WOOD RIVER - It was Homecoming night on a muggy late September Friday evening in Wood River, and the East Alton-Wood River Oilers’ football team was coming off of a 24-7 victory over Marquette Catholic a week prior.
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EAWR hosted the Salem Wildcats, who came into the contest looking for their first win of the season. The Wildcats would find that win and then some, winning 42-8.
The Oilers won the toss, but their opening drive went 15 yards backward before a short punt and a flag that gave Salem good field position in Oiler territory. The visitors from Marion County scored on that opening possession, with sophomore running back Trey Clark capping the short drive.
It was a hot and humid evening, especially for week four, but one that passed the wet-bulb temperature test. Salem used the weather to their advantage, mixing in some up-tempo no-huddle offense at times to keep the Oiler defense on the field.
Also keeping the Oiler defense on the field was the kickoff strategy of the Wildcats. After the first touchdown, Salem opted for a short kick, not quite an onside kick, but one that worked as such. The kick, fielded by an Oiler more prepared to block, was jarred loose with a big hit, with the Wildcats jumping on the fumble to regain possession.
Salem again moved quickly, and again found paydirt with a Trey Clark rushing TD to cap off a short drive. Once again, Salem head coach Kevin Greene went with a short kick, one muffed by EAWR and recovered by the Wildcats. Clark opened the second quarter by scoring his third touchdown in as many Salem Wildcat drives for a 21-0 lead.
The Oilers didn’t have much of a chance to create or even just have the ball on offense in the first half with the short kickoffs they couldn’t secure. They punted on their two drives in the opening 24 minutes.
Salem scored two more touchdowns before halftime. The first, a 61-yard bomb from sophomore quarterback Kaeden Bevolo to senior wideout Miking Ettress, who blew past the EAWR secondary for six.
A flat-out onside kick was recovered by the Wildcats for another crack at the end zone before halftime. Bevolo would add a second passing TD of the quarter with a 14-yard connection with sophomore Marquis Ettress for a 35-0 halftime lead.
Salem added their sixth and final touchdown to open the third quarter, Kaeden Bevolo found Lyric Black for this third score through the air. At 42-0, the running clock began at Memorial Stadium.
Threatening the end of the game as much as the running clock was the lightning visible to the south, and there was a brief delay in the third quarter as refs and school officials conferred over the lightning situation. The lightning was visible, but outside of the radius that would force the game to be delayed or called.
Against the running clock, the East Alton-Wood River offense did find a bit of footing in the second half, but coach Garry Herron was quick to point out that their success was against the Salem backups.
“I know we were playing their JV guys,” Herron admitted. “But any points are good points.”
The Oilers found the endzone in the last minute with the running clock, senior running back Brandon Yates strung together positive runs to the end zone, but was initially called back for an illegal block in the back call. Yates would weave through a Salem defense for six before the final horn, and an Alex Johnson two-point conversion run produced the final score of 42-8.
EAWR head coach Herron didn’t mince words postgame.
“We played like a bunch of individuals tonight,” Herron stated bluntly. “We didn’t play as a team, we didn’t execute a game plan we went over all week. They had every right to put up 40 on us.”
There was a bit of testiness between the two teams without any real rivalry. Salem, wanting their first win to be a big one, repeatedly went to onside kicks and scored early and often. That didn’t sit well with the EAWR sideline, and there was some chirping with Salem players towards the end of the game.
“I don’t know what was going on there,” said Herron. “Their players were talking to our coaches. That’s not how I teach my kids. That’s not how we win. If [Salem] wants to do that, that’s fine.”
Ultimately, the East Alton-Wood River head coach deemed Friday’s loss was a lack of execution.
“It’s just a matter of us not doing our job,” Herron explained. “They’re big, they run their one or two running plays and they run them very well. We practiced against that all week long. It’s not that they were superior, I don’t believe that.”
“But when our defensive line is (running) the opposite way of where they’re supposed to be, and we’re giving them a gap every play? They’re gonna rush the ball. So it’s more on the execution of our guys tonight.”
The Oilers have an even tougher test next week, traveling to Breese to take on the Cougars, one of the best football teams of any level in the area.
“Our guys really need to dig in (against Breese Central),” said Herron. “If they don’t do that next game, it will be over pretty quick. That’s the message we’re going to send. We’ll watch the film on them, we’ll get ready for them as best we can, but our guys have to execute. That’s what it comes down to.”
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