The O'Fallon Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the Belleville West Maroons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. O'Fallon will be strutting in after a victory while Belleville West will be coming in after a defeat.
O'Fallon gave up the first points on Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. Everything went their way against Alton as they made off with a 23-3 win. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Panthers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 117th, while the Redbirds are ranked 246th).
Luka Freidenberg
| 09/26/25 vs Alton | 107 |
| 09/19/25 vs Belleville East | 46 |
| 08/29/25 @ Triad | 39 |
| 09/05/25 @ Troy-Buchanan | 13 |
| 09/12/25 vs St. Mary's South Side | -1 |
O'Fallon's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Samuel McCollum led the charge by rushing for 73 yards and one TD on only five carries. Luka Freidenberg helped out on the ground, rushing for 107 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something O'Fallon proved: they limited Alton to a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. While six picked up at least two total tackles, McCollum stood above the rest. He rushed for 73 yards and one score on only five carries. O'Fallon didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.4.
O'Fallon didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jesse Flores and McCollum.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Belleville West's offense. They were outmatched by East St. Louis and fell 67-0. The game marked the first time this year in which the Maroons were not able to get on the board.
This is the second loss in a row for Belleville West and nudges their season record down to 2-3. As for O'Fallon, with the victory, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 2-3.
O'Fallon skirted past Belleville West 18-15 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Maroons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
