Pinckneyville @ Chester - Non-Conference

Chester rolls past Panthers
Yellow Jackets improve to 2-0 with 56-6 thumping of Pinckneyville

09/06/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHESTER - It took just a few minutes for the Chester Yellow Jackets to take command of their home contest against Pinckneyville on Friday night at home.

The hosts never let up until the final horn.

Behind a defensive effort that produced opportunities and the passing of senior quarterback Zain Al-Jassim, Chester improved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2015 season with a dominating 56-6 win over the Panthers.

The Yellow Jackets scored nine touchdowns on the night, eight offensively, as they took care of business for their second consecutive win over a Southern Illinois River-to-River team after they downed DuQuoin in Week 1.

Coach Billy Belton's club “belted” the Panthers from the opening minutes sending Pinckneyville to its second loss of the season, having lost their opener to Red Bud last Friday.

Senior gun-slinging quarterback Zain Al-Jassim tossed it around for 265-yards and four touchdowns, completing 12-of-19.

Kolton Jany, a senior running back, caught four of the passes for 121 of the yards and one of the TD's while classmate wide receiver Devante Palacio also grabbed four of the Al-Jassim tosses for another 93-yards and a score.

“Devante, Zain and Kolton are all three-year starters and they have done a great job,” said Coach Belton. “They know each other from playing together. They are all really good football players.”

Six-five senior tight end Brenden Malley caught the other two TD passes for Chester, including one at the second quarter horn to close the first half scoring.

Of the 107-yards rushing for the Yellow Jackets, Jany had 50 of the yards. On six carries, including a touchdown run.

Sophomore defensive back and kick returner Alex Blechle got in on the fun in the second half as he returned a punt 55-yards for a touchdown.

The Panthers, on the other hand, struggled offensively as they were held to just 127-yards of total offense, with just 63-yards passing for head coach Ryan Lott.

Pressure by the Chester defense made for a miserable evening for the visitors.

Junior quarterback Reed Marlow completed just 4-of-12 passes and threw three interceptions, including a first quarter pick six by Chester senior defensive back Cayden Brunkhorst.

As a whole, the Panthers committed six turnovers with three lost fumbles.

Defensively they failed to stop Chester as the Jackets finished with 372-yards line of scrimmage offense.

Junior back Tray Peters scored the first points for Chester on a one-yard TD pass from Al-Jassim.

This capped an eight-play, 72-yard drive off of the opening kickoff that took just under four minutes.

Despite having the PAT blocked, Chester led 6-0 with 8:02 left in the opening quarter.

“We wanted to take the ball. We thought our best option was to take the ball (opening kick) and the boys did a great job executing up front,” said Coach Belton. “We're kind of blessed being two-deep at the skill positions and they're all juniors and seniors so it help.”

The first time the Panthers had the ball ended in a fumble and recovery by Jany.

The senior nearly intercepted a pitch by Marlow, but ended up covering the ball on the Pinckneyville 16.

Although the Yellow Jackets failed to score after a penalty moved them back and three in-completions stalled the drive.

However the Panthers, who began their next possession at their own 12, fumbled the ball back to Chester three-yard line.

Two plays later Al-Jassim scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak for a 12-0 advantage after another PAT block.

On the first play after the kickoff, Marlow was picked off by Brunkhorst on the right sideline.

The corner back took the ball the distance, 38-yards, for the Yellow Jackets' third TD.

Another failed PAT attempt, this time a run, left the score at 18-0 with 2:09 left in the opening quarter.

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After getting its first first down of the game on its next possession, the Panthers turned it over again.

This time the interception was by Palacio at the Chester 42.

This set up the next scoring march, which took just five snaps.

The big play on the drive was a 50-yard pass from Al-Jassim to Palacio to the Pinckneyville two-yard line.

Jany powered into the endzone on the next play for a 24-0 spread with 8:43 left before intermission.

To their credit, the Panthers mounted a brief drive in which the moved the chains for a couple of first downs.

Senior Marshawn Fisher and sophomore Thomas Fisher gain yards on carries in the drive.

But with a fourth-and-seven at the Chester 36, Marshawn Fisher was stopped three-yards short as the Panthers turned it over on downs.

It only took five plays for the hosts to find the endzone.

A pass from Al-Jassim to Jany covered 26-yards into Pinckneyville territory.

A run by junior Ethan Colvis and a pass to senior Lannin Caron put the ball on the Panthers' nine.

Al-Jassim hit Malley with a TD throw on the next play.

Another failed PAT left the score at 30-0 Yellow Jackets.

Following a Panthers' punt, Chester move the ball down the field on a drive that took just :50 to complete.

With :06.8 left, Al-Jassim found Malley in the end zone.

Malley went up high in the air for the catch as the horn sounded.

The first made PAT kick for Chester closed the half at 37-0.

“I'm glad Malley came back out this year after not playing last year,” said Coach Belton. “He's a big target for teams to try and defend.”

Pinckneyville finally put together a scoring drive as they took the second half kickoff and went 72-yards in 10-plays.

The big play of the drive was a 30-yard strike from Marlow to sophomore Tyler McConnell.

The two Panthers hooked up for the score, a 14-yard pitch and catch for the only Pinckneyville points.

The extra point failed with Chester up 37-6.

A 58-play drive with another TD pass from Al-Jassim to Palacio, which covered the final 26-yards made it 43-6 with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Chester force a punt on the next Pinckneyville possession and Blechle scooped up a short punt and navigated the final 55-yards for a score with just 2:25 left in the third.

The extra point kick was good for a 50-6 lead and a continuous clock the remainder of the game.

“He (Blechle) played well tonight on special teams and he got the punt return and some big tackles for us tonight,” said Coach Belton. “He's going to be a good ball player for us.”

The third interception by the Yellow Jackets was Blechle snagging the errant throw and returning it to the Pinckneyville 15.

A three-yard scoring run by senior running back/linebacker Gene Bicket closed the book on the contest with 9:20 left.

The score could've been more lopsided had Chester converted better on their PAT's.

The Yellow Jackets were successful just two times after their nine touchdowns.

Jany finished with 171-yards receiving and rushing for Chester, who will face 4A Cahokia Conference foe Freeburg next Friday night on the road.

Pinckneyville will try to regroup next week with a game at home against Harrisburg.

“Our defensive line has done a great job for us all year. Week 2, I thought we improved from Week 1,” said Coach Belton. “Our defense was flying around hitting people. Being 2-0 instead of 0-2, we're happy to be 2-0."

Non-Conference	1	2	3	4	-	F
Pinckneyville	0	0	6	0	-	6
Chester	18	19	13	6	-	56

Team	Qtr	Time	Scoring Plays	C	P
C	1	8:02	Peters 1-yard pass from Al-Jassim. PAT kick failed.	6	0
C	1	2:26	Al-Jassim 1-yard run. PAT kick failed.	12	0
C	1	2:09	Brunkhorst 38-yard interception return. PAT pass failed.	18	0
C	2	8:43	Jany 2-yard run. PAT pass failed	24	0
C	2	3:21	Malley 9-yard pass from Al-Jassim. PAT pass failed.	30	0
C	2	0:00	Malley 28-yard pass from Al-Jassim. PAT kick good.	37	0
P	3	6:46	McConnell 14-yard pass from Marlow. PAT kick failed.	37	6
C	3	4:18	Palacio 26-yard pass from Al-Jassim. PAT run failed.	43	6
C	3	2:25	Blechle 55-yard punt return. PAT kick good.	50	6
C	4	9:20	Bicket 3-yard run. PAT kick failed.	56	6