Lumpkins Throws For Two TDs, Burnett Scores Twice: Redbirds Snap Losing Streak Under Coach Rick Reinhart

Alton looks for strong finish for the 2026 season with momentum in hand.

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Oct 2, 2026 4:01 PM

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GRANITE CITY - Quarterback Josh Lumpkins threw for two touchdowns, while running backs Dewayne Jones and Markeese Burnett ran for two touchdowns each as Alton bounced back from a tough loss the week before to take a 49-5 win over Granite City in a Southwestern Conference Black Division game Friday night, Sept. 25, 2026, at Memorial Stadium/Kevin Greene Field in Granite.

The win snapped a 14-game losing streak for the Redbirds, who won their first game since Oct. 25, 2024, when they beat Mt. Vernon 33-32. The Warriors, however, saw their losing streak extended to 38 games, having last won Sept. 18, 2022, a 51-36 victory over Madison.

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The Redbird players celebrated wildly on the field after the game, marking a very well-deserved victory and the first win at Alton for veteran coach Rick Reinhart, a fixture in area high school football.

"I'm just so proud of our kids," Reinhart said in his postgame interview. "We knew this is kind of like a rivalry, really. Both teams are in similar situations. I'm an old-new coach; he's (Sherand Boyd, Jr., Granite's first-year head coach) a new head coach, and you can tell they're on the right track, and I can't take away from my coaching staff the job they did, and everything. It was fun. We deserved that. We have homecoming next week against Mascoutah, so it's a new chapter. We're really excited."

Reinhart agreed that it was a great bounce-back win for his team after a tough 30-28 loss to Collinsville the week before.

"Yeah, that was," Reinhart said. "A two-point conversion, if it's in, and we would be in better shape. But it's another chapter every week, so we've just got to move on. The thing I liked most about the game last week was we had three touchdowns called back, and we rebounded each time."

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Reinhart knows that his team is working hard to rebuild the Redbirds football program, and although the team has a long way left to go, Alton is heading in the right direction.

"They are," Reinhart said with pride. "We've just got a long way to go, but this was a huge step. They listen a lot better after a win."

Reinhart's goals and ambitions for his team for the final three weeks are plain and simple: Try to win as much as possible.

"Well, we'll just try to win every game we can," Reinhart said. "We've still got a chance to make the playoffs with the new format. So, we've got a big homecoming, then we've got East St. Louis and O'Fallon. We've just got to go one at a time and try to come up with three wins. I'm just so proud of guys like this that are doing such a great job. We worked really, really hard, and it's nice to get a little ice cream and cake on top of it."

On their opening drive, the Redbirds went 13 plays to score, as Tommy Whitehorn went in from a yard out, with the conversion giving Alton a 7-5 lead, a lead they would never relinquish. On the next possession, Jones rumbled home from seven yards out to give Alton a 14-6 lead. The defense held the Warriors in check for the remainder of the half, while the Warriors' defense stopped the Redbirds, as Alton took the 14-6 lead into the halftime break.

In the second half, it was all Redbirds, starting off with Lumpkins' first touchdown pass, a three-yard strike to Jones that made it 21-6, and later on, Lumpkins hit D'Mario Reese, Jr. from 10 yards out to increase the lead to 28-6. The Redbird defense was also doing its job well, stopping the Granite offense almost at every turn, not allowing the Warriors to get started.

Late in the third quarter, Barnett scored his first touchdown of the night, going up the middle eight yards to score and make it 35-6 for Alton. In the fourth quarter, Barnett scored again, going in from five yards away to give the Redbirds a 42-6 cushion, and Prince Harrion scored late in the game on a one-yard run to make the final 49-6 for Alton.

The Redbirds are now 1-5, while the Warriors go to 0-6 on the season, with both schools celebrating their homecomings next Friday. Alton meets Mascoutah at Public School Stadium, while Granite takes on Triad at Kevin Greene Field, with both Week 7 games set to kick off at 7 p.m.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.