Oilers fall to Carlinville 76-19 in first round of 3A playoffs

CARLINVILLE - The East Alton-Wood River High School football team's season has officially come to a close.

After achieving a 6-3 record in the regular season and qualifying for their first playoff appearance in exactly one decade, the Oilers have been eliminated in the first round by the Carlinville High School Cavaliers. 

Although his team fell to the Cavaliers in a pretty hefty loss of 76-19, EAWR head coach Garry Herron is proud of his boys' hard work throughout the season. 

"I'm happy for the kids and that we got to this point. It's been a long and successful year, team and individual-wise. We have two backs with over 1000 yards and a quarterback who was close to throwing near 1000. That last memory of that loss will stick in our minds for a little bit, but I'm proud of what the boys have accomplished throughout the season."

Carlinville's star running back Jacob Dixon put the Oiler defense through the ringer throughout the night, pushing passed the line and into the end zone several times.

"I thought we could have played a better game. I am a little disappointed in the way we didn't tackle. I feel like we're a much better team defensively than we played," Herron said.

While exiting the game, chatter among the Cavaliers' fans directed plenty of respect towards Herron's squad. One spectator mentioned that the team will be quite good next year and even better in the years to come with the Junior Oilers team coming up through the system. 

The Cavaliers will continue to round two in the Class 3 playoffs and will play the winner of the Williamsville-Hillsboro matchup, which will be held at 1 p.m. this Saturday.

AREA RESULTS - FIRST ROUND
Rochester 52, Civic Memorial 7
Edwardsville 23, Oak Park-River Forest 20. The Tigers will face Oswego in the second round. 
Taylorville 32, Marquette Catholic 28

SATURDAY'S GAMES - FIRST ROUND
Carrollton (6-3) at Camp Point Central (7-2), 1 p.m. 
Hardin-Calhoun (6-3) at Arcola (7-2), 2 p.m. 
Lincoln-Way West (5-4) at East St. Louis (9-0), 2. p.m.

All scores, times and location information courtesy of the Illinois High School Association. 

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