O'FALLON, Ill. • There are only a handful of seniors that start for theBelleville West football team. Two of them, Brian Hill and Tori Millender, didn't have to say anything to each other when the Maroons were down by two touchdowns early against O'Fallon.
"Tori and I just looked at each other," Hill said. "We knew what we had to do."
The duo keyed the defense, each returning an interception for a touchdown, and Hill made big contributions on offense, as visiting West beat O'Fallon 55-38 in a Southwestern Conference game on Saturday.
"It came down to senior leadership," Hill said. "We don't have a lot (seniors), so I feel I have to lead by example and Tori feels the same way."
O'Fallon (3-2 overall, 2-1 league), which is the No. 5 team in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings, was up 14-0 just four minutes into the game. Sophomore Camden Bauer, who absorbed some savage hits throughout the game from the Maroons defense, connected with Tae'Mon Franklin on scores of 80 and 62 yards. It was the first two of five touchdowns for Bauer, who completed 35 of 53 for 561 yards.
The yardage easily set a school record for passing yards in a game and is tied for fourth-most yards ever in the state Illinois. Bauer tied Britt Davis of Riverside-Brookfield, who had his big game in 2003.
The all-time state record is 589 yards set by Tim Brasic also of Riverside-Brookfield in 2001.
The mark came at a cost, however, as Bauer tossed five interceptions to go with his five scores. Hill, who had two of the interceptions, returned his first one nearly 100 yards with 8:24 to go in the second quarter. It gave the Maroons (5-0, 3-0) a lead they would not relinquish. His second pick in the third quarter set up a Sherand Boyd touchdown run.
"I was thinking end zone right when I got it," Hill said, "Once I got past (Panthers running back) Kentrail (Moran), I knew I was going to score."
Millender's interception return came with 2:21 left in the third quarter and put West up 45-28.
"The DB's, D-line, LB's, everybody fought back (from the early deficit)," Millender said. "It took a total team effort."
Hill scored his fourth touchdown of the game five seconds into the fourth quarter to give West a 52-28 cushion.
West, which had been amassing yardage on offense to the tune of 253 on the ground and 133.5 through the air, was limited by the Panthers to 88 yards passing and 145 on the ground. But, West made its offensive plays count. Many of its drives were less than 35 yards, because of its defense and the seven turnovers it forced. Two of Boyd's four completions went for touchdowns. He also ran one in, while Hill scored three on offense. Junior Austin Seibert contributed to the output with field goals of 25 and 45 yards.
With Bauer's huge output, a few receivers had record-setting days. Klayton Gettis had 12 catches for 170 yards and one touchdown. Franklin caught nine for 214 yards and the two early scores, while Patrick Riley caught eight for 142 yards and one touchdown.
O'Fallon now must regroup and get ready for Collinsville in six days.
"Every week is a new challenge in this conference," O'Fallon coach Brandon Joggerst said. "We're all disappointed, but our guys will bounce back. We will be ready."
West will play host to Edwardsville on Friday in a matchup of unbeaten teams.
