EDWARDSVILLE - It’s just Week 2 of the high school football season, but one of the area’s top teams will begin a three-week run Friday night when they face three heavyweight teams.
Edwardsville is that team, and the first team that the Tigers will be facing is CBC on the road; the Cadets enter the game as the defending Missouri Class 6 football champions after defeating Blue Springs for the state title last year. The Cadets and Tigers go in after having big wins last week, Edwardsville defeating McCluer North 63-0 and CBC defeating O’Fallon 58-6. Friday’s game, like all area games, gets under way at 7 p.m unless otherwise indicated.
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“The season really begins for us Friday,” said Tiger coach Matt Martin. “We’re focusing on CBC right now; they’re a really good football team, a defending state champion and they’ve got a lot of kids who returned for them this year.”
The Tigers hosted the Cadets last season and stayed with them before falling 40-19 thanks to three touchdowns from CBC’s Bryan Bradford. “We played well for three quarters against them last year, but we didn’t play four quarters,” Martin said. “They’re a hard team to defend against; they use multiple sets and have a strong running back (Bradford), a savvy quarterback and a huge offensive line.
“We’re going to have our work cut out for us; we have to find a way to be balanced on offense and keep the ball moving; we’ll have to be physical and win the turnover battle. It’s going to be a challenge for us. If I weren’t coaching, it’s the kind of game I might just drive over to see.”
Bradford had 10 carries for 95 yards for the Cadets in their win over the Panthers with a pair of touchdowns, while quarterback Brett Gabbert was 9-for-11 passing for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Edwardsville was led by Kendall Abdur-Rahman’s eight carries for 140 yards on the ground and a 4-for-6 night passing for 77 yards and three touchdowns; Dionte Rodgers also contributed a pair of interceptions on the night, one of them a 53-yard pick-six in the third quarter.
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