Big Plays Spark Maroons To Victory over Indians

 

    You expect D1 recruits to make big plays, and Illinois commit Nicholas Hankins certainly made some big plays to help his Belleville West Maroons pick up a 40-21 win over Mascoutah tonight at Bob Goalby Field. The Maroons picked up 3 touchdowns of longer than 70 yards, utilizing the talent they have at the skill positions.
    Belleville West struck early, as Sr. RB Isaiah Williams broke off a long touchdown run on the Maroons' first drive to give them an early 7-0 lead. Both teams would be able to move the ball but would not find any farther scoring in the 1st quarter. Mascoutah would have a long drive get stopped at the goal line to hold them scoreless. Hankins would get his first touchdown on an 80-yard screen pass from quarterback Caiden Capell to make it 13-0 Maroons. Indians WR Camren Reed would break off a long kickoff return, saved by Maroons K Noah Thomason from becoming a Mascoutah touchdown. It would not matter much in the long run, as Indians star RB Sean Murphy broke through for a 25-yard touchdown run just a couple of plays later to get Mascoutah on the board. 
    West would strike right back, as Hankins took the first play of the following drive to the end zone on a 71-yd TD run to make it 21-7 Maroons. Mascoutah would drive back down the field and score with less than a minute to go in the first half, capped by another Murphy touchdown run. The second half would be dominated by Capell, but by the QB's legs rather than his arm. His first TD run, from 10 yards out would get the lead back to two possessions, but a pass from Mascoutah Sophomore QB Jackson Hilgendorf found Marcus Nobles to cut the West lead down to six heading into the 4th quarter. Capell would wind up icing the game in the 4th quarter, as the Maroons run game wore down the Mascoutah defense, and Belleville West would wind up adding two more rushing touchdowns from Capell to end the game at 40-21.

STATS (UNOFFICIAL):

Belleville West:

Passing:
#8 Capell: 2/7, 76 Yd, TD

Rushing:
#1 Williams: 12-149, TD
#8 Capell: 15-121, 3 TD
#3 Hankins: 5-95, TD
#6 Taylor: 11-61

Receiving:
#3 Hankins: 2-76, TD

Kicking:
#80 Thomason: 2-3 XP

Defensive Leaders:
#4 Cutler-Johnson: 11 Tkls, 2 Sks
#33 Willis: 5 Tkls
#20 Hill: 4 Tkls
#11 Conley: 4 Tkls

Mascoutah:

Passing:
#6 Hilgendorf: 16/26, 217 Yd, TD

Rushing:
#22 Murphy: 34-152, 2 TD
#6 Hilgendorf: 7-0

Receiving:
#87 Epps: 2-61
#10 Paddock: 3-56
#8 Beverly: 3-33
#7 Nobles: 1-25, TD
#2 Reed: 3-20
#1 Beck: 3-16
#22 Murphy: 1-6

Defensive Leaders:
#49 Bowers: 4 Tkls, 1 Sck
#56 Wagner: 4 Tkls
#72 Casey: 4 Tkls

Kicking:
#81 Wilkinson: 3/3 XP