Alton Football Scores 49 Unanswered Points to Overwhelm Granite City

Alton Redbirds at Granite City Warriors Football

GRANITE CITY - After allowing an 85-yard kickoff return by Kayden Emerson to open the game, Alton scored the next 49 points to win their first game of the season over Granite City 49-6 in a week six Southwestern Conference football game Friday night at Memorial Stadium/Kevin Greene Field.

The win was the first for the Redbirds since Oct. 25, 2024, when Alton won over Mt. Vernon 33-32, ending a 14-game losing skid. The Warriors' losing streak, however, was extended to 38 games. Granite has not won since Sept. 17, 2022, a 51-36 win over Madison.

It was also the first win in Alton for veteran head coach Rick Reinhart, who took over the Redbirds program this season.

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After allowing Emerson's kickoff return for the touchdown to open the game, Alton's defense stiffened on the first possession, after the Warriors recovered an onside kick. The Redbirds took 13 plays to score, with the drive climaxing with a one-yard touchdown run from Tommy Whitehorn to take a 7-5 lead. On the Redbirds' next possession, Dewayne Jones went seven yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-6, which was the score at halftime.

The Redbirds exploded in the second half, starting with a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Lumpkins to Jones to make it 21-6, then Lumpkins threw 10 yards to D'Mario Reese, Jr. to give Alton a 28-5 lead. Later in the third, Markeese Barnett went up the middle eight yards for another touchdown to make the score 35-6.

In the fourth quarter, Barnett scored again, going five yards for the touchdown to make it 42-6, and late in the game, Prince Harrion went one yard for the final touchdown to make the final score 49-6.

The Redbirds are now 1-5 on the season, while the Warriors go to 0-6.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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