BETHALTO - A beautiful, if a bit unseasonably warm, Friday night greeted the Civic Memorial Eagles and Waterloo Bulldogs on Homecoming night in Bethalto.
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CM’s state 4x800 relay team that finished fifth in the IHSA state championships was honored pregame, and the Homecoming court was introduced on the CM sidelines at halftime. The festive atmosphere didn’t quite push a banged up Eagles team on the football field.
Waterloo put up 41 points in the first half and gave some starters a rest for the second, but were still able to put up a goose egg, winning 41-0 and spoiling the start of Civic Memorial’s homecoming weekend.
The visiting Bulldogs wasted no time, finding the end zone on their first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Conrad Lindhorst threw a quick pass to wideout Chris Pete, who saw plenty of daylight up the Waterloo sidelines for six.
CM’s first drive of the ballgame looked to be a routine three-and-out before a roughing the kicker penalty that gave the Eagles an automatic first down. The Purple and Gold pushed the ball into Waterloo territory before failing to convert on fourth down, handing the ball back to the Bulldogs.
The visitors found the end zone again in relatively quick fashion. A methodical drive put Waterloo in the end zone, and a short pass to the rather tall (6’9”, to be exact) Alex Stell put the Bulldogs up by two touchdowns in the first quarter.
Try as they might, the Eagles just didn’t have an answer for the Waterloo attack on either side of the ball. Not many extended CM drives on offense, several very quick touchdowns against the CM defense.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” said CM head coach Nick Smith after the game. “They’re really good.”
The third Bulldog score of the first quarter came out of the Wildcat. Junior running back Derez Sayles took the first play of a Waterloo drive all the way without being touched to give his team a 21-0 lead after the first quarter in Bethalto.
Waterloo continued to pile it on in the second quarter, Conrad Lindhorst found senior tight end Patrick O’Donnell for the fourth Bulldog TD, Derez Sayles found paydirt again on the ground, and senior Justin manning took a long run from Waterloo territory for the sixth score with five minutes remaining in the first half.
A missed extra point on the last of the six gave Waterloo a commanding 41-0 lead, one they would not look back from for the remainder of the evening. The second half brought a running clock, and some Bulldogs were rested, but CM kept Dan Rose’s high-scoring offense out of the end zone for the final two frames.
A 41-0 shutout on Homecoming weekend emphasizes that it hasn’t been easy going for Nick Smith’s football team in Bethalto. Notably missing Friday night was Kevahn Flanagan, who was injured but on the CM sidelines. Flanagan is the leading rusher and leading tackler, a big contributor on both sides of the ball for the Eagles.
“It’s hard to replace (Flanagan’s production) with one guy, but it’s just next guy up,” said Nick Smith following the game. “Everybody’s got to do their ‘one-eleven’. Do your one job out of the eleven jobs on the field.”
“We’ve got four or five two-way starters (including Flanagan) that are all out (tonight), hopefully we get a few back next week.”
After two wins against Alton Marquette and EAWR to start the season, the Eagles have lost five straight, and have been outscored 250-34 in that span. It doesn’t get any easier next week, when CM hosts their big rivals from Troy, the Triad Knights, who handed Waterloo their lone loss of the season.
“It’s putting in the work, gotta watch film, gotta practice, Triad’s beaten everybody we’ve played so far, including Waterloo,” Nick Smith explained. “We’ve got our hands full, they’re gonna come in, they’re gonna be physical, they’re gonna be fast. They spread it out a little bit more now than they used to. They can bully you around and they can play fast too.”
“We’ve got our hands full, but hopefully we come out of tonight fairly healthy and just have a good week of practice.”
The Waterloo Bulldogs are a talented team, their only loss on the season coming against the also-quite-good Triad Knights, and Dan Rose’s 25th season at Waterloo is looking like one of his best. With the win Friday, Rose’s team improves to 6-1 for the first time since 2010.
The Bulldogs will head south with smiles on their faces after a big shutout win Friday night. Waterloo closes their MVC schedule with a tough test at home, taking on Mascoutah.
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