EDWARDSVILLE – DeSmet Jesuit took an early 14-0 lead and went on to defeat Edwardsville 42-19, in the regular season finale for both teams Friday night at Tiger Stadium.
When the game started, It was the Spartans taking control early, taking 11 plays and 3:25 to go 65 yards on the opening possession, ending with Dillon Duff, passing 13 yards to Brayden Wakula for the first touchdown to put DeSmet up 7-0, After Yale Weaver was intercepted on the Tigers’ second play from scrimmage, the Spartans only needed three plays to score, climaxing with a 11-yard touchdown pass from Duff to Jayden McCaster to give DeSmet a 14-0 lead.
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The Tigers came right back with Weaver throwing 16 yards to Lakatos for a touchdown to halve the lead to 14-7. The Spartans answered with a 19-yard touchdown run by Duff early in the second quarter to extend the lead to 21-7. After an Edwardsville punt, DeSmet took 4;46 to drive 70 yards in 15 plays, ending with Duff going the final three yards himself to score, putting the Spartans up 28-7 at halftime.
Edwardsville mounted a comeback at the start of the second half, with Smith first going in from two yards away to score 28-13 after the conversion was missed. On the ensuing DeSmet possession, the special teams came through big when a punt was blocked, and Devyon Hill-Lomax fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The point was again missed, but Edwardsville had cut the lead to 28-19 and looked poised to take control of the game.
DeSmet, however, took control back when Bryant Pool took an interception back 81 yards for a touchdown that made the score 35-19, and the Spartans clinched the game with a 21-yard touchdown run by McCaster to give DeSmet the 42-19 win.
The Spartans end their regular season 7-2 and start Missouri district play next week against an opponent to be determined. The Tigers wind up at 6-3 and will learn their first-round IHSA playoff opponent Saturday evening, when the pairings are announced.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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