Chester clinched the Cahokia Conference title of the Illinois Division with a 21-0 win at Red Bud Oct. 15.

The defense registered its third shutout of the year, holding Red Bud to 104 total yards. Chester’s offense gained 308 yards.

The Jackets (6-3, 4-1) built a 21-0 halftime lead with quarterback Ethan Stumpe connecting for touchdown passes of three yards to Cooper Eggemeyer and 21 yards to Jordan Merideth. Merideth caught three passes for 52 yards.

Matt James led the defense with 5.5 tackles, including two tackles for loss and a shared sack. Koby Jany had four tackles and forced a fumble.

Chester finished the conference slate with a 4-1 conference record. Chester was undefeated in Cahokia Conference play, but because Decatur St. Teresa replaced Dupo on Chester’s schedule, that loss was counted on the Jackets’ conference schedule. The Jackets close the regular season Oct. 22 at home against non-conference Mt. Vernon.

Chester had its homecoming ruined when the Jackets fell to top-ranked Decatur St. Teresa 54-14 on Oct. 8.

St. Teresa was a late homecoming foe replacement for Dupo, which has canceled games due to COVID. It was a match-up of 5-1 teams. St. Teresa was at the top of the state poll while Chester was 16th.

The Jackets took an early lead after Jacob Cowell recovered a fumble on a punt. Jordan Meredith scored on a three-yard run. Jared Landeros’ extra-point kick gave Chester a 7-0 lead. But two Chester turnovers and a brutal St. Teresa running attack put the game away. After replacing the injured Ethan Stumpe, quarterback Dylan Kelkhoff connected with Merideth on a 34-yard TD pass. That ended the scoring for Chester.

Meredith caught four passes for 32 yards and a TD. Isaac Jany had two catches for 19 yards.

Jany also had 4.5 tackles, including 2.5 for losses. Cowell had 5.5 tackles and Freddie Alvarez 3.5 tackles.

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Aden McFarland