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5.0 years ago @ 8:38AM

West dumps Redbirds in three-hour-plus marathon - The Telegraph - 9/15/2018

West dumps Redbirds in three-hour-plus marathon

Louie Korac For The Telegraph

 Updated 

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  • Alton coach Eric Dickerson’s Redbirds dropped a 52-21 decision to Belleville West at Public School Stadium in a Southwestern Conference game that took three hours and 12 minutes to complete. Photo: Telegraph Photo

Photo:

Telegraph Photo

Alton coach Eric Dickerson’s Redbirds dropped a 52-21 decision to Belleville West at Public School Stadium in a Southwestern Conference game that took three hours and 12 minutes to complete.

ALTON — A chance to make a statement against an undefeated conference opponent went by the wayside for the Alton Redbirds on Friday night.

And it took only 28 seconds for it to slip away late in the first half.

Belleville West scored three touchdowns in a 28-second span, including and 86-yard touchdown pass, a fumble recovery in the end zone and a 19-yard touchdown pass after another Alton fumble and went on to a 52-21 win in Southwestern Conference play at Public School Stadium.

I a game that lasted 3 hours, 12 minutes, finished at 10:12 p.m. and was marred by an officiating crew that flagged the teams a combined 25 penalties (13 on the Maroons) for 198 yards, Belleville West (4-0, 2-0) turned a 21-7 lead into 42-7 by scoring with 1:48 remaining in the second, then again with 1:34 left and then with 1:20 left.

All the scores came after Alton (2-2, 1-1) had a chance to make it a 21-14 game but was stopped on downs at the Maroon 14.

“It was a minute and 30 and we gave up three touchdowns,” Alton coach Eric Dickerson said. “I mean, that’s just hard to come back from, I don’t care who you’re playing. An 86-yard touchdown pass, a fumble recovered for a touchdown and then a fumble on the next series inside your 10. That’s halted to overcome.”

West quarterback Jackson McCloskey found Dominic Lovett down the right sideline for the 86-yard score to make it 28-7. Then Jaylen McCray recovered a fumble in the end zone after Alton’s Andrew Jones and Tim Johnson mishandled a pitch to the left before Johnson fumbled again on the first play from scrimmage and McCloskey hit Will Lanxon from 19 yards out.

“You don’t put the ball on the ground like we did with the toss,” Dickerson said. “I dnt know if it’s a bad exchange or what happened but just can’t put the ball on the ground.”

Alton fought back and got a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Terrance Walker with 1:06 left in the half, and Jones, who threw for 281 yards with two touchdowns but was picked off twice, found Moory Woods for a 61-yard touchdown with 6:23 left in the third to make it 42-21 but the Redbirds couldn’t get any closer.

West running back DJ Johnson, who rushed for two TD’s, ran it 35 times for 174 yards.

“That defense of theirs, they’re aggressive,” Dickerson said of the Maroons. “They fly around and they get to the ball, but when you’re down as much as we were, that’s a big hill to overcome. It’s a testament to our kids though. They fought and they never gave up and they battled. You just move on.”


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