09/23/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
BREESE - With yet another strong defensive showing on Friday night, Breese Central took down previously unbeaten East Alton-Wood River.

Keeping the Oilers out of the endzone for the first three quarters, including forcing some key mistakes, Coach Brian Short saw his Cougars improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Mississippi Division of the Cahokia Conference with a 21-6 victory.

EAWR head coach Gary Heron saw his club's undefeated run end as they slipped to 1-1 in the league and also 4-1 overall.

Central's senior defensive back Braden Revermann intercepted three passes on the night for Breese Central as he and his teammates kept East Alton-Wood River out of the endzone until the outcome was well in hand.

Senior quarterback Conner Freeze connected on half of his passes (11-of-22) for 135-yards and a touchdown while also carrying the ball 15 times for 67-yards and another score in the Cougars' triumph on Homecoming Night.

Fullback Chase Lewis caught a touchdown pass and he added three successful PAT kicks.

The senior grabbed six passes for 67-yards, including a TD catch right before halftime that gave Central a 21-0 spread.

“I can't say enough about Chase Lewis. He's a great kid and a great leader,” said Coach Short.

Senior running back Seth Slayden led East Alton-Wood River with 16 rushes for 60-yards and the lone Oilers' score.

Miguel Romero, the Oilers' senior quarterback, added nine carries for 36-yards while Ryan Morton-Burch, a senior running back, added six running attempts for 27-yards.

Romero connected on just 3-of-14 passing attempts for just 52-yards and all three of the Revermann interceptions.

EAWR marched into Central territory on its opening drive of the game but Revermann thwarted the potential scoring drive with an interception and return back to their own 43-yard line.

Central's first drive failed on a fourth-and-10 from the Oilers' 24.

A nine yard pass completion from Freeze to Revermann came up just short of the line to reach as EAWR got the stop they needed.

Central then forced a punt and got the ball back at the Oilers' 23 after a Revermann return was moved back after an illegal block on the return.

It took seven plays, including a Central fumble that they managed to recover themselves, to get into the endzone.

Lewis, taking a direct snap in a 'Wildcat' formation, ran up the middle for the first score of the game with :21.0 remaining in the first quarter.

Lewis added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

EAWR managed a pair of first downs on its next possession but Revermann again came up big defensively.

Facing third-and-16 from their own 44, Romero dropped back to pass and tossed long pass down the right sideline intended for senior Kenny Morton.

Unfortunately Revermann read the play beautifully and intercepted the toss as he returned it to the Oilers' 48.

Breese Central went eight-plays, gobbling up those 48-yards to reach the endzone for the second time.

Freeze connected on one pass in the drive.

Lewis made a juggling catch of the throw on the right side of the field, which moved the ball to the EAWR 33.

A pass interference call on the Oilers tacked on another 15-yards.

With it third-and-eight at the 13, Freeze ran to his left for a first down at the four-yard line.

Freeze took care of those four yards on the next play, scoring up the middle with 5:40 left in the half.

Another Lewis kick made it 14-0.

A big defensive play by Central pretty much sealed the Oilers' fate on the next EAWR possession.

Forced to punt from their own 48, a bad snap back to punter Jakob Gerber turned into a disaster.

Andrew Jansen, a junior linebacker, tackled Gerber which forced a fumble that was scooped up by Lewis who headed into the endzone for an apparent score.

However an illegal block on the return brought the ball back to the EAWR 34.

It took eight plays but the Cougars finally got the ball to paydirt.

An offensive pass interference penalty pushed Central back to the EAWR 20.

Central took a timeout with :14.6 facing fourth-and-goal.

(CONTINUED)

Freeze stepped back in the pocket and fired a pass down the middle of the field to Lewis, who had worked his way open in the middle of the Oilers' secondary.

He took the pass in stride for a 20-yard, back-breaking touchdown with just :07.9 showing on the clock.

The third PAT kick in a row made it 21-0 at intermission.

Although the Oilers were much better defensively in the second half, the Cougars' 'D' wouldn't let the visitors make any sort of major ball movement until late in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.

Of the 12 minutes of clock in the third quarter, EAWR only had possession for 4:46 of it.

Breese Central moved the ball but didn't score.

However they chewed up enough yardage (and clock) to keep the Oilers' offense off of the field.

Coach Herron's club managed to grind their way into Central territory in the early part of the fourth quarter, only to turn the ball back over on downs.

A fourth-and-six from the Central 24 resulted in an incomplete pass.

The Cougars milked another four minutes off of the fourth quarter clock before punting the ball back to EAWR.

In their only scoring drive of the game, East Alton-Wood River got to the endzone going 52-yards on four plays.

The biggest play of the night for EAWR was a 32-yard pass play from Romero to senior Tyler Robinson that reached the Central 18.

A pair of runs from Slayden, including an 11-yard TD burst into the left side of the endzone, got the Oilers on the scoreboard with just 6:09 remaining.

The PAT run attempt by Slayden was stopped short by the Cougars with the score now at 21-6.

Central ran off another four minutes of clock on the next drive and then punted the ball.

The kick rolled dead on the Oilers' one-yard line.

In one final drive, EAWR moved into BC territory but the march, and the game, ended with a Romero deep pass down field being intercepted by Revermann on the final play.

Four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble) were a bit too much to overcome by Coach Herron's club.

“Our defense had a challenge tonight. They (EAWR) run the 'Wing-T' and we don't get to see that a lot and we put some guys into positions that we don't get to practice a lot,” said Coach Short. “I thought we played great on defense. It was a tremendous effort. They (EAWR) are physical upfront and they were 4-0 for a reason. I'm proud of our guys. It was good to see an effort like that tonight.”

Breese Central has more work to do coming up on the schedule if they're going to defend their league title.

They have conference games with Salem, Roxana and then a home game October 14th against Columbia, who is also 4-1, 2-0 after the Eagles whipped rival Freeburg 24-0 on Friday.

The Oilers also have work to do with games coming up against Columbia next Friday at home followed by a road game at Freeburg, home to Roxana and a road trip to Red Bud, who is also 4-1 on the season.

Red Bud's only loss was to Central, 17-6 back on September 9.