Edwardsville's football team has gotten off to a good start in the Southwestern Conference. The Tigers opened play last week at home by defeating Collinsville 33-7 thanks to a 20-point third quarter after being ahead 13-7 at the half.
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The Tigers will look to keep that momentum going on the road this week as they travel to O'Fallon to take on a Panther team that lost last week to Belleville West 13-12 after the Maroons blocked a touchdown conversion attempt. O'Fallon had previously dropped decisions to Chicago-area schools Hinsdale Central and Benet Academy of Lisle. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“They've played some good teams,” said Tiger coach Matt Martin. “They've been kind of like us in some ways; they've had a lot of turnovers and made some mistakes that have hurt them.
“We will definitely need to limit our turnovers and mistakes. They have some really good players, so we need to limit those.”
The Panthers try to establish their running game on a spread-type offense and run a 3-4 defense. They feature Sam Kabureck, who Martin calls “a good two-way player” for OTHS, and AJ Paul-Torres on defense. On the offensive side of the ball, O'Fallon's Kentrail Moran has 258 rushing yards on the season, including a 101-yard effort last week in their loss to the Maroons, and Mason Hewitt, who had 88 yards last week, including a 75-yard touchdown run that pulled the Panthers to one before the blocked convert.
The Tigers have had kept balance to their offensive attack so far; quarterback Riley Jones has passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns while also picking up 333 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Jackson Morrissey has contributed 288 yards rushing with five touchdowns.
“We'll be trying to keep a balanced attack and limit the mistakes,” Martin said. “We've done some good things so far this season, but this is going to be a heck of a challenge for us this week.
“They generally get some really good support from their fans and it's always a tough game against them. We're looking forward to the challenge.”
The Tigers will host Belleville East next week, then travel to East St. Louis for an Oct. 2 game against the Flyers.
