for a Friday-night date with Mattoon. Both games commence at 7 p.m.
CM-MARQUETTE VIDEO FROM SATURDAY NIGHT:
SEE CM-MARQUETTE PHOTO GALLERY:
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
