10/10/20254
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHESTER - In a contest that had a little bit of everything, it was fitting that the player who had the best night overall would come up with the biggest defensive play in the game during the Dupo vs. Chester Cahokia Conference Illinois Division battle on Friday night.

Chester senior quarterback and defensive back Trey Peters not only passed for a trio of touchdowns while leading the Yellow Jackets offense, but his defense came up big on a pair of interceptions.

However the more important play that the senior made on the night came in the final moments of the matchup.

After Dupo had scored with :01.4 left in the game to draw within 38-37 of the hosts, the Tigers elected to go for the win by going for two-points on the point after touchdown try.

Dupo senior QB Deegan Prater had driven his club down he field and his three-yard TD pass to teammate Thinh Staggs set up a potential game winning two-point conversion.

But Peters blew up the Dupo plans, reaching up to swat away the pass attempt, securing the one-point Chester victory.

The win moves the Yellow Jackets into sole possession of the top spot in the division race and improved the overall record to 6-1, 4-0 in the standings.

Dupo, after six-consecutive triumphs to open the season, suffered its first defeat.

Prater, who came into the game with over 1,300-yards passing on the season, added another 312-yards on 16-of-31 attempts and a trio of touchdowns.

But he did throw three interceptions, two of which were grabbed by Peters.

All three stopped drives with the two swipes by Peters coming on long pass attempts.

The Chester senior signal caller ended up 15-of-21 and 188-yards and three TD's while also rushing for another 37-yards.

After jumping out to a 21-0 lead and leading 31-13 in the third quarter, Coach Billy Belton's Yellow Jackets survived the Tigers' rally.

All rushers were topped by Chester's Ethan Colvis with 118-yards on 15-runs.

“You always want your seniors to step up on Homecoming and that's what Trey (Peters) did tonight,” said Coach Belton. “He threw three touchdowns, intercepted two passes and then knocks away the game winner. What a great performance by him. He was hurt and it shows how tough he is. Colvis has had a great year. When he gets going downhill he is tough to tackle. He's a beast.”

According to Dupo head coach Zach Klaustermeier, his previous teams might have given up after falling behind early but his 2025 Tigers are built different.

The Yellow Jackets overcame some issues on its first scoring drive to open the game.

Chester marched down the field and reached the five-yard line for a first-and-goal.

But after a couple of penalties and a pair of completed passes, Coach Billy Belton's club faced a fourth-and-goal at the 13.

Peters rolled out to his left and then back to his right while being chased by Tigers' defenders.

He found tight end Trey McCartney in the endzone for a touchdown.

Junior linebacker/kicker Karim Landeros added the PAT kick for a 7-0 spread after taking just over seven minutes off of the clock.

Chester's second score came two possessions later in the second quarter.

Colvis padded his stats with a 48-yard run down the left sideline to get into Dupo territory at the 29.

An 11-yard run by junior Zane Eggemeyer and a seven-yard run by TaShawn Palacio put the Yellow Jackets in position to score again.

Peters called his own number, running up the middle before heading to the right side of the endzone untouched for Chester's second score.

The 11-yard TD and subsequent PAT by Landeros pushed the advantage to 14-0 with 10:33 remaining in the first half.

Chester took advantage of Prater's first interception to get on the scoreboard again with under a minute left in the second quarter.

Senior Derrius Shoemate picked off Prater and got the ball to the Chester 42.

Peters led his team the next 58-yards in with a pair of runs for nine and 10.

Coach Belton pulled out a trick play.

Peters pitched the ball to junior running back Alex Blechle who ran to the left.

Blechle stopped and fired a pass down the left sideline to Palacio, who finished the completion by going into the endzone for the 34-yard score.

Another PAT kick by Landeros pushed the score to a commanding 21-0 lead with :58.4 remaining in the half.

“I know that this isn't the Dupo team that I took over four years ago,” said Coach Klaustermeier. “In past years, going down 21-0 we would have rolled over and we would've gotten beat 56-6. For these guys to fight back like that, we play hard. We will need to keep playing hard like that when we get into the playoffs.”

