West Aurora would have liked the chance to show what it could do in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs against top-seeded Mount Carmel.

But Belleville East also wanted that bite at the apple, and it will be the team to have it after a 48-34 win over the Blackhawks on Saturday at Ormond Field in Aurora.

“It would have been an honor to play (Mount Carmel),” said West Aurora coach Nate Eimer. “That’s what you get. That’s where you’re going to be at, and you want to go play the best.”

The Blackhawks (7-3) scored on their second offensive play from scrimmage on a 75-yard run by Bryce Riley (124 yards on 12 carries).

But even the Lancers (8-2) likely didn’t consider the possibility of one of their own killing that early momentum on both sides of the ball, which was exactly what happened.

James Johnson (103 yards on seven receptions) tied the game on a 43-yard touchdown reception from Kayden Wood (205 yards on 17-of-22 passing), then gave Belleville East the lead when he picked off Mason Atkins (149 yards on 16 of 27 passing) and took the ball 30 yards to the house on the first play of the next possession.

Lesroy Tittle put West Aurora back on top early in the second quarter when he returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown. But it took only 49 seconds for Josh Ware to flip the lead back to Belleville East with a 51-yard touchdown run.

Although Darek Szczeblewski got the Blackhawks closer on a 28-yard field goal, Ware scored his second touchdown from 10 yards out to give the Lancers a 28-17 halftime lead.

Szczeblewski made it a one-score game with a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter even after an illegal substitution penalty against West Aurora backed him up 5 yards. Belleville East needed only two-and-a-half minutes to respond with Wood’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Cary Willis.

Atkins fired a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tittle (82 yards on eight receptions) 11 seconds into the fourth quarter. However, it remained a two-score game after Szczeblewski, already backed up by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the score, had his extra-point kick blocked.

Flags continued to fly for the Blackhawks on the next drive, as unsportsmanlike conduct and face mask penalties gave the Lancers little trouble advancing the ball. Ultimately, Ware ran for his third touchdown, this one from 5 yards out.

Jaedon Beamon (117 yards on 15 carries) stamped the exclamation point on the Blackhawks’ season by picking up 65 yards over three straight carries and scoring the game’s final touchdown on a 5-yard run.

West Aurora scored in the final minute when Jayden Garcia recovered a fumble, and Atkins fired a touchdown pass to Tittle for the second time in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard strike.

“Getting the chance to just put the ball up for a really good receiver,” Atkins said. “It felt great to finish it off.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251101/prep-football/west-aurora-struggles-to-slow-belleville-east-in-first-round-playoff-loss/