Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008

Lancers' comeback hands Edwardsville another loss

Bester touchdown run gives win to East

EDWARDSVILLE -- -- Jason Bester and the Belleville East Lancers on Friday extended the second-half frustrations of the Edwardsville Tigers.

Bester, a senior, scored on a 43-yard touchdown run with 11:44 to play in the fourth quarter to lift the Lancers to a come-from-behind 29-28 victory in a Southwestern Conference game.

East, which locked down a playoff berth, improved to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the SWC after trailing 28-17 early in the third quarter.

"We just played harder. That's the bottom line," said the 6-foot, 182-pound Bester, who rushed for 205 yards and three TDs on 34 carries.

While East reveled in its win, Edwardsville (4-3, 2-3) more than likely will be watching the postseason. For the second straight week, the Tigers wore down on defense and were unable to protect a halftime lead. They lost to Belleville West 40-27 last week after leading 24-21 at halftime.

"We just came up short," Edwardsville coach Mark Bliss said. "But the effort was there tonight -- a lot better than last week's. Our kids did the best we could with what we were up against. They were just the better team tonight and we give them credit for that. It's a testament to their kids."

While the Tigers sputtered on defense in the second half, the Lancers finally were able to contain Edwardsville's confusing option offense. While the Tigers had two 100-yard rushers in senior Robbie Brueggeman (16 carries, 140 yards) and sophomore Rodney Coe (20 carries, 121 yards), the duo combined for just 103 in the second half.

"Defensively, we just hung in there," Lancers coach Tim Funk said. "It's a unique style of offense and they're good at it. We were able to gather the kids a little bit more and talk to them at halftime. We made a couple of adjustments on defense and they did a good job. We made plays when we had to."

Coe culminated a seven-play, 66-yard drive to open the third quarter with a 12-yard TD run that gave the Tigers a 28-17 lead.

East failed to convert a fourth-and-14 play on its next possession, and Edwardsville took over at its 8-yard line. Three plays later, the Lancers' recovered Brueggeman's fumble at the Tigers' 17.

An illegal participation penalty moved the ball to the Edwardsville 9, and Bester scored on the next play to get East within 28-23.

Edwardsville punted from its 40 on a fourth-and-5 play on its next possession, pinning the Lancers on their 2. Junior quarterback Aaron Hampton's 29-yard run put East on the Tigers' 43, and Bester scored on the next play to make it 29-28. Bester broke through the middle, then cut right and outraced the secondary.

"We're going to give the ball to our best player behind our best guys, and if they're better than us and they stop us, they win," Funk said of Bester and the Lancers' front five. "He's a funny back. Sometimes it doesn't look like he's running. You saw his cutback there. He's an unbelievable back. That's why we give it to him."

Bester said the Lancers were still "very optimistic" when they trailed by 11.

"We had to go with the flow," Bester said. "If we all work together, we're going to get it."

Edwardsville needs to defeat Granite City and powerhouse East St. Louis to qualify for the playoffs --a tall order for any team.

"We've talked to the kids about character and class," Bliss said. "We'll find out the true test of character of our kids in the next two weeks. A winning season is still within reach. That's our goal."

Contact reporter David Wilhelm at dwilhelm@bnd.com.