The senior dropped back and fired a near perfect strike to junior wide receiver Brady Portell.

The 5-9 speedster caught the ball in stride and sprinted the rest of the way for a 65-yard touchdown.

Prater tacked on the PAT and the Tigers were on the board trailing 21-7 at intermission.

“Scoring right before the half was huge,” said Coach Klaustermeier.

Dupo added to their points, taking the second half kickoff to drive 65-yards on just four plays.

Prater threw his second touchdown pass to senior teammate Brrayden Esterlein.

Esterlein broke a tackle attempt and took care of the rest on a 62-yard score.

The Prater PAT was ruled no good, wide left, to leave the score 21-13.

Chester answered right back with a scoring drive.

A long pass by Peters to Palacio went for 50-yards to the Dupo one-yard line.

Peters tossed another touchdown pass, this time to Eggemeyer for a 28-13 spread.

Landeros had a pretty good night kicking the ball and he helped his defense by sacking Prater on a fourth down play to give his team the ball back in Dupo territory.

He finished the next Chester drive with a 34-yard field goal as the Yellow Jackets' lead looked safe at 31-13 with 2:47 left in the third quarter.

But the Tigers had a lot of fight left in them.

On the ensuing kickoff, Portell took the kick on his own nine and sprinted up the middle of the Chester special teams and found an opening.

He sprinted home for a 91-yard score.

Prater ran the ball in for the two-point PAT to close the gap to 31-21.

The eventful game got much more interesting.

Following a Chester punt, Prater threw another long pass and Peters intercepted the ball on the Yellow Jackets' four-yard line.

However the Yellow Jackets made a costly mistake.

Chester was called for a holding penalty in their own endzone.

This resulted in a safety to add two-points for the Tigers.

Dupo's next possession ended the same as its last, with Peters intercepting Prater for the second time.

The Tigers needed a score to tie and, after a Chester punt, Prater shook off the previous two interceptions for a scoring drive.

The senior completed four-consecutive passes and then finished the march with a one-yard run and a two-point conversion score by diving into the endzone.

The points with 4:51 left evened the score at 31-31.

It looked like Chester finally put the game away on its next drive.

Peters marched his club 65-yards on nine plays and chewed up most of the remaining time in the fourth quarter.

His pass to McCartney on the left side turned into a 13-yard score as the tight end broke a tackle and romped into the endzone with only :53.6 remaining.

The successful Landeros PAT left Dupo with little time left to rally trailing 38-31.

Prater, after consecutive incomplete passes, faced a third-and-ten at the Chester 49.

He then found wide out Talon Sims, who navigated his way down to the Yellow Jackets' six-yard line before getting out of bounds to stop the clock at :12.8.

Prater went three yards on a run and, after a timeout, then threw a three-yard TD pass to Staggs in the left side of the endzone.

Dupo and Coach Klaustermeier had made up their minds that they would go for the win with a two-point conversion.

That's when Peters made perhaps the biggest defensive play of his career, swatting away the Prater pass intended for Staggs.

“I messed up (on the two-point conversion call) I should have let #17 (Prater) carry the ball. He's our best player and I have to let him go score,” said Coach Klaustermeier.

Eggemeyer caught the Dupo onside kick attempt and a kneel down by Peters ended the contest.

“My hat is off to Dupo. What a great football team that was. They played extremely hard and this was a fun game to be a part of,” said Coach Belton. “Zach has done a great job over there (Dupo) and every year they have gotten a little bit better.”

Both teams are playoff eligible but are looking to finish the season strong for perhaps a first round home game.

Chester will travel to Randolph County rival Red Bud next Friday before hosting Nashville the regular season finale.

“We've been in the league for five years and we've won it four times (championship) and it is important,” said Coach Belton who can clinch the Cahokia Illinois Division next Friday. “Red Bud will come out ready for us so we need to be ready.”

Dupo hosts Sparta/Steeleville next week and finishes with win-less East Alton-Wood River in Week 9.

“They're a darn good football team and they're the best team we play each year in the regular season; a 2A playoff team. For us to play with them and have a shot at the end, I couldn't have asked for anything more.” said Coach Klaustermeier.