Early United scores
It was a tough homecoming night for Galesburg as East Moline United Township took control in the first quarter and cruised to a 56-16 victory.
“We were lacking consistency on the night,” head coach Shawn Hickey said after the game. “We had some bright spots offensively. Defensively, we couldn’t do much. They got the matchups they wanted defensively, and they did a good job with the game plan of their offense against our defense.”
Big plays contributed to the Panthers’ first-half dominance. On the first play of the first drive, quarterback Jonathan Drake completed a 32-yard pass to William Risius, setting United Township up at the 8-yard line. Isaiah Navarette carried the ball in on the next play for a 7-0 lead at 11:20 in the first quarter.
On its next series, United took over at its own 27, then quickly moved downfield to the Galesburg 10. Navarette weaved through the middle of the defense to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead at 5:01.
Galesburg drive comes up short
Later in the first quarter, Galesburg failed on a fourth-down attempt and United took over on downs. A 23-yard run followed by a 13-yard screen pass put the Panthers at the 10, where Leo Sim scored United’s third touchdown, providing his team with a 21-0 lead.
That’s when Galesburg put together its best drive of the game, driving the ball from its own 21 to set itself up in scoring position. The drive was highlighted by a 31-yard reception from quarterback Grady Hickey to receiver Bradley Eaton.
A pass into the end zone was incomplete, but a penalty on United put Galesburg at the 13. That’s when things got interesting. Hickey tossed to Antwon Walker in the corner of the end zone that appeared to be a catch. However, officials ruled Walker was out of bounds, which had Galesburg’s coaching staff frothing.
Two plays later, a Hickey pass into the opposite corner of the end zone was intercepted.
United leads at half
“We had a touchdown that was not called a touchdown, and we saw it clearly on our film,” coach Hickey said later. “It is what it is. At that time, it would have been 21-7 with perhaps a different momentum swing, but in the end, we threw an interception, and they went down and scored. All of a sudden, it’s 28-0 and they didn’t look back from that.”
United Township added two more scores in the second quarter on pass plays, making the score United 42, Galesburg 0 at the half.
Jones fills in at quarterback
During the second half, the running clock rule was in effect. This is similar to the mercy rule in softball in which the clock keeps running once the game is out of hand. Both teams substituted liberally in the half.
Galesburg made good use of its opportunities. Day’Vion Jones, who replaced Hickey at quarterback late in the second quarter when Hickey was injured on a late hit, led a Silver Streaks drive that culminated in a touchdown pass to Walker. After a 2-point conversion, the score was 49-8.
On its next possession following a Panther touchdown, Watson returned the kickoff to United’s 14-yard line. Eaton took the ball to the 1, and eventually, Jones hit Walker in the end zone for another score. A 2-point conversion made it 49-16.
United added a final touchdown to close out the scoring
Coach questions officiating
After the game, the head coach remained upset about some of the officiating in the first half. Along with the no-touchdown call, there were several penalties, including two unsportsmanlike conduct calls on the same play.
“If you want to talk to anybody in the audience, anybody would know something was amiss with that officiating crew,” Hickey said afterward. “It’s not a difference in the game. They did well. They outplayed us. They did everything right, and we had some mistakes. We weren’t horrible, but that whole first half was hard to explain.”
Hickey sees progress
Hickey said he saw some bright spots in his team’s performance, especially on offense.
“We were still able to move the ball offensively,” he said. “We had two or three drops on some good plays. We have to make those catches. We need to protect better. I thought our defensive game plan was good. We were lining up where we were supposed to be, we just didn’t make the tackles. So, we need to shore up our tackling and get ready for Alleman next week.”
Next game at Alleman
The Streaks are at Alleman Sept. 19 in a Western Big Six Conference game. The Pioneers lost to Quincy 49-0 and, like Galesburg, are 1-2 on the season.
