10/03/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
ALTON - Head coach Eric Dickerson hoped his Alton Marquette squad would show up focused for their Saturday afternoon contest at Public Stadium.

Coming off of consecutive losses to Breese Mater Dei and Belleville Althoff, the Explorers didn't overlook visiting Madison.

Marquette scored on its third play from scrimmage and rolled up 50 first half points in a 50-12 romp.

The Explorers jumped past the .500 mark and are now 4-3 on the season and, with the new playoff format, should be guaranteed a spot in the postseason.

Madison remained winless on the season, now 0-7, having been outscored 305-60.

On a beautiful afternoon at Public School Stadium, Coach Dickerson witnessed a dominating performance in the first two quarters and this allowed him to play his bench in the second half.

“We needed to get back to basics. I thought we had a good week of practice. We just wanted to get better after a rough two weeks and we came out and executed how we wanted to,” said Coach Dickerson. “We have two regular season games left and we have to keep improving. We have two tough opponents ahead of us so we should be ready to go. We need to continue to execute things the right way.”

Many Explorers covered ground in the victory.

Junior quarterback Toby Eberlin completed all four of his passing attempts for 147-yards and a pair of touchdowns.

He also added a rushing score.

Running the ball, Alton Marquette scorched the turf for 305-yards on just 24-attempts and another four TD's.

Don'Tay Longstreet, a junior running back, rushed for 108-yards on only three carries.

The 6-0 junior scored two of the touchdowns for the Explorers in the first half.

Another junior running back, Jhordyn Croft, powered his way for a touchdown with five attempt accumulating 86-yards.

Five other runners inked the stat sheet with an additional 16 carries for 111-yards, including the seven-yard run for a score by Eberlin.

“Our running game has been strong all year. We've been great up front. Our line has been working their tails off and we have some great backs back there. It's been our strong point and I think that we needed to just shore some things up today and make sure we're ready to go for the rest of the year,” said Coach Dickerson.

Defensively they held the Trojans to just 129 total yards, with most coming during a running clock in the final half.

Senior quarterback Ladorius Hamiel was just 1-of-5 passing, for just five total yards.

He threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for scores.

Marquette has gotten used to playing Saturday afternoon contests as the team played its third of the season.

The matchup turned into a rout from the beginning.

Four plays into the game, Eblerlin threw his first pass, a 47-yard touchdown to sophomore Mark Osborne, who leaped high into the air to catch the throw and sprinted the down the right sideline for paydirt.

The point after touchdown kick by senior Joe Stephan put the Explorers in the lead at 7-0 with just over two minutes gone in the first quarter.

The first snap for Madison on its next possession turned into six-points for Marquette.

Junior defensive back Apprentice Taylor stepped in front Madison receiver Alexander Barbee and intercepted a Hamiel pass.

Taylor took it 35-yards to the endzone for the second Marquette touchdown within a few seconds.

Stephan missed the extra point but it was 13-0 Explorers.

The next Marquette drive was all Croft, as the junior ran for nine, 26 and 10 yards to cover the 45-yard, three play drive.

The 10-yard run was up the middle for Croft as he crossed the goal line.

A two point conversion run made it 21-0.

The Trojans got their only first down of the first half off of an off-sides penalty against Marquette but the drive ended with another interception, this time by junior defensive back De'Mialo Jones, his first of two INT's.

Eberlin completed a 13-yard pass to Osborn and Croft added 16-yard run to set up Eberlin on a seven-yard scoring run on the scramble to the right side of the endzone.

Another Stephan kick pushed the lead to 28-0 with just 1:46 remaining in an overwhelming first quarter.

After forcing another three-and-out, Marquette scored on a six-play drive.

The Explorers finished the 65-yard march with Longstreet scoring on the ground from 20-yards out.

Stephan kicked another PAT for a 35-0 advantage.

Another pass interception on the next Madison possession, by Longstreet, turned into a 62-yard score.

Hamiel threw the ball deep down the right sideline on a fourth-and-10 from their own 39.

Longstreet took the ball and crossed the field and went down the right sideline for a the TD.

A fake field goal run by Stephen on the PAT made it 43-0.

Madison's best drive in the first half came on its next chance, picking up their second first down.

But another interception by Jones stopped the drive and set up the final score of the game for Marquette.

A pair of penalties (unsportsmanlike conduct, holding) pushed the Explorers back to their own 20.

Facing a third-and-30, Eberlin threw a pass over the middle to Longstreet, who headed down the right sideline for an 80-yard score on the final play of the second quarter.

Senior Simon Waters kicked the extra point to close the half at 50-0 Marquette.

Madison scored twice in the second half against Marquette reserves with a 70-yard, eight-play drive.

Hamiel scored on a five-yard run with a failed two-point conversion.

Freshman Brodie McLeod rushed five times for 27-yards in the second half but on one of the attempts he had the ball striped away by Madison sophomore lineman Quinton Bell.

This led to the final Trojans' score on a three-yard run by junior running back Kobe Gardner.

A failed PAT ended the scoring.

“Getting them (reserves) some playing time on the varsity field in front of that crowd in front of an opponent is important for those guys,” added Coach Dickerson.

Marquette will close out their season with road games against rival Roxana next Friday and a trip to Carlyle on October 16th.

The Trojans are at Breese Mater Dei this coming Friday and will host Wesclin in the season finale.

“We have two weeks to improve on everything. We want to go in (the playoffs) with a fifth win or a sixth win with a head full of steam,” said Coach Dickerson.